Feeling ill after Ride

[adey12]

Looking for a bit of advise

I got back on a bike for the first time in a couple of years 3 weeks ago I started with a 7 mile loop but have built it up nicely to 20 mile rides without issue

my last two rides were 25 mile and 38 miles and after both of these rides I was totally wiped out for 2 and 3 hours respectively with headaches, lethargy ect ect my average speed is 14.2 mph on these distances

I have a banana midway through my ride and 600ml of liquid amino acids throughout (probably not enough for the 38 mile ride)

At the end of my ride I top up my fluids with another Amino acid drink with added glutamine plus some fast acting carbs in the form of fruit


I'm 35 and probably 2 stone overweight hence back on the bike I aim at least 3 rides PW

is this feeling normal should I keep pushing the miles or am I pushing myself to hard to fast ?

cheers

 

[13 rider]

Sounds to me your pushing it too much . Next time take take it steadier and see how you feel .Fitness take a while to return .Your suppose to enjoy your riding take a bit easier

 

[slowmotion]

Personally, I think you're trying far too hard at such an early stage of your return to cycling. I just bimbled about doing five mile commutes for a couple of months before doing a twenty. What you want to avoid is it becoming some kind of unpleasant chore. If you enjoy it, you'll do it more often.

Take it easy.

 

[cyberknight]

I would agree with the above, went on a club ride and joined the fast boys and im fecked , albeit just knackered and legs like lead.

 

[wam68]

Have to agree with slowmotion. Your pushing it to hard to quickly. If you continue stressing your body it will become a chore as opposed to enjoyment. Reduce it to 25 for a month and then up it slowly. Trust me you will get faster and be able to travel longer if you just take your time. Nice and slow, nice and slow

 

[adey12]

Appricate the replies

I do really enjoy the challenge of adding miles to my ride each time I go out and after iv recovered I do feel a real sense of achievement however probably chucking 15/20 miles on top of my normal ride all in one go was probably not the wisest of decisions lol

I do have a couple of nice rides in the 15 to 20 mile range ill drop back to them and just add a mile or so depending how I feel

I was pretty sure this was going to be the response lol

cheers

 

[vickster]

Try some proper food before and after the ride, ignore the supplement marketing nonsense. And drink more water to avoid the headaches

 

[cyberknight]

Try some proper food before and after the ride, ignore the supplement marketing nonsense. And drink more water to avoid the headaches

This rings true for me, after i got dropped i got stomach ache that did not settle till after "teatime " , i reckon i pushed it to much on too little.

 

[thatname]

Basically you are getting bonked (and not in the good way). When it happens during your ride its even worse especially when you are miles from home and its mid-winter, but that's another tale. These days I eat correctly before my ride and hydrate as much as possible too. Throughout my ride I'm regularly foraging around my pockets for flapjacks and energy gels to keep my fuel levels up and drinking little but often. If I am familiar with the route that I am riding I will fuel up a few miles before any challenging hill climb. My cycling buddy is different and tends not to eat or drink as much as me but we are all different. The thing is is that I need to be as fresh after the ride as I was before because I know that I still have much of the day left to spend with the missus who will have me up ladders cleaning windows or some other DIY job.

 

[ayceejay]

As you get fitter your body will learn to make better use of your energy but this fitness won't come over night. Carbohydrates will give you the fuel you need for your ride so a good breakfast of complex carbs is essential, you can take some simple carbs on your ride in case of emergency. It is possible that the amino acid drink you are taking will help with recovery but I don't see the need to take it while riding, water is probably all you need but if you sweat a lot you may need an electrolyte.
If you are anxious about weight loss or improving times this will not help as the stress will interfere with your energy level and possibly sleep and sleep is the obvious recovery state.
You might also think about varying your ride, it's distance and speed, although some advocate the long base miles technique this can be boring so try what the Swedes call fartlek (I know I know) which means speed play - so you blast up a short hill and wheee down the other side, stop for a coffee or to look at birds then with a tail wind (when you find one) go as fast as you can for as long as you can. In other words PLAY.

 

[iamRayRay]

The guys have given you the best advice possible, take your time a little and enjoy it more.

Certainly not a race to get around 28 miles. What sort of terrain are you going on as well? If you are talking about 15% gradient hills for the majority of the time then no doubt you are feeling ill!

I went for a casual 23 miles on the weekend, no rush whatsoever (apart from when I powered past 2 cyclists :P) and it was possibly one of my most enjoyable rides in the countryside!

Slow the average speed down by 1mph and see how you get on.

Eat well and rest well!

 

[Citius]

Step away from the 'amino acids' and 'glutamine' drinks - seriously. If you've only been riding three weeks, just ignore stuff like that. I don't even know what they are.

 

[thatname]

The guys have given you the best advice possible, take your time a little and enjoy it more.

Certainly not a race to get around 28 miles. What sort of terrain are you going on as well? If you are talking about 15% gradient hills for the majority of the time then no doubt you are feeling ill!

I went for a casual 23 miles on the weekend, no rush whatsoever (apart from when I powered past 2 cyclists :P) and it was possibly one of my most enjoyable rides in the countryside!

Slow the average speed down by 1mph and see how you get on.

Eat well and rest well!

This is a very good point. When I cycle on my own I tend to push myself quit a bit but never too much that I bonk miles from home. When I ride with my mate i drop my pace to his which is around 2mph less than my usual average. I find it makes a huge difference to me physically during and after the ride.

 

[iamRayRay]

This is a very good point. When I cycle on my own I tend to push myself quit a bit but never too much that I bonk miles from home. When I ride with my mate i drop my pace to his which is around 2mph less than my usual average. I find it makes a huge difference to me physically during and after the ride.

Spot on, I did the same a while back with a female rider who I bumped into along the way. She was actually following me and I got lost, meaning that she got lost hahah!
We did a few miles together and I normally average 15-16mph but dropped to her speed which was 12mph. Made a huge difference, she was standing a lot of the time up mild slopes whilst I was chilling out.

Over 10-15 miles probably not much difference, but 25+ miles at a slower speed will leave you so much in the tank!

 

[thatname]

That's the only thing I cannot do when it comes to matching my mates speed and that's hill climbs. I can be like a ferret up a drain pipe in comparison so end up chilling out at the top waiting for him. The easier inclines are fine and we can take the opportunity in the dropped pace to chat before cranking it up on the flatter/downhill sections.