Far too early to be bonking?

[ajclarkson]

Hi all,

I've just had two really bad rides back to back and I'm not sure what is causing it so thought I'd see if you lot have any ideas.

I've been riding 12 miles a couple of times a week recently doing a few laps of a short circuit with an average gradient in the middle to help me build fitness and get a little more used to the hills. Then on Sunday I decided to head out on a 15ish miler that I have done before but with more hills in there. I got 4.5 miles in, and my legs just went completely. To the point I could barely turn the pedals anymore. So I had a break, drank some water and decided to head back which was rough. I put that down to a one off and maybe I wasn't feeling it that day. (http://app.strava.com/activities/70377950)

So this morning I headed out to do a modification of my usual 12 mile circuit to include a different slightly tougher gradient in it. I made it to the top of that and set off for lap 2 which happened to be around the 4.5 mile mark again, and my legs started to feel weak and I started to feel really nauseous. So I pedalled back again. (http://app.strava.com/activities/70855041)

I've been following my usual routine of a small bowl of porridge and a coffee 1 - 1 1/2 hours before I head out, and that usually stands me in good stead. I can't think of anything else I've changed. Any ideas what could be causing this?

Thanks

 

[raindog]

You're right, you shouldn't be bonking out after such a short distance, but are you sure you're not just feeling a bit knackered? If you're new to cycling and not 'bike-fit' then you're going to get bad days. Maybe you're going at it too hard and fast? Maybe try riding a bit slower for a while till you really get into the swing of things.
And you say you eat a 'small bowl' of porridge - try a big bowl.
Enjoy your rides, and don't let this put you off!

 

[Rob3rt]

You didn't bonk, well not likely anyway.

 

[ajclarkson]

Yeah, guess it's a miss-leading title. Should have added: Far too early to be bonking, so what caused it? To get my real meaning over.

I was thinking that it could well be the bike-fit thing, just seems odd that I've been managing 12 milers on a regular basis and yeah feeling tired, but not like this.

Will also try eating more before I ride, though with such short distances involved I wasn't sure it'd matter that much

 

[ianrauk]

You're just not fit enough to be honest.
You need to cycle more often rather then a couple of times a week.

 

[madferret]

I used to get a similar type of thing after the first 5 miles or so, my running friend said it reminder her of a phenomena in running known as "the toxic 10", if you google that you may get an idea if its similar.

Now after just a few weeks I don't experience it anywhere near as bad, if at all. Next time it happens, try and carry on through it but obviously not if you are in pain, totally winded. Also, something that helped me immensely was the advice to ride in a lower gear than you would expect to be in, so that you're not putting as much pressure on the pedals, it could be that you're grinding a bit, which tires the legs out far too quickly.

Would also suggest maybe changing your route as headology may be playing a part, I used to have a thing about a particular hill when I started and now I can do it with ease, but avoided it for a while and still am working on a base fitness/stamina before I start "proper" climbing.

New to this myself, so stand to be corrected if any of the above is nonsense, just my own experiences, we are all built differently.

 

[puffinbilly]

Not an expert by any standards but the only difference you detail from the norm is 'more hills' - are you spinning up these hills or trying to take them in too high a gear for you? Another thing - coffee is more likely to dehydrate you so not the best thing to drink before a ride, it can have a mild diuretic effect (it dehydrates by making you pee more) - but from what you describe it sounds more like a combination of lack of energy combined with the climbs.

145ft is not too much but depends on the length of the climb - anywhere out of Durham is a climb.

 

[ajclarkson]

I used to get a similar type of thing after the first 5 miles or so, my running friend said it reminder her of a phenomena in running known as "the toxic 10", if you google that you may get an idea if its similar.

Now after just a few weeks I don't experience it anywhere near as bad, if at all. Next time it happens, try and carry on through it but obviously not if you are in pain, totally winded. Also, something that helped me immensely was the advice to ride in a lower gear than you would expect to be in, so that you're not putting as much pressure on the pedals, it could be that you're grinding a bit, which tires the legs out far too quickly.

Would also suggest maybe changing your route as headology may be playing a part, I used to have a thing about a particular hill when I started and now I can do it with ease, but avoided it for a while and still am working on a base fitness/stamina before I start "proper" climbing.

New to this myself, so stand to be corrected if any of the above is nonsense, just my own experiences, we are all built differently.

Thanks for the input, I'll have a look into the toxic 10 thing. I could have probably carried on if I pushed it a bit today, I think I had Sunday in the back of my mind, and mind games can definitely contribute to that. The route today was a different take on the older one, so I was hoping that would have helped. As for the grinding it's not that in my case, as I've worked hard to pay attention to cadence, and on the flats I keep between 80-100, on the hills I try to stay around 70 until it gets difficult and then it all goes out of the window! I think some late gear changes on the hill today contributed a bit though.

Not an expert by any standards but the only difference you detail from the norm is 'more hills' - are you spinning up these hills or trying to take them in too high a gear for you? Another thing - coffee is more likely to dehydrate you so not the best thing to drink before a ride, it can have a mild diuretic effect (it dehydrates by making you pee more) - but from what you describe it sounds more like a combination of lack of energy combined with the climbs.

145ft is not too much but depends on the length of the climb - anywhere out of Durham is a climb.

You're right 145ft isn't too much, the "hill" itself only accounts for 100ish of that as well. It's over about half a mile and has some flatter 3% ish sections and some 5-8% ramps. That's why I hesitate to call it a hill really. It is to me at the minute, but not to most!

On the coffee front, I've toyed backwards and forwards with whether to have it or not. I've read stuff previously that says that the caffeine is a good boost for morning rides, and as I say I've been riding much further before even with the coffee. I think I will try and skip it though and see what happens. It definitely feels like a lack of energy, and maybe I shouldn't read too much into the fact that it has happened twice in a week, could just be something going on with my body right now. Definitely need to put it out of my mind though. You're right about anywhere out of Durham being a climb though!

You're just not fit enough to be honest.
You need to cycle more often rather then a couple of times a week.

Thanks for the input, at the minute I aim to get out twice through the week and once on a weekend as that fits in with what time I have available to me, so I guess it will take me a little longer to get there. I had been noticing massive improvements in my cardio fitness over the last couple of weeks prior to this though.

 

[vickster]

Do you get enough sleep? Do you suffer from hayfever? Are you sensitive to the heat? Could you be sickening for something? Do you have added stress in life at the mo? What do you ride? How old are you?

I'd slow down, especially for the first 10 minutes. How long does the 12 miles take you? Even if very unfit and overweight, less than an hour in the saddle shouldn't lead to bonking? And surely don't need coffee as a boost for 12 miles?

If it continues, I'd go to the doctor and get BP, blood sugar, cholesterol and haemoglobin checked

 

[ajclarkson]

Do you get enough sleep? Do you suffer from hayfever? Are you sensitive to the heat? Could you be sickening for something? Do you have added stress in life at the mo? What do you ride? How old are you?

I'd slow down, especially for the first 10 minutes. How long does the 12 miles take you? Even if very unfit and overweight, less than an hour in the saddle shouldn't lead to bonking? And surely don't need coffee as a boost for 12 miles?

If it continues, I'd go to the doctor and get BP, blood sugar, cholesterol and haemoglobin checked

To answer the questions: Usually get enough sleep (generally don't feel tired through the day), no hayfever, not particularly sensitive to heat (was riding well when it was much warmer), leaning towards thinking I could be sickening for something, but generally feel ok, on the stress front, bucket loads but that's been the case for at least the last month (cycling often seems to ease that a bit), ride a Carrera Road Bike, 25.

I think I probably could ease into it a lot more, the 12 miles is usually around 45/50 minutes manage to average around 14-15mph. I'm certainly not very overweight, have a little bit of body fat that I'd like to lose but nothing drastic. As for the coffee boost, I'm sure you're right. The previous reading about it that said it's OK or can even help was due to the fact I enjoy coffee in a morning and was seeing whether I should miss my usual morning one or not when I'm riding.

 

[Sittingduck]

As for the grinding it's not that in my case, as I've worked hard to pay attention to cadence, and on the flats I keep between 80-100, on the hills I try to stay around 70 until it gets difficult and then it all goes out of the window! I think some late gear changes on the hill today contributed a bit though.

I have a hunch that it's something to do with gear selection on the climbs and fitness. If you are usually spinning almost 100rpm and letting it drop to 70 on the climbs, that sounds like it is becoming a bit of a grind, imho. Can you try changing down an extra sprocket or two and making sure you do this before your cadence drops by 20 rpm...? Just a sugestion. Also you probably need to cycle more miles and more frequently if you want to improve noticably. Again, just a point of view.

Cheers

 

[ajclarkson]

I have a hunch that it's something to do with gear selection on the climbs and fitness. If you are usually spinning almost 100rpm and letting it drop to 70 on the climbs, that sounds like it is becoming a bit of a grind, imho. Can you try changing down an extra sprocket or two and making sure you do this before your cadence drops by 20 rpm...? Just a sugestion. Also you probably need to cycle more miles and more frequently if you want to improve noticably. Again, just a point of view.

Cheers

Thanks for the advice, still very much getting used to the gear selection on climbs, and I hadn't really considered 70 as a grind, but I guess in my mind I was thinking of the 80 to 70 drop rather than the 100 to 70, so I agree with you there. On the next couple of runs out I'll try and pay more attention and change down much earlier.

Cheers

 

[Sittingduck]

I am not particularly a spinner (avg around 75-80rpm over the course of an entire ride) but my typical cadence on a flat road can be 85-95. If I am climbing and it drops to 70, that feels like a grind, to me. Just worth a try, anyway...?

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

What did you eat the day/night before these rides?

 

[ajclarkson]

Yesterday I had grilled chicken with some potato wedges and veg, on Saturday it was homemade chicken and vegetable fried rice