tired after like 4 miles

[Cheesy]

I would check out your warm-up as a first priority. If your legs are burning at the start of a race, then get better, then you are not warmed up properly. You should feel like you have been doing a bit of work before you start.

If it's generally feeling tired, sick etc, check out pre-race preparations like nutrition and sleep. If I haven't slept well I not only feel tired, but I often feel sick up to the first hour of high-intensity riding - although this usually passes by about 40min.

For food, I generally eat rice balls (I'm in Japan) or pasta with a light, non-fatty sauce (I usually make a big batch of pasta salad about a day or 2 before, then a bunch of rice balls the day before).

I actually have more experience with training and racing for kayaking, but find the same principles apply. I find for the first 30mins of paddling I feel like ****, then I feel good (my average training paddles were around 4-6h when I was training hard). Try and get through this **** feeling BEFORE the race (ie the warmup), rather than during.

 

[kjellquist]

I am willing to guess it's a combination of factors;

1. You said you are stressed lately - try and reduce this stress and get enough sleep.

2. Look at eating a little better. How about some oatmeal w/ peanut butter before the rides? Turkey on whole wheat...pasta w/ some chicken? You can see where we are stearing you....carbs and lean protein.

3. Are you taking vitamins? Anyone in a serious training program should be at least talking a daily multi-vitamin.

4. Are you eating something quickly after your previous ride? Try and eat at least a small bit of carbs and protein following a ride.

5. Regarding the warm up, try and have a full sweat and elevated heart rate when the race starts.


Just the basics take care of 99% of athletes....eat enough of the right foods/fluids, sleep enough, and don't overtrain.

 

[billybob1992002]

thanks guys. what are some post ride foods that are easy to get or make. The hard thing is i am in a college dorm and don't have access to alot of different foods and i can't prepare foods either so i am at the mercy of the cafeteria. Also about the multi vitamen you have any suggestions on any i am 19, 6'1" and 183 pounds

 

[kjellquist]

since you are in college, I would suggest beer!

Don't let anyone tell you that you need fancy recovery food. Just good carbs (whole grains, etc.) and good protein (lean) will do the trick. The key is getting something in your stomach within 1/2 hr after your ride. Just get some whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter or a baked potato. If you can't stomach food right away, try a glass of chocalate milk which has carbs and protein. There's a lot of simple sugar there, but it'll do.

Any multi-vitamin will do IMO. Though C & E are also key for repairing muscle after workouts.

thanks guys. what are some post ride foods that are easy to get or make. The hard thing is i am in a college dorm and don't have access to alot of different foods and i can't prepare foods either so i am at the mercy of the cafeteria. Also about the multi vitamen you have any suggestions on any i am 19, 6'1" and 183 pounds

 

[billybob1992002]

thanks for the reply and the help

 

[billybob1992002]

well guys i went out today with some guys and they did a pretty hard run with some big hills which for a 183 pound guys is a killer and i was hurting before i even got there and they are like 2 miles away. i managed to just muscle my way through the hills and made it to the top of the last one and i was hurting and my asthema a kicking in which is the first time in like 15 years and i got a headache but not a real bad one just enough to know it was there and every know and then it would throab to make shure i knew it was there. then after a while it went away and my legs felt better and this was after like 9 miles and it was only a 22.5 mile ride. i was hurting at the end but that is what a 14 mph head wind will do to you but i felt better batteling head wind than i did on flat before i even got to the hills. i think i am going to call a nutritionist to see what they have to say.

 

[cuervo]

Dude, this is like how people talk in like America, ya *******.

"In América" también hablamos español, ¿sabías que México está en América?

 

[cuervo]

I can't speak for everyone, but a pre-ride/race meal of pizza or a burger or quesadilla wouldn't sit too well in my stomach. It's pretty high in fat content and for a pre-ride/race meal you'll want to look for something relatively high in carbohydrates so you can stock up on your body's most readily available fuel. You may be taking in too much fat/protein and might want to stick more with the pasta dish you mentioned. Gatorade as a beverage can help as well. But just something that's pretty easily digested by your body so you don't go into a ride/race with a stomach full of burger/quesadilla/pizza.

Agree, that sounds heavy for me to, I would prefer a good early breakfast with cereal and fruit and bee more light at the start of the race, with a couple of gels ready to bee squeezed.

 

[andrello]

...my asthema a kicking in which is the first time in like 15 years and i got a headache but not a real bad one just enough to know it was there and every know and then it would throab to make shure i knew it was there. ...

It sounds like either slight dehydration or blood sugar problems. You should see a doctor and get a complete blood count just to be sure. You might find you're deficient in some nutrient or (hopefully not) diabetic.

 

[billybob1992002]

i actually do not have pizza and stuff on race day that is just what i have for lunch. i think i am going to see a nutritionist and see if maybe they can help and see if it is my eating habits or if it is something else. the thing is i have never had problems like this when i was running track or any other physical sport i play and it does not happen during mountain biking either.

 

[dhk]

i actually do not have pizza and stuff on race day that is just what i have for lunch. i think i am going to see a nutritionist and see if maybe they can help and see if it is my eating habits or if it is something else. the thing is i have never had problems like this when i was running track or any other physical sport i play and it does not happen during mountain biking either.

Sounds like you're trying to go out and kill yourself chasing a fast pack, and you don't have the aerobic power and endurance to sustain the pace. Suggest you go out and do some training on your own. Just ride at an easy, aerobic pace. Your breathing should be easy the whole time. Don't muscle up the hills, back off, shift down and climb with a decent cadence.

Build up some good base endurance miles this spring. Once you can do 22 mile rides easily without running out of gas, then worry about speed.

 

[dhk]

"In América" también hablamos español, ¿sabías que México está en América?

Crow: Great response! I'm confident that many here in the US recognize that we share North America with Mexico and Canada.

 

[billybob1992002]

DHK the thing is i usually ride by myself and i don't try to chase the pack. i normally ride around 21-22 miles with a average speed of 19 and i don't run out of gas and about twice a week i ride anywhere from 30 and now how got up to 40 but the second you put me into some hills i die and i put it in the lowest gear which does not seem that low and just have to fight to get up hills and the guys i am with just wait for me to get to the top. i am going to keep working on hills to get better and hopefully i will figure out why i am tired after such a short distance. but i don't chase packs b/c i know i can't and can't handle it.

 

[Phil TurboVids]

Its sounds to me like you just do not have endurance enough to be able to burn fats at a steady pace.

My solution is a little radical but its to forget the distance & focus on time. Ride every other day about 1-1.5hrs, at a pace where you start to breath deep (not panting). Do not eat any carbs but take a bottle of water (with perhaps a very small amount of cordial for flavor) with you. If you did this for a few weeks you will see a huge improvement in your endurance during the longer rides. These rides will help your body adapt to burning fat & if you can burn fat then you can ride all day & never get tired! Take your energy bars for emergencies but the goal for most riders is to be able to hammer for hours burning fat. Relying on short lasting expensive energy bars & drink will teach your body to use carbs which will limit most riders to short rides, frequent days of lethargy & the ever present risk of hitting the wall or bonk while out.

So my rant today against what the big energy food producers will say is to ditch the energy bars & drink & build up your body's reliance on Fats for your long rides.

Regards Phil

 

[billybob1992002]

ok but i get tired at the first part of the the ride and then it feels like my legs loosen up and they don't burn anymore but the burning can last as ling as 9 miles before it goes away and happens as early as 2 miles on flat land just as i am warming up

 

[dhk]

DHK the thing is i usually ride by myself and i don't try to chase the pack. i normally ride around 21-22 miles with a average speed of 19 and i don't run out of gas and about twice a week i ride anywhere from 30 and now how got up to 40 but the second you put me into some hills i die and i put it in the lowest gear which does not seem that low and just have to fight to get up hills and the guys i am with just wait for me to get to the top. i am going to keep working on hills to get better and hopefully i will figure out why i am tired after such a short distance. but i don't chase packs b/c i know i can't and can't handle it.

Have a couple more ideas for you to think about. Are you sure you're not overtrained? If your muscles are tired and overcooked, they may be telling you "not again" for the first 15-20 minutes. The pain goes away after a good warmup, but that doesn't mean it's gone, just that you're not feeling it anymore. How do your legs feel the rest of the day.....walking up stairs, or just doing normal activities, or even when lying down at night to sleep?

You may be riding too hard, too often. Do you use a HR monitor to keep your intensity in check? Averaging 19 mph for 22 miles isn't an easy ride, even on flat terrain. What kind of cadence do you maintain when cruising at 19-20 mph? "Fighting hard" to climb hills could require a good 48 hours or more recovery. Are you sure your legs are recovering between these hard efforts?

 

[billybob1992002]

well usually after a ride i live on the third floor so i walk up stairs alot and i know they are tired b/c they just don't feel really strong and they stay like that usually the rest of the day. As for the cadence on my 20 mile rides do you mean am i spinning fast? i usually put it in a higher gear and just maintain my speed b/c it is a flat ride and if i start to have to push to hard i drop down a gear. i ride on tuesdays,thursdays and also on friday and i take the weekend off and usually monday off. right now i am doing that 23 mile hill route on tuesdays and a 30-40 mile on thursdays and on friday i lead a slow 20 mile ride club ride. Am i overtrained and my muscles just need to heal b/c i only ride like 3 times a week and i don't want to loose my endurance b/c i am working for a race that is on april the 9th. oh and i don't use a heart rate moniter b/c i can not afford one.

 

[dhk]

well usually after a ride i live on the third floor so i walk up stairs alot and i know they are tired b/c they just don't feel really strong and they stay like that usually the rest of the day. As for the cadence on my 20 mile rides do you mean am i spinning fast? i usually put it in a higher gear and just maintain my speed b/c it is a flat ride and if i start to have to push to hard i drop down a gear. i ride on tuesdays,thursdays and also on friday and i take the weekend off and usually monday off. right now i am doing that 23 mile hill route on tuesdays and a 30-40 mile on thursdays and on friday i lead a slow 20 mile ride club ride. Am i overtrained and my muscles just need to heal b/c i only ride like 3 times a week and i don't want to loose my endurance b/c i am working for a race that is on april the 9th. oh and i don't use a heart rate moniter b/c i can not afford one.

That 70-80 miles a week could easily be too much riding, depending on the pace. Believe most of us training on our own go too hard, too often. Even for the pros, "easy" aerobic-pace riding makes up the great majority of their mileage.

I'd suggest you get in the habit of checking your cadence. If you're constantly pushing the big ring on the flats at 75-80 rpm, say a 53/17 at 19-20 mph, that's could be blowing up your legs in a hurry. Try starting out every ride in the 39 ring, and spinning at 90-95 rpm for at least the first half of the ride.

If you had an HRM and could monitor the % of time you're riding at 85% of your max HR or higher, believe you'd be surprised. Have seen the basic Polar monitor on sale for $30. Even without an HRM, you can check your HR just by touching a vein in your neck or wrist while riding to count your pulse. Or, you can just be aware of your breathing and how your legs feel. If you're getting into heavy breathing and leg burning on every ride, I'd say you're likely going too hard, too often.

Do you ever take a recovery week? Some training schedules I've seen suggest taking an easy week once a month to recovery fully. You work for 3 weeks, then do a week of reduced mileage recovery rides to allow your body to adapt. The training you do is the stimulus for growth; your body grows stronger and fitter during recovery.

Just lots of thoughts and basics above. I don't really know your fitness levels or riding background. If you've been training and racing for thousands of miles, you probaby know a lot of this stuff already. In any case, you're free to read and ignore.

 

[billybob1992002]

i have only been training pretty hard since about january but have riden bikes my whole life just not competatively. i do not know alot about all this stuff i have just been riding trying to build up endurace and strength. and yes it does burn every ride for the first little bit when i ride but my breathing is not heavy. i I have only been burning and breathing heavy when i was donig the hills since they were long and steep and there was 5 of them and i was pushing really hard to just stay on the bike and keep forward progress but when i got back to flat land and out of the hills and rode slow for about a mile my legs stopped burning and i was averaging around 17-18 for the last 10-11 miles

 

[closesupport]

i ride like 30-40 miles 3 times a week. but the problem is that the first like 4-6 miles my legs just burn and i get tired and just want to quit but after that it is like i sometimes get a second wind i guess and i feel better and my legs don't hurt and then other times i just hurt to even get through 20 miles.it really sucks in races b/c i get dropped after like a lap and never can catch back up but after the race i am not tired at all. what is going on.

try warming up a little more, like the others suggest

the reason that it becomes easier after 5-15 minutes is because the body reaches a steady state situation, this is where the body has made the necessary adjustements to the increased demand of ATP by increasing the delivery and utilization of substrate to match the demands, the desired rate of ATP resynthesis which is maintained by oxidizing a mixture of carbs (glycogen from the muscle and glucose delivered from the liver) and fats (within the muscle and delivered to the muscle from free fatty acids).

i have sent you a private message explaining the process in full, also a fall in ATP concentration, is alleviated by an increase in lactate formation and CP utilisation, the lactate accumulation and CP depletion accrued during the climb can be accomadated once the rate of ATP utilisation has decreased, if the CP depletion and lactate formation is ignored then fatigue may occur.

when the body must work at greater intensities than can be supported by oxidative metobalism alone, the body exceeds the steady state. instead the accumulation of lactate exceeds the rate at which it can be cleared, glycogen stores are rapidly utilized in preference to fats and glucose and Creatine Phosphates stores do also become depleted.

go purchase yourself a good book that explains energy into muscular work, then you will understand what is happening under the surface. when you know yourself and the process then you will know where you are failing...

good luck