A sub-optimal commute

[al78]

Felt really tired in my legs today on the way home from work, struggling to get much above 10 mph on inclines I would normally do around 14-15 mph, plus felt the need to freewheel down every hill, even the smaller ones. Average was 14.6 mph, which is the lowest ever for a commute home (it is a net descent, normal average is 16.5-17 mph). It is really odd as I had a rest day on Sunday which is the first time I have rested fully on Sunday for several weeks. Aren't you supposed to feel better after a rest? I'm hoping I feel better tomorrow, it is only Tuesday today and there are three more commutes until the weekend. At least next weekend I get an extra day off.

The only thing that was really different last weekend was that Saturday was a really full day with a 5:30am start to help marshal a local TT. Other than that, everything else has been normal, eating habits are unchanged from the week before, when I felt much stronger; the previous Sunday I had done a ten mile walk and 34 mile round trip on the bike and managed to cycle to work the rest of the week no problem.

Hope it is a temporary blip.

 

[fossyant]

OK = Your age ? and how many years have you been cycling these miles etc.... Just asking as I've been racing/training/commuting since my teens, and I'll tell you, commuting was much harder as a youngster for the lactic acid - not an issue now at 41 !!!! (Stop/start..) (Doh....let a trade secret out !)

First question ?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I took a day off the bike over the weekend. My legs took two. Maybe it was the rest day wot dun it.

Also, the wind is a great sapper of energy - 30% more effort to go 3 mph slower can be pretty discouraging. You might have to wait till the wind dies down before you can get some tangible reward for the extra effort you've had to put in.

 

[al78]

OK = Your age ? and how many years have you been cycling these miles etc.... Just asking as I've been racing/training/commuting since my teens, and I'll tell you, commuting was much harder as a youngster for the lactic acid - not an issue now at 41 !!!! (Stop/start..) (Doh....let a trade secret out !)

First question ?

I'm 33, and my first attempt to cycle to work was on the 31st March 2006. Back then I had a 24 mile round trip (did it 2-4 times/week) but three years ago moved house which put me two miles closer to work.

It is only recently I have managed to cycle to work all five days. Up until February this year I had problems with poor recovery ability and general fatigue (some days I felt like I had just come off a night flight from California) but improved dramatically since then. I'm now doing about 100-150 miles per week and am very close to the point where I could get rid of the car. This is why I say I hope it is a temporary blip and not a return to the days when I used to wake up in the morning feeling like I had five hours of jet lag.

 

[fossyant]

OK - IT'S A BLIP.

Really is.......

Weather has been hard - WINDY. Carry on. You have done enough.

It's not meant to get easy.

I have a good laugh with 3 or 4 neighbours that get wasted by me on the last 1 mile climb home - they always catch me sat at the traffic lights near home..... Never gets easier, you just get faster. DO IT !. They catch me and we then have a chat the last mile home - I warm down... and ride shot gun as a more experienced cyclist.

 

[XmisterIS]

al78 - I notice you mention eating habits in your OP. IMHO, "you are what you eat" - what you put into your body plays a HUGE part in how you feel, how you perform, etc (I can't over-emphasise the "HUGE" enough!). What is a typical day's food intake for you? What do you eat and how much of it do you eat and when do you eat it?