help! dead legs and im not sure why anymore

[bikeguy]

Yes, it's cold. I think maybe the multi-130 km ride will be saved for when it's 20 C, but right now I have cabin fever. I MIGHT ride 30 km tomorrow.

-bikeguy

 

[stea1thviper]

Like Bluejersey, I am wondering if you use WKO+ and have details to share on your PMC. If not, could you give us a general picture of what your volume has looked like over the past 7, 14, 28 days and over the last 3 months (eg have you had an off season and then built up quickly.

Also, how much carbohydrate are you getting in your diet? How many calories? And how many calories are you burning (approx equal to kilojoules burnt on the powermeter).

im currently using a powertap, which ive only had for about 3 weeks. i guess im a fairly new rider (been riding for about 7 months now), with only the last couple months ive been starting to do more than just base miles (although i did do weight training for 2 months during nov-dec). i dont have cyclingpeaks, and right now im not sure if it's $100 im willing to spend. i also do use a polar computer to keep track of calorie expediature. so far on rides i burn anywhere between 1000-3300 calories.

id consider my training starting from around dec 20th to be real training, since before that was just lots and lots of base miles. so since then, my week schedule has come to look something like this.

monday: off

tuesday: various sprint workouts, currently im doing 5x10sec, with 20 pedal strokes between each 10 second jump, then a 10 minute recovery, then repeat. 3 sets total.

wed: 1.5-2hr endurance ride

thurs: 4x6 increasing intervals, where first 1/3rd of 4min interval is 50watts below target wattage, then last 1/3 is 50 watts above target wattage. idea is to increase wattage throughout each interval.

friday: 2hr endurance ride

sat: 2x20s

sun: 1.5-2hr tempo ride, or just another endurance ride if im not feeling as fresh as id like

im a fairly new cyclist, but i do enjoy reading up on training and such (hence the reason i browse these forums) i had done this workout for a month without problems over my winter break. i then took 5 days off upon arrival to school since my bike was being shipped back anyway. i then started up this workout again (on an indoor trainer i might add, since at school here it's not nice and sunny, instead lots of snow and temps in the single digits). i had heard about reduced power output on a trainer, but once i started training again from my break, my wattage not only wasnt lower, but actually alot higher than what i had previously recorded during my first month ever of higher intensity training. so i figured riding indoors wasnt a problem for me. about halfway through the second week however i immediately started noticed a significant drop in power, and sluggishness in my legs. that's about the time i started this thread. i listened to you guys and took 3 full days off the trainer. i just started up again a few days ago and my legs felt great, very fresh.

for some reason however im not hitting the record numbers i set the week prior on the trainer, although my legs still feel great. i suspect perhaps my indoor wattage is actually infact lower than outdoors. i wont be able to test this until the next few weeks when the weather is safe enough to ride. but like i said, im a fairly new rider with not so great numbers (yet!) who wants to get into racing by end of feb.