Feeling empty straight away when riding..

anto164

Every now and then (Like today) i go for a ride, but feel like i'm running on empty straight away.. 1 mi in, and it feels like i've already done 40mi, so i only could manage an hour long ride today, struggling to keep an average of 17.5mph.. (normally easily staying at 18) Probably didn't help that i didn't eat loads this morning, but i ate just under the normal amount for a sat morning for me.

Just wondering what other people do when or if you get like this sometimes. Whether it's eat more, or any kind of supplements? BTW, i struggle to eat when i ride, i just struggle like mad to breathe when riding.

Cheers.

unixnerd

What did you eat and how long before riding did you eat it?

anto164

Had a ham sandwich and a few rounds of toast (The hovis oat bread) with a yoghurt and a half pint of tropicana orange juice about an hour before i went for a ride.

That normally sees me fine for 40mi.

schweiz

Sometimes your body is just telling you to take it easy!

Some days I just can't seem to get my legs turning so I either do one of two things:

1) Go for a gentle spin up and down the valley

2) Go home and do something else (like go for a walk)

Equally other days it's the opposite, I don't really feel great but once I get going it all comes together.

Today was like that. It was hot, I could feel it was going to be hot lying in bed at 7am. Due to other commitments, I knew I couldn't get started until 9am at the earliest (it ended up being 9.40!) I had to realy convince myself to go out.

I spun all the way to the bottom of a local pass and just did it. 90km and another pass later (2240m climbing for the day) I was cooked (36 degrees in the valley), but I had a great day and knocked 8 mins of my time for the 2nd pass without even trying for a fast time.

Sometimes, you have good days, sometimes you have bad days, just accept them both and don't worry!

kettrinboy

my advice would be just to press on through the tired patch and after 5- 10 miles or so you should be warmed up to the ride but you have to accept some days are gonna be off days, on quite a few rides i really feel like turning back after 2-3 miles into a ride cos of aching legs but i know if i just carry on i will soon get into the ride, on morning rides up to 30 miles i often dont eat at all before i go out but dont find that it affects my pace much , like today 28.5 mile ride@ ave sp 19.4 mph and felt tired in the legs early on, but the feeling tired at the start of the ride melted away after 6 or 7 miles then i was ok for the rest of the ride.

Barteos

Are you stressed?

Barteos

Barteos wrote:

Are you stressed?

The reason I'm asking is that I've been experiencing similar problems, regularly for quite a few years now and I needed a while to realize that they are work stress related.
In my case it feels like sort of mild to heavy bonking within first 5-30min into the ride regardless of what/when and how much I eat during the day and on the bike.

anto164

Tbh, i am a bit cheesed off at work as i've been moved to a really boring department within the last week, but not stressed. It doesn't really bother me as i'm jobhunting anyway..

Felt a bit lacking on thursday when i went out for a ride, but nowhere near as out-of-puff as i was today..

Just gonna accept that i had an off day but i had a few rest days this week, so i'm a bit confused as to where my performance was..

At least i was back in time to watch the F1 and TdF.

speedy21

i get that with all exercise unless i warm up properly, i bet ur trying to go at a tidy pace quite early into ur ride, forget about speed for the first 25 mins and just take it easy, just turn the pedals in a very easy gear and after a while you'll find it to easy, then go 1 gear harder for a while. if you do this for 20 - 25 mins ul be nicelly warmed up and ready to go,
i kno it sounds obvious but i often think im ready before i am and try to up the pace and it leaves me feeling like im running on empty before ive really started

speedy21

i get that with all exercise unless i warm up properly, i bet ur trying to go at a tidy pace quite early into ur ride, forget about speed for the first 25 mins and just take it easy, just turn the pedals in a very easy gear and after a while you'll find it to easy, then go 1 gear harder for a while. if you do this for 20 - 25 mins ul be nicelly warmed up and ready to go,
i kno it sounds obvious but i often think im ready before i am and try to up the pace and it leaves me feeling like im running on empty before ive really started

mattbibbings

I feel your pain! I had the same experience today myself. On a ride home from work (I teach outdoor ed so had been kayaking this afternoon) I had a big climb (200ish meters in 2miles with some gradients that will lift you front wheel if you don't hunch) straight away so I expected to go dead slow up this and feel crap. But I came over the top to a head wind and after the first descent I never really recovered and was then demoted to bottom gear for the other 3 climbs on the ride (it's something like 1500ft in 15 miles) but I HAD to ride home. Felt like a total beginner and had legs of lead lined concrete.

So this happens once every few weeks and I just put it down to general tiredness (even if I have rested). It was also mighty hot and muggy this afternoon and that makes a big difference to me as I am 6ft, 13 stone and quite thick set so I don't deal with heat well.

Tonight I have eaten a big pasta and chicken meal and had a few NUUNs (electrolyte drinks) and might go out again tomorrow night for an easy one. It happens!