I had the MOST PAINFULL sportive EVER!!

denzzz28

I did the Wiggle no excuses today and i was supposed to do the Epic route (80miles). and I ended up doing the standard route due to a very strange cramps that i never felt and experience in my life. the last time i had a bad leg cramps is 1-2 years ago when I first started doing serious cycling and doing long miles. I was expecting that because i was not very fit. since that i have been cycling to work everyday, long weekend rides and sportive events and i have done a huge amount of miles on my legs averaging 100miles per week. and I never had cramps any more.

today was different. 10miles after the starting line my left leg started to cramp and when it disappears the other leg soon followed. it kept going left to right to left to right for about 20 more miles but i did not stop. i was trying not to use my calve muscle and just use more of my quads muscles but on the 30 mile both my quads started to cramp. twice i have to stop because the pain was just so unbearable and almost disabling. but i have to kept going and the last 15 miles was just pure torture as both calves and quad muscles are just aching so bad.

I was adequately hydrated and nourished prior and during the ride. i did all "proper" stretching before i started (as I always do), I was properly rested 2 days before the event. I really prepared for this event as much as i can so i dont know what happened to me? i hope a good night sleep will take all the pain away because I need to cycle to work tomorrow

Buckled_Rims

Not too sure, but my first thought is a wrong riding position. It might be suitable for 100 miles a week (which to be honest is not that far) but not suitable for a 100 miler.

denzzz28

Buckled_Rims wrote:

Not too sure, but my first thought is a wrong riding position. It might be suitable for 100 miles a week (which to be honest is not that far) but not suitable for a 100 miler.

im usingdifferent bikes for commuting and my weekend rides. my weekend bike is the one i use for sportives and i have already done about 5 long sportives and a lot of long weekend rides with that bike with no problem at all. (I was even pushing a beginner rider from the buttom of boxhill to the top a week ago). prior to this bike i had a cannondale super six with a wrong size frame for me, this was the bike i first used when i started doing long miles and a couple of sportives, but even with that i did not experiece such pain.

Bordersroadie

Try moving your cleats back a few mm.

For me, just 5mm back in the shoe made the differnce between regular calf cramp and never getting it again.

thiscocks

personally I never stretch before, only after (but I guess it could work for some people). Did you start off really hard? If you just went slowly to start with then it should be ok... I think it is pointless stretching before as the muscles are cold and you probably end up doing more damage than good.

P.S. Measure the saddle-pedal and seat nose-handlebar length on both bikes and make sure they are as equal as possible.

Tom Butcher

So you've done other sportives and ridden 100 miles a week with no problems ?

I wouldn't make any changes on the basis of this one ride - see how things go - if your position was fine a few weeks or 6 months ago then it's fine now - sounds like the problem was with you - maybe a virus, injury or something, who knows.

cwm

from my experience i get regular musclar issuses when riding,various degrees of cramps/strains/grinding behind knee cap etc....
felt my right hammy twinge last week and by the end of the ride 'it' had moved down my right leg to my calf,back up to the lhs of my groin and finished of in my left calf with a few twinges in my thighs on 'its' way round, dont know why this is but they are painful on times and i have to get my foam roller out to give my legs a good bashing.
wear n tear,age,who knows.
no help to you but it happens

Flexisurfer

I had a similar situation last year, though not on a bike. My wife and I were on holiday in the US and our return to the UK from Orlando meant a flight to Miami. Due to bad weather the flight was late getting into Miami and we had to run to another terminal to catch the flight back to London. Before I could get within 200 meters of the departure gate my quads seized up, I mean really seized up, it felt like someone was twisting them hard. I managed to stagger to the gate luckily enough the poor weather had delayed the London flight. I've never felt pain like it nor have I experienced it since.

In relation to your issue, did you do something different prior to the race that you haven't done before? Was it a long drive to the start, and what was the weather like? You might never feel like that again so I wouldn't worry too much about changing what you normally do.

sampras38

Late reply but a friend recently had the same problem and dropped his seat by a couple of mill. Stretching will help (don't over stretch) but tight hamstrings can often be caused by seats either too high or too far back. Try lowering and see what happens.

giropaul

If everything is usually ok you've got to ask what was different on this occasion.

E.g. - did you have enough clothing, were you wearing shorts when you should have had leg warmers? Did you have too much clothing on top, so you sweated a lot and lost electrolytes? (unlikely if it was early on the ride).
Did you start too fast? What did you eat before the ride?

sampras38

It might just be an idea to keep an eye on it on future rides and if you get the injury in the same place again it's most likely nothing to do with you being low on any kind of electrolyte. I would reckon it's more to do with a pulled muscle or slightly wrong bike fit.

ut_och_cykla

My guess would be - you went out too hard. Hubby had same thing on a half marathon. Up a start group so he didn't have to walk the first few metres as on previous years. Tenth year in a row, well trained, fit etc but BANG! cramp the first kilometre. He did finish - but it required enormous mental effort. This year he started slow - no problems.

Don't change anything - as others have suggested - keep an eye on things -