Need advice on training fatigue

[Fatty Lumpkin]

Hi. I felt some real fatigue a couple weeks ago. I then took a week very easy (almost off) and felt better. Last Tuesday I did a fairly hard 42-mile day with some concerted but controlled efforts. Felt a little tired during the ride but okay. After another easy ride the fatigue is back, not as much as before but it’s creeping up on me. This happened to me last year but later in the year in late July and pretty much trashed the rest of my summer.

I enjoy riding and don’t like taking extra days off. I really enjoy hitting segments hard and that’s where the fatigue is hampering me. Segments is what I would prefer spending the rest of the summer on.

Should I just keep resting? Is there something else I should do? Will my mileage & training carry me if I just take tons of time off; even if not full weeks but, say 2 or 3 big days per week with the rest totally off...some of the best guys seem to be doing this.

Other Info:

• Age: 51 (I don’t recover like I used to!)
• Mileage for 2018: 3,000
• Type of cycling: Road
• Rest: I don’t get enough sleep. But, if I can’t make big corrections on that, how should I adjust my training?
• Prior to the fatigue: 1x (or 2x) quality workouts per week, 120-210 per week, decent pace on other days.
• Diet: Pretty good. I will NOT cut out the Oreos so don't go there!

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

 

[Kakashi]

Your fatigue might be coming from lack of sleep and this is one thing that you should correct. Try having a long good night's sleep, this usually reenergizes your body, it really works wonders. Another thing is our energies tends to wane as we get old and that can be corrected by proper nutrition and correct vitamin and mineral supplements.

 

[Corzhens]

Pardon me for pointing out your age as the primary factor in fatigue. Although some will dispute that age does not really matter much as long as you are training continuously, I'd say that somewhere, somehow, the body would be complaining. I am 55 and the swelling on my right calf appeared 2 years ago. That mouse would appear every time I would ride for long distances. I was advised by the doctor to either quit riding or just ride leisurely because my body is already old. Ouch!!!

 

[Fatty Lumpkin]

Thanks for the replies. Kakashi, I mentioned the sleep to see if people would point to that as a significant factor. It probably is. One reason I have trouble is due to a "neck thing" which - wait for it - is brought on by cycling. Ugh. That leads me to the other response. Corzhens, no worries with regard to mentioning ye ol age thing. I know I don't recover like I did 25 years ago. I can feel the lack of strengths (comparatively). I know its going to catch up with me. It's my 3rd year of cycling. Last year I took a lot of KOMs. I'm in the top 10 on most that I put effort into. Top 5 on many. I really enjoy making the 20 & 30-somethings chase me down. For next year I was thinking about far less mileage but more quality to extend another year of this KOM fever. I'll end up doing long, fun rides after that. But, for now, I hope there is something else I can do this year. BTW, what did you do about the doctors advice?

 

[ballyhara]

Age doesn't seem to be the main factor, lacking sleep for sure will affect you but not like in a regular way, having extra Oreos is not going to kill you either, so finally, what do you describe as fatigue? Is it respiratory, faint sensation, muscular pain, headache? To attack and issue you need to know the main cause, and the way to know it is by targeting what you feel. What about your hydration levels, sugar income, stretching/warming? Let me know about it.

 

[Fatty Lumpkin]

Ballyhara....great point! I should have mentioned in the original post that it's my legs that feel fatigued. Its a real problem is hard efforts when they just give out. Even at a pace that I could previously do.

I like my sugar but have cut back a little. I hardly ever stretch (I know, I know). And the sleep thing is tough; I do feel better after 1-2 nights good sleep but those are hard to find.

 

[treecko142]

Definitely rest, there should always be a period dedicated for just taking a break to give your muscles time to repair itself from training. This is true for any activity, even bodybuilders train a different set of muscle group every day so there is one week rest for each.

 

[DenisP]

Well first off, you're right about not recovering like you used to. The older we get, the harder time our cells have replicating, which means that recovering from intensive exercise can be a lot more difficult. This can be exacerbated depending on our genetics.

The biggest factor that stood out to me is that you're not getting enough sleep. Sleep, particularly quality REM sleep, is absolutely necessary for optimal recovery. Our muscles repair themselves when in deep sleep, so without enough hours of deep sleep, you're not giving your body a chance to recover from the last session. Exercise enough times without proper recovery, and this begins to snowball to the point where you really feel fatigued.

 

[Boaz shushan]

Hi. I felt some real fatigue a couple weeks ago. I then took a week very easy (almost off) and felt better. Last Tuesday I did a fairly hard 42-mile day with some concerted but controlled efforts. Felt a little tired during the ride but okay. After another easy ride the fatigue is back, not as much as before but it’s creeping up on me. This happened to me last year but later in the year in late July and pretty much trashed the rest of my summer.

I enjoy riding and don’t like taking extra days off. I really enjoy hitting segments hard and that’s where the fatigue is hampering me. Segments is what I would prefer spending the rest of the summer on.

Should I just keep resting? Is there something else I should do? Will my mileage & training carry me if I just take tons of time off; even if not full weeks but, say 2 or 3 big days per week with the rest totally off...some of the best guys seem to be doing this.

Other Info:

• Age: 51 (I don’t recover like I used to!)
• Mileage for 2018: 3,000
• Type of cycling: Road
• Rest: I don’t get enough sleep. But, if I can’t make big corrections on that, how should I adjust my training?
• Prior to the fatigue: 1x (or 2x) quality workouts per week, 120-210 per week, decent pace on other days.
• Diet: Pretty good. I will NOT cut out the Oreos so don't go there!

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

hi

you can try to add more data....

power
heart rate
avg cadence

comparing with similar routes you are doing?

 

[cyclintom]

OK, fatigue is greatly effected by sleep. But that probably isn't the bulk of your problem. You are riding too hard. If you take it easier and work your way up you will be able to go faster. I'm 77 and yesterday I went out on a supposed easy ride. Well There was a slight headwind and I ended up riding pretty hard. More importantly, on the way back I was sure I must have a tailwind but looking at the flags they were limp. I was in the 50-12 and spinning. I can't do this all the time but so far this year I have 2,000 miles and 50,000 feet of climbing. Before these stupid lock-downs I was putting in about 6,000 and 250,000 feet. Around here the climbing includes pretty good sections of 10-12% grades. Over this year I've gone from complete exhaustion on one of these rides to feeling pretty good following them. Now I am a SLOW climber but I do climb.

Unless you're a racer I absolutely would NOT get a power meter which always makes you feel like you should be trying harder. Always talk to your doctor about your heart health. The people I have ridden with all seem to be having problems of one sort or another. Several have pacemakers now and others are on medication. I stay within my comfort zone which often ain't that comfortable. A mile of 10% ain't comfortable at all. At least it isn't a constant climb. Those are normally only about 7% or so.

 

[RaceReadyRob]

Hey there! It sounds like you're dealing with some fatigue during your rides. Sleep does play a role in that, but it's not the only factor. One thing to consider is your overall intensity. Riding too hard consistently can leave you feeling worn out.

To improve your performance and endurance, try taking it easier initially and gradually increase your effort over time. It may seem counterintuitive, but pacing yourself can actually help you go faster in the long run.

I can totally relate to pushing too hard sometimes. Just yesterday, I hit the road thinking it would be an easy ride, but there was a sneaky headwind that made things tougher. Instead of forcing it, I decided to adjust my gears and spin at a comfortable pace. And guess what? Even though I couldn't sustain that intense effort throughout, I still managed to maintain a decent speed.

Now, here's an interesting observation from my ride – on the way back, I thought I had a tailwind, but the flags told a different story. They were pretty much limp. Despite that, I kept myself in a higher gear and focused on spinning, rather than resorting to brute force. So, my key takeaway is that finding the right balance between intensity and pacing is key.

Give it a try during your next ride, and see if it helps. Remember, it's all about strategic thinking and conserving energy when needed. You got this! Let me know how it goes. Keep those pedals spinning!