A couple of weeks ago I found I was taking longer to recover from my regular rides so I cut back about a third. I was still having trouble recovering so I took about a week off the bike. I had been riding pretty hard and regularly since the spring so I knew I was due. Getting some rest is good but I suddenly find myself in a pretty good funk for almost no reason. I’ve been doing some riding but been keeping it slow. Anyway, it recently occurred to me that I might be suffering from some endorphin withdrawal.
I actually get like that, but I attribute it not so much as endorphin withdrawal, but more as my body still in a fatigued state. I find my mood is sort of a leading indicator of where my body is heading… once my mood starts turning up, my body usually follows by feeling better on the bike. For me if I felt that way it would be a mistake for me try to ride more to “up” my mood… it’d actually be the opposite; I’d probably look to extend the rest period a bit… but everyone is different.
easy to fix!..pick up CX and you can extend your season/punishment an extra 3 months!
I got in the same funk last winter. My personal fix was to remove my power meter from my bike, no HR monitor, no garmin… Quit riding for numbers and just hit the trails for fun. Realized how much I was missing…if I saw a cool feature, I wouldnt go back and hit it again bc I wanted to be able to track my time and all that crap. Just started riding for the fun of it. Did some fun group rides with no goals in mind. Worked for me!