Today’s question is about legs getting tired after a rest stop on a group ride…

I am 58 and my weight is around 165. I seem to keep up with a good cadence and HR riding with the pack up until after the first rest stop of about 25 miles. After I get back on the bike, my legs were very tired and had a hard time going up hills. My cadence slowed way down and my HR slowed down as well. My legs were very tired and started hurting. Just the day before I did about 40 miles and the same thing happened. This happens alot.

Is this called BONK? I drink plenty of fluid. Drinking 1st endurance EFS and tried other’s but nothing is working. My legs seem to get tired quickly and can hardly get up hills.

Thanks,
Billy Bonks

Hi Billy,

Interesting question!

Generally when you bonk, you feel completely exhausted and have a hard time summoning energy to move. It usually doesn’t involve your leg muscles hurting though. (Your legs could certainly end up sore, but a bonk is more a feeling of not having the energy or desire to move your legs.)

But the slow legs and slow heartbeat could be a sign of overtraining. (In some cases, not always though.)

The fact that this happens after a rest stop is what intrigues me. Some people like to stop and rest, then get going again, but some people (like myself) usually feel worse after stopping to rest. It’s like we lose our rhythm.

It’s hard to say exactly what causes your problem. Generally the first response to something like this is either (a) you need to take 2-3 days to rest or (b) you are pushing yourself too hard for your current level of fitness.

Going only on what info I have, I would guess that you end up pushing yourself too hard on these group rides. A LOT of people train at a certain level during the week, but then they go on a group ride, and they push themselves harder than they are capable of without even realizing it (it’s easy to get caught up in the moment when riding with a pack.)

Even if the average speed and distance are similar to what you are used to, perhaps there are more frequent accelerations on the group ride? Or you push just a little too hard at the front of the pack thanks to an adrenaline rush?

It doesn’t take much to push yourself over the edge and then have a hard time the rest of the ride. Maybe you push a little too hard, then the rest stop lets the initial adrenaline rush wear off, and you can’t get back into your rhythm.

Try to take an objective look at your normal solo rides and compare the difficulty to your group rides where you have this problem. Perhaps you’ll see a difference. (Or not, in which case you’ll have to do more detective work to figure out what is going on!)

Today’s question is about eating the right foods before a cyclo-cross (CX) race…

I have a cross race this Sunday at 12:00pm. I was wondering what foods should I eat for dinner the night before, and for breakfast the day of the race. I know carbs, but I always seem to bonk in the middle of a race and feel absolutely starving at the end of a race. It is a 45 minute race, so I can’t eat during the race.

Thanks,
Crossin’ Chris

Hi Chris,

It’s common to be anxious about getting the exact food at the exact time, but it’s not something to stress over.

I wouldn’t be too worried about the night before, just avoid junk food and anything that could upset your stomach. As long as you are eating some sort of food you should be alright.

For a few ideas, check out my “What to Eat Pre- and Post-Ride” article.

As usual, don’t try out new foods right before or during a race! (Always test new foods during training to be sure they agree with you.)

Before the race I’d stick with mainly carbs since they digest quickly. But for fueling, your body holds about 2,000 calories of muscle glycogen, and you won’t burn through all of that during a 45 minute race. So you could actually skip breakfast altogether.

(Similar to a “short, intense ride” as described in my “What to Eat During a Ride” article.)

On to bonking…

To be specific, bonking is running out of energy, i.e. depleting your glycogen stores. But in reality, the “bonk” can be just as much about your legs/heart/lungs as it is about taking in carbs. So if you are bonking during a 45 minute race, my best guess is that the problem lies in your legs, not in your diet.

Unless your body is harboring a tapeworm, your glycogen stores + breakfast is more than enough food to fuel a 45 minute race, no matter how intense it is.

What’s probably happening is that your motivation to do well in the race leads you to push yourself harder than you do in training, and your legs just aren’t ready for it.

Keep training and you should find that “bonks” occur less often.

Hunger…

It’s possible the hunger is just a byproduct of the fatigue from exerting yourself so hard in the races and hard training rides. (After a long, hard race I’m usually either starving or want to throw up.) You are burning a lot of calories and your body’s natural response is to say, “feed me.”

So keep eating healthy, eat and drink during your rides and races, and train hard (rest hard, too) to prepare your body for the stresses of racing.

Photo credit: Andrew Maiman