Sickness and headaches

dannyharris
dannyharris Posts: 217
edited October 2012 in Road beginners
Only been on a few runs between 20 and 45 miles.
Most of the time I end up with a headache, and a few times been feeling rather sick.
Been having porridge about an hour and a half before the runs, drinking coffee and got chocolate about halF hour before the run. Also been drinking 75cl of water before the end and maybe a mars bar depending on how far i go.
When home another hot chocolate and banana.

Am I missing a trick here?

Comments

  • Rushmore
    Rushmore Posts: 674
    Hydrate more.. not just prior to your ride... All the time....

    As for feeling sick.. Could be down to diet? but quite often I'll be gagging when training...
    Always remember.... Wherever you go, there you are.

    Ghost AMR 7500 2012
    De Rosa R838
  • Mikey41
    Mikey41 Posts: 690
    Keep having a mouthful of fluid during the run, I have a mix of fresh orange and water in my bottle. Don't have the chocolate either, it does bad things to your blood sugar. Once you are back, have a glass of water and I've heard milk is good post-ride.
    Giant Defy 2 (2012)
    Giant Defy Advanced 2 (2013)
    Giant Revel 1 Ltd (2013)
    Strava
  • TakeTurns
    TakeTurns Posts: 1,075
    -Hydrate more while riding. Should be 600/1000ml per hour depending on heat/exertion level

    -Try not to have coffee pre-ride, it might be the caffeine affecting you

    -Also the sugar inside the chocolate will give you a sudden rush of energy and then a sudden down. Peanut butter on toast would be better.

    These are just some tips and assumptions, it may be that it's something else. Experiment and see if things go better. Also I'm assuming you're still new to riding, 45miles seems a bit much so either decrease the miles or ease the pace.
  • I had the same re headaches and decided to get some SIS Go hydro tablets to stick in my water bottles, since using these I've had no post rides headaches.
  • Thanks for the tips.
    Well update the thread after my next ride.
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    Yup sounds like hydration, as a beginner you may be sweating more too. For 20 miles to 40 I don't have/need any "food" whilst riding, just tend to have porridge to start and seems enoigh, with the mandatory cake at the end. Unless you are of course riding at 20mph + :-)
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    TakeTurns wrote:
    -Hydrate more while riding. Should be 600/1000ml per hour depending on heat/exertion level

    -Try not to have coffee pre-ride, it might be the caffeine affecting you

    -Also the sugar inside the chocolate will give you a sudden rush of energy and then a sudden down. Peanut butter on toast would be better.

    These are just some tips and assumptions, it may be that it's something else. Experiment and see if things go better. Also I'm assuming you're still new to riding, 45miles seems a bit much so either decrease the miles or ease the pace.

    This. To expand upon the mars bar point, most chocolate bars are high in both calories and fat, yet relatively low in quality carbs making them a terrible choice for pre and during ride snacks. If you want some sort of snack bar look to Torq, PowerBar, or one of the other sports specific type bars (preferably a 2:1). If you're looking to save a bit of coin then a banana or dates (medjool) are the way to go.

    Also, make your porridge with water instead of milk (exercise on dairy is not ideal), and be sure to hydrate properly before the ride.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • g00se
    g00se Posts: 2,221
    If you're getting a headache (pumping rather than hangover type) during exercise it might be worth having your blood pressure checked the next time you pass a chemist.
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    g00se wrote:
    If you're getting a headache (pumping rather than hangover type) during exercise it might be worth having your blood pressure checked the next time you pass a chemist.

    Why is that then?
  • g00se
    g00se Posts: 2,221
    zx6man wrote:
    g00se wrote:
    If you're getting a headache (pumping rather than hangover type) during exercise it might be worth having your blood pressure checked the next time you pass a chemist.

    Why is that then?

    Exercise induced headaches:

    http://www.migrainetrust.org/research-a ... 2011-13815

    Simply - high blood pressure can cause headaches, if your blood pressure is a bit higher than normal, the extra exertion from the exercise pushed up your blood pressure and sets off a headache. Exercise is very good for blood pressure - I should now :) - but if it's already higher than it should be, it's worth knowing about it.

    Then again, some folks just get headaches when they exercise. Or a brain tumour... I was just saying it's worth a check.
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    Just wondered really as normal hypertension has rarely any symptoms, so I wasn't sure if that was the case with exercise :-)
  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,098
    Caffeine also dehydrates you so I'd bin the coffee. Chocolate is a bad idea as well, as others say go for nana, oatcake, nutrition bar, etc (although I find most 'sports bars' ought to be renamed 'dog choc' :shock: or something, much prefer cereal bars or malt loaf, etc)

    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    SecretSam wrote:
    Caffeine also dehydrates you so I'd bin the coffee. Chocolate is a bad idea as well, as others say go for nana, oatcake, nutrition bar, etc (although I find most 'sports bars' ought to be renamed 'dog choc' :shock: or something, much prefer cereal bars or malt loaf, etc)

    Good call, caffiene is a deuretic.
  • Those that think caffeine (or at any rate, the amount of caffeine in moderate amounts of coffee) is a diuretic, or results in dehydration, might like to look through the references cited here.
    Is the gorilla tired yet?
  • Would seem hydration was the issue.
    Went for a slow 20 mile ride today lots of water an hour before I went out. Frequent sips from the bottle also helped.

    Thanks guys.
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    Nice one.