Getting worse not better!

miss notax

Hello

I've been mtbing since about October last year - literally starting from scratch, I hadn't ridden a bike in about 25 years before that :shock: I think i've been doing ok, I ride once a week and am pretty good at more technical stuff, but my fitness is definitely letting me down.

However over the last few weeks I seem to be getting worse not better :? It doesn't help that I am having a few probs with a trapped sciatic nerve so only one leg is really working, but I hills I can usually do, I am now usually struggling on.

It's gutting as i'm off to the Alps mtbing in a months time - I'm going to be the least experienced and worse rider anyway! I keep on thinking that it doesn't matter what anyone else can do - I just want to improve MY riding - but it is making me a little panicky!

Anyone else had a similar thing? It's just a matter of sticking ti out I guess....

Surf-Matt

Try surfing - been at it for nearly twenty years and I still surf like a complete spanner at least half the time

RichMTB

How often are you riding?

You might be tiring yourself out with too much riding and so you fitness isn't progressing

miss notax

Surf-Matt wrote:

Try surfing - been at it for nearly twenty years and I still surf like a complete spanner at least half the time

Ha - I used to surf at Uni 8) Tried in Australia last year for the first time in years, and quickly concluded that I am now too old to spend hours bobbing around in the sea only to end up getting twatted by the board and lots of sand in places it shouldn't be.... :shock:

Rich - I only ride once or twice a week, and try to do a spinning class as well. I think it's quite a fast group I ride with (and my OH is the guide) so I am constantly playing catch up!

Surf-Matt

Sarah - surely your back problem isn't helping though?
If it's affecting one leg you'll be unbalanced and less efficient as well as having lower morale.

I wouldn't beat yourself up even more by worrying about being slower - just concentrate on trying to get that back sorted, take a breather on pushing the riding and then come back fighting.

I hurt my knee earlier this year due to an instability I didn't know I had. Really set me back with my running (riding was okay though) but now it's much more stable and therefore stronger, the times are now dropping rapidly to the point of setting new PBs on various routes.

Take it easy - training hard with an injury is bad news. I ignored a damaged shoulder for ages and paid for it big time with many years of pain and weakness.

Surfing in two hours - hopefully not as badly as usual..

miss notax

Hmmmm, maybe

Enjoy your surf

Chris`I

Practice practice practice.

Do you ride on your own or in a group at the moment? Riding on your own you will never have half the incentive to push on as if you were in a group. I ride on my own to get my fitness up, but with my Garmin 205 computer I can program courses into it with a target time and train against that. I try to knock off about a half a minute a go atm over a few different 30-45min courses as I know I'm really unfit and can get back to where I was a few years ago relatively easily, just need to push on and not stop on hills or anything like that. You just need to keep pushing yourself to do better every time and try not to think about it too much.

Saying that, if you are injurred take it easy as you will do more harm than good. Seek medical attention and advice for how to recover

miss notax

Chris`I wrote:

Practice practice practice.

Do you ride on your own or in a group at the moment? Riding on your own you will never have half the incentive to push on as if you were in a group. I ride on my own to get my fitness up, but with my Garmin 205 computer I can program courses into it with a target time and train against that. I try to knock off about a half a minute a go atm over a few different 30-45min courses as I know I'm really unfit and can get back to where I was a few years ago relatively easily, just need to push on and not stop on hills or anything like that. You just need to keep pushing yourself to do better every time and try not to think about it too much.

Saying that, if you are injurred take it easy as you will do more harm than good. Seek medical attention and advice for how to recover

Thanks - some good advice

I ride in a group, but they are all super-fast and so I am always way behind at the back (which does get a little miserable at times!)! We always regroup at every stage though, so safety wise it's a good system.

Larok

If you ask around perhaps you could find some other women who would like to get into biking with you. If you don't ask, you don't get .!

delcol

hi sarah

you say you been suffering with your back i would defo rest up and get that sorted its the little untreated injuries that can turn into nasty injuries,.. try to get some physio or something with it...

i only started riding 18 month ago and built my fitness up over the months but when my bro changed his job in dec last year he lost the van so we couldnt go mtbin (cant get a rack on my car or my bro's) this left me with just the commute to and from work over christmas i opted to use black beauty to drive to and from work the bike stayed in the shed for 2 weeks i then had to use up my holidays,. so was off work i stripped the scott road bike down to replace the drivetrain that took a few weeks to get all the parts and find the time to build the bike up again,. then i had more hols so was off the bike again i was of the bike for around 5-6weeks when i got back on the bike to commute i struggled i was gutted by my times.
my best time when i was at my fittest was 17min 31sec to do the 6 mile commute home i averaged 18 -1830 sec daily but now i wa struggling to hit 22 mins.... i needed to put more time in-in the saddle so started to use the turbo trainer this helped i still have not yet reached my fitness level of last year but am slowly getting there we my brother and i went halfs and got a little van to ship the bikes in so we could go mountain biking again and i commute daily to work on my rb i still need to find more time in the saddle though to improve my fitness.

the more you ride the better and quicker you become, just be sure to sort that back out first rest rest and more rest. then start to gradually build your fitness up you will improve and reep your rewards.

stumpyjon

Just a thought, you're not suffering from hay fever are you? Seems more and more people are developing it for the first time this year. It can affect different people at different times of the year as well as people are allergic to different types of pollen. I think earlier in the year it was tree pollen, grass pollen is now pretty bad. If you are suffering it's going to affect your ability to breathe and that's going to make everything harder.

FSR_XC

Sarah
hope you have seen the doc about your back. I'd rest it .

As for your fitness, the problem might be that you are doing more or less the same riding all the time.

Try varying the distance, the terrain, the speed and how often you ride. The best way of getting fitter is to push yourself. Doing the same ride regularly will help initially, but your body will get used to this.

Ride with different people and also on your own. Go to different places. If you have a regular route, do it the other direction.

Good luck getting fitter.

Rich Hcp

I agree, vary the route, terrain and the amount of time in the saddle.

I'm lucky in that I have a Road Bike and a MTB, so I choose which I feel like riding.

Sometimes I only get time for 50 minutes to an hour, a quick buzz round one of mu routes really helps and is better than doing nothing

Do that few times in the week and a longer run at weekends will generally aintain the fitness you have.

If you have an injury, you have to back off and you must get it treated.

Back problems don't fix themselves, they just move somewhere else and get worse

See a physio or Cyropractor.

Otherwise it'l ruin your trip...

I really hope you get this sorted and good luck

dave_hill

Give it a rest for a while. I have no doubt that your trapped nerve is having an effect on your performance, and it may be that you are "overtraining" with your spinning classes.

When I was involved in archery and shooting, if I was getting poor results I used to give up for a bit, and stop concentrating on trying to analyze what I was doing wrong. After a week or two of not thinking about it I'd pick my bow or my rifle up again and after a couple of hours practice I'd be back into the groove.

Or, as some of the other guys have suggested, try doing something different - a change is as good as a rest!

dave_hill

Give it a rest for a while. I have no doubt that your trapped nerve is having an effect on your performance, and it may be that you are "overtraining" with your spinning classes.

When I was involved in archery and shooting, if I was getting poor results I used to give up for a bit, and stop concentrating on trying to analyze what I was doing wrong. After a week or two of not thinking about it I'd pick my bow or my rifle up again and after a couple of hours practice I'd be back into the groove.

Or, as some of the other guys have suggested, try doing something different - a change is as good as a rest!

Chaka Ping

Maybe try mixing a little swimming into your exercise regime, I've had a host of back problems and always found it helped.

You're not just getting demotivated being so far behind the others on your regular ride are you?

Try going out by yourself, at your own pace. That might take the pressure off and let you concentrate more on the actual riding.

tjm

I also ride with someone who is much faster than me. He has done triathlons etc for 10 years whereas I have vegetated!
I found that I was subconsciously trying to keep up all the time and my performance was getting worse, not better.
I deliberately forced myself to go at my pace, particularly on hills - pushing until my legs feel uncomfortable but never so much I can't make the hill with a small reserve. My mate is instructed to ride at his pace and not wait for me until the top - that way my speed does not slowly creep up as I subconsciously try to match his pace.
Just in a couple of weeks (one or two rides a week) I am finding I can make hills I couldn't before and my mate is waiting less so I am obviously improving.
it is also less demotivating, if it is clear to both you and your mates that you are riding at your pace, not theirs then there is much less guilt when you get to the top of a hill and they are waiting. It is also not such a problem that they start off again as soon as you get there as you have the reserve to keep going.

miss notax

Thanks guys, lots of really REALLY good advice here

I'm off to see my GP this afternoon, and have another chiropractor appointment booked for next week. On a postive I can also now *almost* stand on tip-toe with my left leg now, so something has changed for the better over the last few days!

We have a long weekend booked for next week, so that'll give me a good 5 days of resting with no mtbing or spinning which I think, having read everyones comments, may be really good timing. I hope applying the suntan lotion and picking up the G&T's won't be too strenuous though....

miss notax

sarah75 wrote:

Thanks guys, lots of really REALLY good advice here

I'm off to see my GP this afternoon, and have another chiropractor appointment booked for next week. On a postive I can also now *almost* stand on tip-toe with my left leg now, so something has changed for the better over the last few days!

We have a long weekend booked for next week, so that'll give me a good 5 days of resting with no mtbing or spinning which I think, having read everyones comments, may be really good timing. I hope applying the suntan lotion and picking up the G&T's won't be too strenuous though....

Interesting point about riding with others too. I do try and match their pace (but can't) which I find both knackering and rather de-motivating. I wouldn't be happy riding alone, but I might try and ride with my OH more. He's happy to match my pace and to help instruct me rather than just zooming off when we're in a group.

lexiekay

Hi Sarah,
I know what you mean! I generally ride with people who are much better than me, and it can sometimes be a bit soul-destroying knowing that i'm always going to be the slowest, and the least technically able. Especially so after i've had a particularly nasty fall!
I try and get out at least once a week for a ride on my own, going at my own pace, and although at first i was a bit worried about heading off into the countryside on my own, I've totally grown to love it! It lets me get stuff sorted in my head, and no one minds how fast i go or whether i spend hours messing around trying to weave in and out of puddles.... It also helps my fitness too as my usual routes are about 20-25 miles (some on road and some off road).
Having said that though, everyone I've met through mtb'ing has been really great, always encouraging me and giving me tips on how to improve, and never making out that i'm slowing them down.
Your fitness will definitely improve over time, but i would definitely recommend taking some time out every so often to rediscover why riding your bike is so much fun

Eranu

Where do you ride in Hampshire Sarah? Maybe try some different places like others have mentioned, mix it up a bit.