"comeback" advice

Hey All,

Been a while since I've been on here. But, as usual, a conundrum has motivated me to post again.

Let me first start by saying Thanks to all who contribute. This is a wonderful resource for information.

Now, my conundrum. Recently, my bike was stolen. Was able to order a new one a month later, but around the same time, my 2nd was born. So I've been off, oh, it's coming on 3 months. I was just wondering, since I do live in Hawaii and winter doesn't affect us (except by rain), is this kind of like a "start-over" time for me? Base-build, then get into intervals after a month or so of re-establishing base? Or is 3 months not as long as I think it is?

Just a little information about how some of you get back into the swing of things after dealing with the winter season, or some other tips for those of you living in sunny areas (like me!). I just don't want to think I can do this, or do that, injure myself, then screw myself. This is actually the longest I've ever took off so it's kind of new territory.

Thanks for taking your time to help! I appreciate it!

Jonathan

Just want to say congrats. As far as helping you out, I'm kind of a newbie so I'm still getting into it myself.

-Greg

Jonathan,
Three months is nothing, sure you won't be in top form and you'll want to rebuild but in the big picture you haven't lost as much fitness as you probably think.

Get back on the bike, start out with shorter rides and leave out the sprints and hard short gut busting intervals for a while but get out and ride. The fitness will return quicker than you probably think.

Good luck,
-Dave

Agree. Start riding again to figure out what you can do, and start building up again from there.

Congrats on the little one and good luck.

Hey, thanks for the advice. Went out around 3hrs today. Felt ok. I guess the one word I can definitely use to describe how I feel is "RUST." It's nice to know, Dave, that 3 months isn't too bad. I hope the fitness will return quickly!

Thanks for the advice, thanks for the well wishes. I really appreciate it!

I admire your dedication. If I lived there I would probably be a worthless beer swilling beachcomber and before anyone makes a comment.Even more worthless than I am now.
I predict that your form will return quickly.

__________________
Dope,when training and talent just aren't enough.

We’re now in winter in this part of the world.

Daylight hours are due to reduce substantially from this coming weekend until mid-February.
Therefore it is important for me to keep doing some sort of training over the winter months.

Getting out on the bike at this time of the year would include a ride each Saturday and Sunday.
On both days, I try to get out for 3 hours each day.

To supplement the lack of road time, I do some cardio vascular stuff like running 3 – 5 miles per night.

I have a set of rollers but I simply cannot sit there pedalling for a 1 to 2 hours just turning the legs.
I don’t have the concentration to that.

If I don’t maintain my fitness over the winter, spring training is torture for me.
I made the mistake some years ago of easing off winter training and when spring came about it took me
months to re-gain fitness levels required.

I prefer to try to maintain some sort of fitness throughout the winter in order to prevent loss.

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

3 months is nothing, you don't mystically become really unfit really quickly. It takes longer to lose fitness than it does to gain it.

Just do what you did before but a little easier at first. The first week or two you'll feel rusty but after than it'll be all good.

Thanks for all the advice

I was really down on myself thinking that I'd lost almost everything. I think I'm going on only 3 years of riding now, so I know that I don't even have a super solid base of fitness established. I've read how much you lose over a period of just a month. How substantial the VO2 loss is and such. I guess I was worrying myself a bit too much.

Thanks for helping me keep things in perspective.

Jonathan