Fatigue after rides

willbevan

Hi guys,

Well i've been cycling since mid october and slowly increasing my milage but having a bit of problem with post ride fatigue after long rides.

Example, yesterday I got up at 6am and did 79miles, took me 5hrs 12 mins, avg HR 150 (Im 27, max HR ive seen when blasting up a hill is 205 i think so i dont think i overrid it for a long ride)... Didn't feel bad during the ride and only on the last couple of long uphills did my legs feel tired but.

After the ride i crashed badly, feel very fatigued and pretty much fell asleep twice yesterday, once from 2-4pm, and then 7-9pm, before properly going to be at 111pm

Bascially after some advice how to stop this.

I have tried several things, i've increased what i eat on the ride, keep drinking sports drink after the long rides.... i.e. yesterday:

During the ride i went through almost 3 ltrs of SIS Go, 4 energy bars (some Go , and some powerbar), a gel and some sport beans. I majke about 1500 cals spread evenly over the ride

Straight after I had a sachet of GO REGO(was some on offer at my LBS so thought why not), okay only 100 odd calores, but then within an hour of being off the bike a large chilli with plenty of rice (not wholemeal mind you)... then meatballs with linguini pasta

Hmm one thing to mention, my breakfast was an energy bar and maybe 0.25l of SIS go while i was getting the bike ready, I needed to be back by midday. Would prefer not to be up 2 hrs beforee i bike and have to have breakfast, but then i guess it would be betterthan loosing two hours sleep i guess in the afternoon lol

Kept grazing throughout the rest of the day aiming to get carbs into me, sandwiches (wholemeal bread) , some mars refuel (well over half a litre)

Am i doing something completely wrong? did make sure i eat lots of pasta for the two days before (well when i say a lot, i eat 5-6 small meals a day)

I have tried drinking lots of sport drink after to keep the carbs going in but that didn't seem to help either.

Any insight would be greatfuly recieved.

fizz

Eat a decent breakfast, porridge or Museli, an energy bar for breakfast isnt enough IMHO.

I had same problem as you yeserday I over slept and didnt have time for breakfast, I normally do, and I really suffered for not having it yesterday.

Milkshake is also a good recovery drink. Also I tihnk perhaps you need to eat a bit more during your ride maybe.

redddraggon

Hmm, it's probably just that you're not used to the miles.

I'm always really tired after a ride, but then again I'm probably going to be tired anyway with only 4 hours sleep a night (trying to be a student and work full time at the same time :shock: )

markos1963

As above breakfast is the most important meal. However I think you are relying on carbs too much for post ride recovery, I try to eat protien after a ride or drink milk if its inconvenient. Your body is trying to rebuild the damage to the muscles from the ride and protien is the way to go(chicken,fish or nuts). I was suffering after rides same as you but changing what I eat post ride has helped enormously.

willbevan

cheer chaps, wouldnt be suprised if its that im just not used to the miles lol

next long ride i will indeed make sure i have breakfast first!!! Give it two hours then go out, presume its a good idea to start sipping enery drink before hand?

The GO REGO, is protien and carbs, but i think probably two little after the distance, as its only 100cals will ensre i get a decent carb/protein shake straight after!

Whats a good alternative to a shake, or just normal milk after a ride that ins't liquid? or is that the best because its easily absorbed?

Thanks for all your input guys!

toli

And what did you eat the day before?

I am only a beginner (I bought my bike just over a month ago) but I have been running 4-5 times a week for about a year and a half now. What I have come to realize is that even though I am just an "average" runner (I am not a serious competitor and only do 30-40 miles a week) I still need to plan what and how I eat every day, not just the days that I plan to do any form of exercise. Now that I have added a couple of bike rides every week this is even more true than before.
My point is that you are already at a level where nutrition is very important and you simply have to include it into your planning and you also need to know what you are doing, i.e. buy a book, read magazines.
There is actually a good reason why you can find long articles about nutrition in most "fitness related" magazines.

Also, the fatigue is also very likely to be partly due to you increasing your mileage too quickly. Your body will need time to adjust. The advice to runners is to increase the mileage by at most 10% a week, although I am not sure if that is a good advice for cyclists as welll.
I cam back from a 90 minute run a couple of hours ago, a year ago I would have been exhausted for the rest of the day but now I hardly notice it. I just make sure to rehydrate and eat something as quickly as possible when I come back after my long(ish) runs, the former is especially important when it is warm.

Alibran

I find a big glass of milk and an energy bar is a great immediate post ride snack, until I can get a decent meal.

piedwagtail91

try eating the day before.when i do my 100 mile rides i always pig out the day before then have a light breakfast of muesli and banana on the day with snacks every few miles with water as and when. ( 8 bottles earlier this week). halfway i usually have a pint of milk if i can find a shop. usually a pint of milk and a couple of jam butties when i get home.

guinea

When I started doing road miles I got tired afterwards. In the afternoon after a morning session on Richmond Park I was completely wasted. I'd be stiff and drowsy for the rest of the day, even after a bath and a decent lunch.

Now it's a differemt story. Yesterday I cycled from home in London to a party in Portsmouth. I arrived at 3pm, showered, changed and went to the event. I had no fancy food - museli, wine gums and a lion bar. I wasn't tired or sore, just invigorated and happy after a nice long ride.

For me the difference is just the mileage, not the nutrition. I've been averaging about 250 miles a week for a couple of months and have had no problems with tiredness. Two or three times a week I do 35 miles before work with no ill effects.

Just get your body used to the effort and it'll be easy.

CrookedCucumber

You know, since I started looking at this forum, I've been amazed at the number of people who express dismay that their bodies cannot easily transcend the limitations of nature.

If I got up at 6am and cycled 80 miles, then felt like I needed a bit of a lie down, I'd consider that par for the course.

Give yourself a break already!

morrisje

When you are at work this morning tell your collegues that you cycles 80 miles yesterday. They will look at you as if you are mad or lying. I bet no one else did anything like that amount of exercise.
It's easy to lose perspective over cycling and the amount of exercise you are doing. I did 65 miles on Saturday and 60 on Sunday and feel shattered. There may be a very small percentage of people who can do vast amounts of exercise but they usually dedicate their lives to it.
80 miles is a lot of effort and you deserve to be tired.

Rob Somerset

Once youve determined that you have eaten and drunk enough on the ride then post ride then I think there is no easy answer. Lots of milage helps . I used to be wiped out after 5 hours, but now I feel like I done some work but a bit earlier to bed will sort it out. A problem I had for a long time without knowing was dehydration - which gave me very bad fatigue and headaches - I now drink loads post ride - including milk - and Im fine.
Im 47 and no dedicated athelete - so age is playing a facor with me when recovering from a ride. I also think that everyone is different, some can handle endurance events much better than others.
Food for thought - I once read a Tour De France rider ( cant remenber who) saying that the tour was won through sleeping and eating. , i.e reat is a natural part of recovery

Jamey

piedwagtail91 wrote:

when i do my 100 mile rides...with water as and when. ( 8 bottles earlier this week).

I presume you don't have eight bottle cages so how do you refill them while you're out and about?

Do you carry more water in a backpack or do you buy water from a shop along the way, once your bottles are empty?

piedwagtail91

Jamey wrote:

piedwagtail91 wrote:

when i do my 100 mile rides...with water as and when. ( 8 bottles earlier this week).

I presume you don't have eight bottle cages so how do you refill them while you're out and about?

Do you carry more water in a backpack or do you buy water from a shop along the way, once your bottles are empty?

it's a ride i do every year so i know where i can get water.
usually from a drinking water tap at the toilets in dent and Horton, i only buy it as a last resort.
so i set off with 2 get 2 at dent and drink another bottle whilst I'm there, get 2 at Horton and drink another there.in cool weather i get round with just 2 bottles but this heat seems to be affecting me more this year, must be an age thing! but I've been dehydrated before and it won't happen again.
i used to use a backpack but it punctured and i never got another one.

Jamey

I see...

Dunno where I'd get water if I was riding those kind of distances. Probably have to buy it, I think.

piedwagtail91

there are lots of shops on the route that i could use but don't like paying for water!
i plan most of my longer rides to try and get a shop at about 50 miles and probably another at about 70 , but it usually works out that there are more than that especially as garages now have shops.

andrewc3142

As above, breakfast. A good quality muesli with yoghurt or kefir about 30 mins before setting off sees me through my commute (30 miles) to lunchtime.

IMHO all the fancy energy this and that bars, potions and lotions are no substitute for real food, in the right quantities and at the right times, plus plenty of good, old-fashioned water. True, the fancy stuff will give you a short term sugar rush if you really, really need it (lucozade is good in an emergency and much cheaper) but better is to avoid having to do that.

Also as above, 80 miles is a good distance, especially if you don't often do it, so don't be hard on yourself.

After a ride, a smoothie is another good option, esp if you can find a place that squeezes them fresh.

Finally, almost any quantity of alcohol the evening before will take its toll during a long morning ride ...

willbevan

CrookedCucumber wrote:

You know, since I started looking at this forum, I've been amazed at the number of people who express dismay that their bodies cannot easily transcend the limitations of nature.

If I got up at 6am and cycled 80 miles, then felt like I needed a bit of a lie down, I'd consider that par for the course.

Give yourself a break already!

Hadn't look at it like that, made me chuckle at my self

willbevan

andrewc3142 wrote:

Finally, almost any quantity of alcohol the evening before will take its toll during a long morning ride ...

hhehe, only done that once when i used to do a lot of running, get about 16 miles out, on top of a hill and completely faded, was under 4 miles home and a lot of it down hill , but just sat on the grass and watching the cloudes go buy, then loads and loads of cyclist going up and down the hill (looking at the date of the run in my log book from back then, think it must of been the forest of dean challenege this time last year)... did i get home, well after many hours of walking, and then a rest for 5 times as long

Now who would of thought i would of given up running, and be cycling a year later (becuase i put on the weight i lost when i started running)


Going back to other peopls posts, i do ensure i have eaten a lot of carbs for a couple of days leading up to the longer rides, and the rest of the week i do watch what i eat, makin sure getting plenty of wholegrains in, decent amount of protein etc.

Think its partly not used to the distance, not a decent amount of food straight after coming off the bike, and also well lets not forget a decent breakfast!

Will try all these and let you guys know how i get on, will try a bit more of a structured eating on the bike (i know there fangley stuff), but eating a bit of a bar ever 20 mins rather than thinking, oh i should eat now or i might feel tired

hwangeruk

CrookedCucumber wrote:

You know, since I started looking at this forum, I've been amazed at the number of people who express dismay that their bodies cannot easily transcend the limitations of nature.

If I got up at 6am and cycled 80 miles, then felt like I needed a bit of a lie down, I'd consider that par for the course.

Give yourself a break already!

You took the words right out of my mouth.
You did 79 miles, (which if divided by 3 for effort, is 25 miles running, ie a marathon) and then you are concerned that you are a tad tired?

My boss runs the London marathon, and then he has to take 2 days off!! Let alone feeling a little drowsy in the afternoon LOL


Age/Diet/Genetics/Previous fitness levels will all play a massive part in this.
In much the same way I cannot run the 100 meters under 10 seconds, your body might not cope like the other elite athletes on this forum who can cycle to Portsmouth for a party from London LOL

I do an 11 mile commute, and if I ever did anything close to 79 miles, I would at least expect to be on Parkinson doing an interview, that sort of mileage is a different world to me.

ilovesherbet

Out of interest does anyone else use a Camelback to help stay hydrated when out on a cycle. Never see anyone else with one when I'm out and about.

cumbriamike

When you are at work this morning tell your collegues that you cycles 80 miles yesterday. They will look at you as if you are mad or lying. I bet no one else did anything like that amount of exercise.
It's easy to lose perspective over cycling and the amount of exercise you are doing. I did 65 miles on Saturday and 60 on Sunday and feel shattered. There may be a very small percentage of people who can do vast amounts of exercise but they usually dedicate their lives to it.
80 miles is a lot of effort and you deserve to be tired.

Great point morrisje, I have been out for a quick fifty miles before the roads got busy this morning, a few months ago it would have been a long ride, now its an anticlimax & I want to push myself more & more.

willbevan

ilovesherbet wrote:

Out of interest does anyone else use a Camelback to help stay hydrated when out on a cycle. Never see anyone else with one when I'm out and about.

On my long rides i do, as i will go through 3L of drink over the ride, felt odd to start with but now im glad take it with me, don't need to worry about fitting everyting into a sadle bag, can take an extra tube or two, plenty of food Nothing heavy mind you (okay the 3L of water is 3kg lol)

willbevan

Anyway I took everyones advice for yesterdays long ride and did the following

Up at 6:30ish, ate a decent bowl of museli and let that settle

Got out at 8:30ish (was going to be 8, but found when checking over the bike the freehub was stiff so changed over to a spare set that i have thankfully!)

Kept eating throughout about the same as last week (maybe slightly less), 3L sports drinks

5hrs 12mins later im home, and got home.

While cleaning the bike and putting some rice into the rice cooker, grabed a pint and a half of milk and 0.5L sports drnk

then without about 30 mins of finishing the ride had a decent amount of rice (2 cooked cup fulls) and some curry lol

then the same about 2 hrs later

Didn't crash, yes drowsy still but looking at what people have said (couple below)

You did 79 miles, (which if divided by 3 for effort, is 25 miles running, ie a marathon) and then you are concerned that you are a tad tired?

You know, since I started looking at this forum, I've been amazed at the number of people who express dismay that their bodies cannot easily transcend the limitations of nature.

If I got up at 6am and cycled 80 miles, then felt like I needed a bit of a lie down, I'd consider that par for the course. Smile

Give yourself a break already!

I don't feel so bad now

Cheers all for your words of advice and encouragment!

Thanks

Will