How to get back lost form.

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

I have not rested but I have recovered. Done two more races and I have done a lot better. Bonked shortly after i dropped off in one race (I was very active on the front in this race) which is unusual and in the other I made a silly error and blew up trying to chase the pack down.

After the race two weeks ago a fellow racer and one of the marshes did comment on my low cadence. I took there advise and focused on spinning more with sit down sprint to 150 rpm. I have felt a lot more comfortable with repeated sprints and extended efforts. In the last race I did not need to stand up on hills or out of corners I simply sat and span and advanced at those points. I felt almost comfortable. So maybe this is the change I needed. It seems to be working.

KWalker
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by KWalker

I'd cut my losses and focus on feeling good. Pushing something that isn't likely to yield any positive benefits will leave you burned out and bummed on riding. I had issues like you described most of Spring and kept thinking "Ok, this week will be better". Often times I'd have a good race or good workout and think everything was OK, but it never was. I took a week off for travel and was so tired I could barely go on a walk around the park.

So what did I do when I got back home? I thought "Ok cool, I rested a bit time to smash the summer races". Well, it didn't go super well and once again I needed a break, but wanted to end the season on a positive note.

I was finally coming into good form after a year of injuries, illness, and fatigue and then BAM, crashed at the end of a training ride and broke my hip. It wasn't until then that I realized that I need a full week off and then maybe another week of sub 200w rides plus majorly upping my calories to recover and even attempt racing in the summer. 5 weeks completely off and I can't ride outside for another 3 even though its 75-80F and clear skies. Instead of complaining about it I look at each ride as a simple challenge/progression and am pumped to be slow and improve.
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bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

I think reducing the intensity of some ride has helped me alot. I was very guilty of not giving myself enough recovery time. Introducing proper recovery rides has help too. After one last week I felt properly refreshed as I kept my heart rate below 100 (88 bpm average). so I will keep this regime up and see what happens. If I dip again I will have to reassess.

xena
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by xena

Be careful of overtraining , you may not even realise your doing it. It put me out for ages and I managed to get back again. But for almost half a year I felt tired and lax and nearly a full year to feel good again. I just kept pushing trying to force the issue. I was lucky as overtraining can finish you off completely. Best thing I did was to stop riding for 3 weeks.
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bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

Well I have not over trained. Travelled to Denmark for the uci grand fond and while I got dropped from the lead pack after 8 miles (surprised I lasted the long to be honest) I did manage an average of 235w for the first hour then 248w for the 2nd hour then dropping to 237w after 3hrs then it all went badly wrong as cramp started after 3.5hrs. 200w average for the whole ride but there was a good 20 miles were anything above 200w caused leg pain and twitching in my thighs, then signs of cramp. Eating more helped and I did recover some pace for the last 10 miles but that was into a head wind.

I have never managed those averages for that length of time before and that is what I was doing at the peak in early July so "form" seems to have been found again but not enough. Next to many of those continental boys well they are in a different league.
Last edited by bm0p700f on Tue Sep 22, 2015 12:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

patchsurfer
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by patchsurfer

That you're cramping after that length of time doesn't say form to me but nutrition & electrolytes. How much are you eating on the bike, what's the proportion of carbohydrate in your diet? Might just be that your body's crap at using fat as a fuel rather than anything you're doing or not doing on the bike...especially given that you recovered with some food.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

I didn't eat enough that day. The jersey I had small pockets (mistake) and I could not carry enough. I normally dont eat unless the ride is longer than 2 hours. What proportion of carbs in my diet, alot but I have no idea. I eat my fill without thinking much about what I eat. I dont like the idea of thinking about diet in the way you suggest as it will somewhat spoil the enjoyment of food. My wifes diets and she is always counting this and that I couldn't do anything like that. I know I eat enough carbs though maybe not enough of some other nutrients but I maybe getting enough.

263W for a 20 min interval last night so thinks are going well at present. My next race is on sunday so I will see how I will do then. Feeling more hopeful this week of a finish.

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