I’m looking for some advice and perspective, especially from anyone who has gone through something similar.
I’m in my mid-40s and over the last 4 or 5 years I have really hit a wall when it comes to recovery from hard efforts and high temperatures. Every single ride since mid-July has resulted in what is essentially a hangover: headache, nausea, fatigue. It’s been like this for years. For example, I had a pretty easy 2 hour outside ride yesterday evening, starting about an hour before sunset, avg power at 55% ftp for context. I fueled the ride - drank 1 bottle mix, 2 bottles of water, at home I drank water, and drank more water, took electrolytes, fully recovered the calories I burned, rehydrated enough that I used the bathroom twice during the night - now I’m nauseous and am on the edge of having a migraine. This is pretty much how every ride goes, starting-predawn or in the evening. Hard or easy, long or short. The number of rides where I don’t have something like this happen after are in the minority. This has started happening in the winter, too, though this severe of a reaction is less frequent for now. The high temps just make the reaction more severe. I can go for a long easy 4 hour ride Sunday morning and spend the rest of the day attempting to stay ahead of a migraine.
So I could take time off the bike from mid-July to mid-September, but I like to race CX and gravel and don’t really see the point in racing anymore if I’m coming into the season cold.
Could I be missing something important for proper recovery, or not properly accounting for my age? I’ve brought this concern to my GP and get a shrug and a comment about getting old and needing to readjust my expectations.
Guaranteed hangovers are why I completely cut alcohol out of my life. If I apply the same logic across the board, then cycling is on the chopping block. Sorry about the rambling self-pity party. I’m hungover from an easy bike ride and feel like I’m at a decision point for something I really don’t want to face.
If it’s not a medical issue, maybe have a pro coach look over all your training data?
It could be as simple as you haven’t taken an off season break in 5 years and you hardly ever take an easy week. Or you’ve been drilling the intervals 3 or 4 days per week for so long that it has finally caught up with you?
I’m not saying that any of these are the cause but there could be a simple reason that an experienced coach might see right away.
Yes, but it’s been a while and it’s gradually gotten worse since I did. I need to get a little more pushy about it. I’m in the process of getting an appointment booked.
Agree with all the other comments on health check. Also, if you haven’t dug deep into sweat rate and sodium loss, it could be an area of opportunity. You can get an idea of sodium loss per liter with testing. And then use a bathroom scale to estimate how much water you are sweating during your rides (weigh before and after and track how much you drank during the ride). During hot/humid rides in TX, I can easily sweat 2 liters or more per hour. If you are losing 1000mg of sodium per liter and sweat a similar amount, that could be over 4000mg of sodium lost in a 2 hour ride. You mention some mix on the bike, but also straight water. You don’t necessarily need to replace every bit of sodium you lose in sweat during the ride, but it should be in the ballpark. And peeing after the ride or that night doesn’t always mean you are well hydrated, the body needs sodium to get those fluids absorbed.
Also good points and I’ll add it to the list. Thank you.
I think I’m a profuse sweater, though I have never actually checked sodium loss. I can clear 3-4 26oz bottles on a warm 4 hour ride and still weigh in with a 4lb loss at the end.
I regularly experienced splitting headaches and nausea after rides, and would even occasionally wake and puke in the middle of the night due to the headache. Cramps were also an issue. Since I started adding salt consistently and religiously, the headaches and cramps pop up maybe once a month. I put sodium citrate in every bottle for every ride now, and after the ride, if I don’t think I drank enough bottles during the ride or if I think I sweat an extraordinary amount, I’ll drink another bottle with sodium citrate in it (I do 500mg NA per bottle, but you do you). I used to drink a lot more water on the bike, before I was consistently adding sodium, and my thirst went down quite a bit after adding the sodium.
Oh, and I finally got it into my head to take an aleve when a headache starts, rather than being miserable all afternoon and evening and finally taking it right before bed so I can sleep (because it works for me with these dehydration headaches.
eta: this summer I’ve been losing 3-4 lbs during 2-2.5 hr rides, while drinking a 21oz bottle per hour…today was an anomaly with it being only 82deg when I finished my ride and I feel like a million bucks.
I use a home-made copy cat of Tailwind Endurance, same electrolyte profile. 100-150g of mix per bottle depending on length and effort, targeting to drink one bottle every 100-120 minutes (~1240mg sodium per bottle). I’ll carry a hydration pack on the long rides and use the bottles for fuel. On hot days, I’ll throw a “pinch” of salt in there, not very scientific.
After the ride, I’ll take a LMNT packet, so ~1000mg sodium.
I take magnesium every night on top of what I get in the mix and the LMNT.
I’m open the the possibility that I am doing that wrong. I spent way too many years of cycling under fueling myself, so I feel like I’m still figuring it out. Thanks!
If this is all your GP did after giving this history, you need to change doctors. You should be able to do some easy exercise without these symptoms. At a minimum, you need some basic blood work.
If the measurable physical stuff is ruled out, I’d seriously consider a non-physical or at least non-measurable problem. Chronic fatigue, long COVID, burnout etc. All those types of diagnoses which don’t show up on a test but which are nevertheless plenty real and usually relate to stress in some way or other. You may need to have a rest and then very gradually resume what would feel like comically easy riding, slowly building back up. For instance 10 minutes. If that doesn’t bring on symptoms, next time do 10% more. And so on.
Don’t worry about the racing. Get healthy first and then see where you are.
Since nothing has changed particularly in your training before to after July, you have to conclude that the only variable is your health.
Ignore the electrolyte zealots (exercised induced hyponatremia is increasingly considered not a real thing).
Go and push your doctor until you get some more concrete reassurance because I am one and if I was experiencing what you are I have a whole rolodex of things I’d be worried about and want ruled out.
You shouldn’t go from not being a migraine sufferer to getting migrane-like headaches from ‘training methodology changes’, or slowly tapering free test levels, and it’s clear that you’re not dangerously dehydrating yourself.
Spouse fixed similar issues by taking 1000+ mg sodium the night before riding. That way you have the extra water retained in your system during the ride, not afterward when you don’t need it (other than as a too-late attempt to dig out of a dehyration hole).
just a random thought, but has your bike fit changed? I get headaches if my neck is too tight or kinked wrong when I’m dialing in a new bike. Migraines are a different animal, and often multi factorial but I hope this helps!
I feel like you’ve got a fair amount of solid leads to chase down here. I wish you well on this journey.
Do other kinds of exercise do this to you? Like…maybe try a rowing machine…or an elliptical…or do some strength training and see how you respond.
Consider keeping a journal that has the food you eat, the activity you do and how you feel. This will help you to identify patterns and it will enable your (new) doctor to give your case the consideration it deserves.
My initial thought here was “long covid” (i am not a doctor, but i’ve seen what the virus has done to people of all ages and health statuses and, in every case, time was what led to a lessening of symptoms).
Additionally - has anything changed about the environment you ride in? Do you ride the same routes? Are there any new factories on this route that could be intentionally/inadvertently dumping stuff that is hazardous to humans? Do you drink tap water? Is your water supply good?