Where's my energy gone

[johnnyb47]

Hi,
The last 3 to 4 weeks have been really hard going. There's been no cycling because I'm feeling absolutely knackered. Life in general is pretty quiet with work and social life, so that's something I can't put it down to. I'm up for 5 in the morning for work and by 6 in the evening I'm completely exhausted. This time last year I was out after work enjoying a cold winter evening Ride on the bike every night , but this time round I'm lazing around and sleeping every hour i can get.
At the beginning i just put it down to just a small blip of being under the weather, but it's starting to worry me now, as it seems to be dragging on and on. The weight is starting to come back on which is not nice to see considering how hard I've worked it off with cycling over the years. I also don't want to burden the doctors either, in the light of rampant Covid infections with what may be a trivial problem i have.
Saying that I've got 2 weeks holiday now and hope some time at home relaxing will reset my health again.

 

[DCLane]

It's that time of year and many of us are tired. I am at least. Bumped into one of my club's 'power' riders today and he couldn't keep up despite me going steady: commuting had gone like myself and affected his fitness.

You're not alone. I've decided this week I'm going to get fitter so need to do more than I am currently.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Its winter. Its cold and wet and windy. Heavy clothing. Heavy, dirty roads. Puddles to avoid. Mind on Xmas and virus.
Its December. It's a crafp month. There are more pressing matters than performing well on the bike.

 

[vickster]

Start taking a multivitamin, Vitamin D and take note of your diet. Just do whatever exercise you can manage.
If not better in a month, see Dr for blood test

 

[johnnyb47]

Hey thanks for the replies. Like alot of people, i was put on Furlough in early spring and remained there for 4 1/2 months. Plenty of cycling was done to avoid boredom and to keep my sanity lol.
When I eventually got back to work it felt very alien. Half the staff had very sadly been made redundant and the remainder of us had to learn new job roles. We all feel extremely grateful and lucky to be still be in employment, and i took my new job role with open arms. From working from a desk job to going on to the shop floor, i found it quite enjoyable. Meeting new people and gaining new skills was great and managed to forge new friendships and understand how the company worked in a 3 dimensional perspective. Slowly my old job became more viable again and got back to it. As for having 4, 1/2 months off on furlough, i felt it an insult to even ask or book any time off for the holidays that were apparently due to me in full, so i continued to work without taking any. Even though work is woefully quiet, the constant rumours of redundancy and future plans really grinds you down with worry and dread, which has lead to working very quiet days fuelled with worries and anxiety about the future.
I'm hoping my lack of energy is just down to more mental than physical issues and hope the next two weeks of chilling out will sort it out. January is also going to be a month of furlough and short weeks so maybe I can use this to my advantage to reset my health

 

[All uphill]

This has been a tiring year for most of us, and you have had a lot of extra uncertainty at work by the sound of it.

Covid, Brexit, cold and dark, it's enough to drive anyone back under the bedclothes.

Do take some holiday - I can't imagine furlough with all its uncertainty was very relaxing.

If you are concerned about your health do talk with your GP, that's what they are there for.

 

[ColinJ]

You are getting up for work before I even get to sleep, and you are wondering why you are tired in the evening...?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

As it gets colder you are also burning more energy to keep warm. Just tick over and it’ll improve as it warms up and the days lengthen

 

[johnnyb47]

Good point @All uphill,
I know this post was initially about my woes, but I think we can all relate to it in some form or another.
As you rightly say I'm going to see how things progress in the next few weeks with a change of life style in regards to having some time off, and if nothing changes I'll have no choice but to see the "Quack".
We may not realise at the time, but the underlying pressures we've all been enduring
this year with not being able to see loved ones, work and money security and the ever changing rules of travel laws and lead to mental fatigue which then turns to physical fatigue.
It was quite refreshing today to hear some positive news for a change that a Brexit deal had been reached. After all the months of doom and gloom, hearing some positive constructive news was welcome.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Back in the day...I was a top line tester. Nat Champ contender. Yes, I was that good. And yes it took a lot of hard work.
In December I never went on the bike. A month off completely. Recharge the system. Eat and drink too much. Unwind. Clear the brain.
A lot of cycling is mental. (In both senses🙄🙄🙄)

 

[johnnyb47]

Your right. This time year, the hardest part of cycling is pushing the bike out the front door
Once you're out and got warmed up the world's your oyster 👍

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Your right. This time year, the hardest part of cycling is pushing the bike out the front door
Once you're out and got warmed up the world's your oyster 👍

Well your tier 4 area (or equivalent) is your oyster 😂

 

[WesternBikingGirl]

As it gets colder you are also burning more energy to keep warm. Just tick over and it’ll improve as it warms up and the days lengthen

I was wondering about that too. I can't bike nearly as fast uphill as I did in summer. I thought maybe it was the added weight of more clothes since I only wear shorts and a tee shirt in summer and usually Tevas.

 

[gbb]

Hey thanks for the replies. Like alot of people, i was put on Furlough in early spring and remained there for 4 1/2 months. Plenty of cycling was done to avoid boredom and to keep my sanity lol.
When I eventually got back to work it felt very alien. Half the staff had very sadly been made redundant and the remainder of us had to learn new job roles. We all feel extremely grateful and lucky to be still be in employment, and i took my new job role with open arms. From working from a desk job to going on to the shop floor, i found it quite enjoyable. Meeting new people and gaining new skills was great and managed to forge new friendships and understand how the company worked in a 3 dimensional perspective. Slowly my old job became more viable again and got back to it. As for having 4, 1/2 months off on furlough, i felt it an insult to even ask or book any time off for the holidays that were apparently due to me in full, so i continued to work without taking any. Even though work is woefully quiet, the constant rumours of redundancy and future plans really grinds you down with worry and dread, which has lead to working very quiet days fuelled with worries and anxiety about the future.
I'm hoping my lack of energy is just down to more mental than physical issues and hope the next two weeks of chilling out will sort it out. January is also going to be a month of furlough and short weeks so maybe I can use this to my advantage to reset my health

You mention work being woefully quiet, that may be part of the problem. When I got made redundant in 2000, the last 6 months...and definitely the last 3 months on notice were incredibly quiet, waste of time being there really. The one thing I noticed was how tired I was getting, despite doing virtually nothing physically, I doesn't make sense.

Being a cyclist infers you're not the kind of person to loll around, I dont think it's good for you, you get stodgy, listless. Perhaps it s the same for many people.

 

[johnnyb47]

That's something to seriously consider @gbb.
I've had a very quiet Christmas so far. Spent a couple of hours at the ex brother in law on Christmas day and seen no one today ( boxing day) and have quite frankly slept most of it.(i just feel totally drained)
Feeling somewhat better though and quietly thinking of a bike ride tomorrow.
I'm hoping a few days from work will ease me back into my normal self again of looking forward to getting back out there peddling again. I'm really missing the freedom of what cycling has given me and feel frustrated of not having the energy or enthusiasm to get out there. Maybe these next few weeks of having more time on my hands will hopefully get me back to it again 👍