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Muscle fatigue, any ideas?

ElushionElushion Posts: 115
edited May 2015 in Training, fitness and health
Experienced racing cyclist. Probably raced 7 seasons now. Was flying last week majorly competitive, this weekend dropped in first 5 mile. Tonights club race dropped after 2 minutes. Extreme muscle tiredness. Feel like I have rode 90 mile prior to starting the race. Breathing and heart rate not even getting the chance to get high before legs blow out. Never ever experienced anything like this. Any ideas?
"It was eleven more than necessary."

-Jacques Anquetil (after winning a race by twelve
seconds."

Posts

  • imposter2.0imposter2.0 Posts: 11,012
    viewtopic.php?f=40011&t=13026617
  • JayKostaJayKosta Posts: 635
    Age?
    Any medicine changes?
    Any recent illness?
    Sleep reduction?
    etc.

    Jay Kosta
    Endwell NY USA
  • sloppyschleckondssloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    JayKosta wrote:
    Age?
    Any medicine changes?
    Any recent illness?
    Sleep reduction?
    etc.

    Jay Kosta
    Endwell NY USA

    A lot of variables there Jay
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • ElushionElushion Posts: 115
    22, no medicine intake what so ever. Had the cold 2 - 3 weeks ago and took a week of, been out since then to 2 or 3 races and been fine. Sleep completely normal.

    Legs feel fine of the bike, and even at 18-19 mph feel grand. The minute the pace goes 21-22 my muscles go weak. Very weird.
    "It was eleven more than necessary."

    -Jacques Anquetil (after winning a race by twelve
    seconds."
  • colinsmith123colinsmith123 Posts: 579
    Elushion wrote:
    22, no medicine intake what so ever. Had the cold 2 - 3 weeks ago and took a week of, been out since then to 2 or 3 races and been fine. Sleep completely normal.

    Legs feel fine of the bike, and even at 18-19 mph feel grand. The minute the pace goes 21-22 my muscles go weak. Very weird.

    When was the last time you spent 2-3 or even 4 days off your bike? My own mantra in this same situation is, 'I don't get fitter by training harder, I get fitter by recovering properly'. I am in the same situation as you are. Recovery ride yesterday rest today. Easy ride tomorrow, race on Sunday.
    Live to ski
    Ski to live
  • FransJacquesFransJacques Posts: 2,148
    You are under rested. Take some very focussed timeoff for 4-5 days and buy a muscle roller and learn to use it.

    You're strong but you're human. Also, given the time of year, back off on volume but really hit the high intensity interval work. That might help with your race pace. But rest, take some Vit C, b6, B12 etc. and stretch and use the muscle roller.

    Best of luck, let us know how you get on.
    When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.
  • mrwibblemrwibble Posts: 980
    Iron deficiency maybe? Sports persons can suffer due to working out everyday... You would need to see your doctor about this before taking supplements.
  • andyebandyeb Posts: 407
    What's your post race recovery routine?

    If you blow up suddenly when the intensity goes up, that would suggest being under fuelled and/or severely glycogen depleted.

    You can probably run on fat at lower intensities.
  • mrwibblemrwibble Posts: 980
    agree with the comments ^ probably not enough carbs going in. My nutritionist told me to up the carb content to about 7-8g per kg bodyweight on race days about 5g on normal days. Carb loading also important...
  • cyclecliniccycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    I had that problem today when the pace rose my legs failed. It felt like a lack of fuel. It took 3 hours to recover from that through eating and last few miles of a 112 mile ride i had legs again. You need fuel.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • JayKostaJayKosta Posts: 635
    Elushion wrote:
    Legs feel fine of the bike, and even at 18-19 mph feel grand. The minute the pace goes 21-22 my muscles go weak. Very weird.
    As others have mentioned, it might be lack of rest/recovery, or inadequate carbs.
    But what you describe seems unusual if it happens early in a ride when you haven't previously expended a lot of calories/fuel - especially if you felt fine beforehand.

    Has there been any change in the pattern?

    Jay Kosta
    Endwell NY USA
  • CrazyRiderCrazyRider Posts: 6
    For me, Bike fitting is useful
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