When I get knackered....

[Travs]

So this is something that I'm trying to analyse a bit. Obviously I want to be able to ride for ever at 25mph and that's not going to happen but i want to be able to improve and understanding what's failings will help.

So yesterday I went for a ride. 69miles, 2500ft climb so nothing particularly verticle. I was motoring on for the first half but started to tire from about 50miles onwards.

I didn't bonk. I know what that feels like and dread it. For context, I'd had a good feed the night before, a small bowl of porridge and Trek flapjack bar in the morning, a gel just before I left, had two 750bidons with carbs in the water another Trek flapjack bar about mile 30, and a gel with caffeine about mile 50 when I was starting to flag.

So my heart rate was dropping, legs were starting to burn when pushing on. I could do short sprints up kick-ups but effort like that just hit the legs with burn. After a bit of recovery I could press on a bit but too much and I would just start to flag. It's like my sprinting/high power ability is just shortening in time.

Now what I want to know is, from anyone's experience, what's happening? Yes I'm generally getting knackered, but is this down to muscle fatigue, energy system running out of glycogen, running out of energy and a good feed would help?
I would think of this HR drift would be a sign of bonking or running out of fuel but it was, if anything, starting to lower.

Just trying to understand and therefore adapt my training to bring up my weak points.

Cheers.

 

[raleighnut]

Did you start off a bit too quick or 'warm-up' for the first 5 miles?

 

[Travs]

Fairly settled opening. Not necessarily as a deliberate warm-up but it was getting out of town and I knew I had a bit of distance to cover; once I was out onto the country roads I could speed up a bit more.

 

[Travs]

Hopefully this works...

https://www.strava.com/activities/623624414/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-GB

 

[jarlrmai]

Hmm your warm up seems a bit short, what had you done in the previous week?

 

[Travs]

Admittedly the warmup wasn't structured like BC's 20-min job.
Hard hour each Tuesday and Wednesday, rest on Thursday, hard hour again on Friday and Saturday, rest on Sunday, recovery ride Monday, then the referred ride was yesterday.

There are going to be issues such as my training sessions tend to be on a Wattbike - better info and feedback (I don't have power meters on my bike yet and easier to time and perform intervals etc) but less real world cycling training. I get that but I try to mix it up and work myself hard to compensate.

 

[Dayvo]

You don't mention your age. If you're 25 then you're out of shape: if you're 55 then you're doing about the same as the rest of us.

Try spinning more often instead of grinding, and make the most of downhills/tailwinds.

 

[Globalti]

Yes, how old are you? See my post on Fitness,Training & Nutrition about age.

 

[Travs]

Fair point Dayvo - cheers.

A bit of background:
37yo, 5'11, 81kgs. Been riding in this guise but progressively more and more for almost 3 years. Previously to that smoked from 13 to 33; had always been active as a child but that went by the wayside for a number of years. Have played French Horn since 5 so have always had a fairly good set of lungs/diaphragm despite the smoking. No judgement on that - I'm aware how good I could be etc etc etc. I'm where I am now.

Cadence is an interesting thing - I find I generally sit mid 80's although generally a little higher on the road. Happy to work with gradient and wind. It was a northerly wind yesterday and was clockwise so you can see the last 1/3 was less fun. The last couple of miles in Chelmo was just trickling along inside traffic so is no indication.

What I'm looking to know is what is failing based on how I explained how I start to feel. Legs dying quickly with efforts but could recover after a bit. But my HR wasn't spiking like a HIIT spike, if that makes sense.

 

[ColinJ]

I think you are setting off too hard and are struggling to maintain that pace. You may not be bonking, but it sounds like you are flirting with it!

Warm up for longer, and hold yourself back a bit in the first half of your ride. If you have energy to spare later, you can always ramp up the pace after that very extended warm up.

 

[Travs]

Cheers Colin - you may be right, I was starting to hold back on drinking as I was starting to run low. I genuinely didn't think my nutrition was a problem but I'll have to have a think. I had 1.5 litres for the whole way round but that's not going to last. I just didn't want to stop though. Think I was trying to "meditate on Rule 5" quite a lot but I'm training to beating, and comparing to, my RL time last year; which yesterday definitely did not.

Also when I've bonked before, its been that hot, pulse-racing, no blood-sugar weak feeling. I didn't feel like that, just that my legs would just burn and I ran out of steam; it felt different.

 

[screenman]

That would be way too much fuel for this old guy.

 

[Travs]

You mean you wouldn't have eaten as much as me? I hate bonking and always want to avoid it. Tbh I'm pretty sure I'm nervous every time I go out for that reason. A couple of years ago I made the biggest schoolboy error - no food, no money. Had to stop and sit at the side of the road half way round and phone someone to bring me some food. It's haunted me ever since I think.

 

[raleighnut]

You mean you wouldn't have eaten as much as me? I hate bonking and always want to avoid it. Tbh I'm pretty sure I'm nervous every time I go out for that reason. A couple of years ago I made the biggest schoolboy error - no food, no money. Had to stop and sit at the side of the road half way round and phone someone to bring me some food. It's haunted me ever since I think.

Maybe that is part of it, you should be relaxed before a ride. If you are tense then your muscles are 'fighting' themselves, which is why 'pro' riders always warm-up and get everything loose before going for it.

 

[Travs]

Could well be. I rarely warm-up properly I think. That BC 20-minutes is knackering. I would have been nervous before RL last year and yet I made it round in much better shape. Perhaps I did just have a much bigger breakfast.

And so does it sound more like I'm running out of gas than my leg muscles are fatiguing? Like I said in my OP, there were still times where I could get out the seat and put in some efforts, just that my quads would lactate-up very quickly and I needed to sit back down and change down again