Loss of energy during a ride, and extremely tired and hungry after

[Ryan]

If you're hungry, eat. If you're tired, sleep.

[Wyatt Earp]

OP

 

Try this.

 

Your time as you say is limited .

Spin Tuesday ,Wednesday and Thursday for 30 minutes at a time.

Ride for 2 hours on Saturday and do 2-3 hours on Sunday.

 

Don't eat fibre before the ride but rather something with a slower release and less sugar.

Drink a glass of water 45 minutes before the ride .

Get an electrolyte replacement , Rehidrate works quite well and add that to your water (Wait for a new product called Elete, that stuff is the bomb)

 

Pack some Safari fruit dainties in your back pocket, put them in a jiffy bag ,eat these when you get hungry.

You will be fine, trust me.

 

One quick question, how long does it take you to do 75 km's ?

You might just be going too hard.

 

[Karooryder]

My 2c. Weetbix and cornflakes could be the problem.  Rather try eating Future life. Much better nutrition before training and races

 

 

To add to what some others said - this! On WeetBix - got bored with my oats, egg white and banana breakfast some time ago and tried Weetbix. Not only did it not last me 2 hours into the morning but about 30min after breakfast I would be dead tired - literally to the point where I could not keep my eyes open at work. Turns out WeetBix is super high Gi and the wheat is not good for sugar levels. Back to Oats (NB not the instant oats packets though...) and egg whites...

 

On your ride fatigue. I had the same issue and, like most others who commented here already, also  sorted it with 2 things: pre-ride nutrition and nutrition during your ride. Big mistake I would make was eat just before I got on the bike: remember that you need to start feeding your body some time before you get on the bike and not just before training starts, to get the energy in the system. On ride day I will immediatley when I wake up have greenish banana (low Gi) and oats  (that's about 45mins before I start) and start hydrating. Just before I get on the bike I will have a ripe banana (high Gi). During the ride I will sip water for the first 45mins but after that I force myself to sip Pepto every 20mins - even if im not thirsty. Problem is, when you bonk and that big thirst hits its already too late. This regime worked wonders for me. 

 

A side note - and a bitter one for me as a caffeine addict. I also used to start the training day with a strong coffee or 2. However, I have found that it only made me super thirsty, spiking my heart rate for an hour or so but leaving me exhausted later in the ride. My 2c.

[rudi-h]

Hi guys,

 

I'm new here but I've been a lurker for a while. I have a bit of an issue and I'm not sure if it's my noobness as I've been Road cycling for about 2 months (coming from mtb). I'm currently up to doing 75km every weekend and trying to form my base on this distance.

 

I have two issues I'm hoping you can help with:

 

1. About 2 hours into my ride I experience a large loss of energy. I've tried eating (bananas and using the occasional gel) and even started using Biogen cytogen in my bottles but it doesn't seem to help. Only after a bit of distance do I feel like I'm no longer struggling. Anything I can do to change it?

 

if you are eating bananas and drinking any form of energy drink, your nutrition is not the problem.  Perhaps you start out too hard and you just bonk because your body isn't used to longer rides.  Keep it up for a few weeks and your body will adapt and this will go away.

 

2. After my ride I'm extremely tired (e.g. can go sleep for 2 hours) and hungry for the whole day. I can eat a horse but will be hungry an hour or so later again.

 

Same thing happens to me, even when I'm fit.  What I do realize is that it is a LOT worse if I don't sleep enough during the week.  I've made peace with it that I will 2/3 times need/take an afternoon nap after a hard 3+ hour cycle, especially after a week where my I haven't managed to get to bed early enough

 

Your wisdom will be oh so much appreciated.

[Karooryder]

 

Same thing happens to me, even when I'm fit.  What I do realize is that it is a LOT worse if I don't sleep enough during the week.  I've made peace with it that I will 2/3 times need/take an afternoon nap after a hard 3+ hour cycle, especially after a week where my I haven't managed to get to bed early enough

 

 

 

 

Here I have a general question for Hubbers.

 

I NEVER sleep well before a race and often wake up tired and exhausted on raceday. How do you guys and girls manage your sleep and rest on that pre-race night? Is taking sleeping tablets a good idea at all?

[BarHugger]

OP

 

Try this.

 

Your time as you say is limited .

Spin Tuesday ,Wednesday and Thursday for 30 minutes at a time.

Ride for 2 hours on Saturday and do 2-3 hours on Sunday.

 

Don't eat fibre before the ride but rather something with a slower release and less sugar.

Drink a glass of water 45 minutes before the ride .

Get an electrolyte replacement , Rehidrate works quite well and add that to your water (Wait for a new product called Elete, that stuff is the bomb)

 

Pack some Safari fruit dainties in your back pocket, put them in a jiffy bag ,eat these when you get hungry.

You will be fine, trust me.

 

One quick question, how long does it take you to do 75 km's ?

You might just be going too hard.

 

Maybe a case of training at too high intensity for too long.......really depleting the carbohydrate stores. Do all the high intensity stuff (climbs, sprints, etc) for shorter duration.....total training time less than 60min (quality over quantity i.e 20-25km with 600-800m climbing). You weekend (long) training rides just the opposite.....go for a long, enjoyable (very important) ride that you will be able to finish only using water. Rather focus on developing economy of movement during these training sessions (also referred to as base training, long slow distance (LSD), social ride, etc). You will experience fatigue and a bit of discomfort, but not to the level you are currently. With time you will find that you can actually increase your overall performance.

 

Edit: Nutrition before and during a RACE is important.......not so much during training. Nutrition after training is where the secret lies because it plays a critical part in your R,R&R (rest, recovery, regeneration) dynamics.

[BarHugger]

Here I have a general question for Hubbers.

 

I NEVER sleep well before a race and often wake up tired and exhausted on raceday. How do you guys and girls manage your sleep and rest on that pre-race night? Is taking sleeping tablets a good idea at all?

 

 

 

 

Pure and simple

[SwissVan]

Here I have a general question for Hubbers.

 

I NEVER sleep well before a race and often wake up tired and exhausted on raceday. How do you guys and girls manage your sleep and rest on that pre-race night? Is taking sleeping tablets a good idea at all?

 

For this reason make sure you get a really good nights sleep the 2 nights leading up to the night before a race....i.e. Thursday and Friday night for a sunday race.

 

I've also found that having a nap during the day before i.e. on Saturday negatively affects my sleep quality that evening i.e. struggle to sleep.

 

Make sure all your race prep is done early and dont leave it till the last minute on the night before. On the night before try stick to your normal nightly routine, relax and dont think about the event as that is what keeps your mind ticking over. Its pretty normal to wake up early and not be able to sleep again, thats why its important to make sure you had a good nights sleep in the preceding days.

[Karooryder]

cookies-and-milk1.jpg

 

Pure and simple

 

That stuff doesn't sit good with me. I've found that a few of these work better:

 

[dee_biker]

That could be your problem.  I saw a nutrionist last year as I was always hungry.  Thought I was doing good by having weetbix every morning, but was always hungry by +- 9am.

Turns out weetbix does not factor very well on the low gi scale.  Rather try something like future life.  If you don't like sloppy cereals, you can try the Futurelife crunch, its not bad.  Also after rides i try and eat something like scrambled eggs rather than junk.  Good for recovery and keeps me fuller for longer.

 

Agree with Ratty here. Maybe the big drop in energy is when your sugar drops after that hugh breakfast.

 

I am no pro or expert, but what works for me is to do my week rides (about 3 of them) with an empty stomach early morning (just have an espresso), and on the ride just have water. It makes me used to not being "carb-hungry" duing longer rides.

 

On longer rides (3 hrs+), I take my trusty honey-espresso blend and maybe an energy bar, with a bottle of water and bottle of Game. That usually is enough for 3-4 hours. Camelback with Rehydrat if on MTB and more than 3 hours.

 

I think (again my opinion) the key is adaptation...

[dee_biker]

On your ride fatigue. I had the same issue and, like most others who commented here already, also  sorted it with 2 things: pre-ride nutrition and nutrition during your ride. Big mistake I would make was eat just before I got on the bike: remember that you need to start feeding your body some time before you get on the bike and not just before training starts, to get the energy in the system. On ride day I will immediatley when I wake up have greenish banana (low Gi) and oats  (that's about 45mins before I start) and start hydrating. Just before I get on the bike I will have a ripe banana (high Gi). During the ride I will sip water for the first 45mins but after that I force myself to sip Pepto every 20mins - even if im not thirsty. Problem is, when you bonk and that big thirst hits its already too late. This regime worked wonders for me. 

 

+1

[SwissVan]

That stuff doesn't sit good with me. I've found that a few of these work better:

 

o-GUINNESS-FISH-BLADDER-facebook.jpg

 

The warm milk drink that barhugger suggested really works, some say its because of some chemical reaction in the warm milk but personaly i think it has something to do with genetics and breast feeding...ever seen a baby awake after being breast fed?

[SwissVan]

I'm 1.8m tall and weigh 86kg (slowly losing more). I've been cycling for about 10 months on and off but 2 months on the road (1 day a week with the group). I'm trying to do some quick riding in the week but time wise I'm struggling to get to it.

 

Time a problem during the week?

Get an IDT (In door trainer)

It takes a bit of investement and time to get set up PROPERLY but once you are set up then time will not be a problem... just put bike on IDT and ride no messing around....

 

Not that you need to invest in a virtual capable IDT, a basic one will do the job just fine.

 

BUT the modern IDT's are really capable of amazing things, go look here:

 

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/140625-online-racing-virtualtraining-cyclops/

 

http://www.cycleops.com/virtualtraining/overview

[360]

Wow guys. Thanks for all the information. I'll respond to the individual posts where an answer is required this evening.

[KiNgL]

Check that you are not Anemic . Happens if you are pushing hard.

[cas247]

I used to have similar issues.

 

Here's my 2c :

 

Before a Long ride (80+kms): 1 cup oats, double/triple espresso and a banana

 

While riding: The first 1,5hrs water + electrolytes (rehydrate, 1 rehydrate for every hour!)

                     After the first 1,5 hrs I start having GU Roctane (Carry 2 packs with me) (Taurine,                        Carbs & Amino Acids) + Water/Electrolyte mixture in a separate bottle,  

                     In between all of this, more bananas, jungle oats bar, GU gel, 

 

Post ride: Some protein for recovery.

 

Did the bestmed 105kms last weekend, it worked for me..

 

All the best