I’m doing High Cascade 100 in a month. Training has been going well. I’ve been mixing up indoor sessions with longer outdoor rides. Recently my back has really been acting up. As my legs have gotten sronger I can put down more power than my core can really handle.
This week is especially bad. Luckily, it’s a recover week. But I’ struggling. I want to do the workouts and ride, but my back just says no. Yesterday I did a 1 hour sustained endurance ride. It was OK on the bike, but my back felt it by the afternoon. So now I’m second guessing my plan. Next monday I have a sceduled 6000’ ride, followed by a 130mile road ride on Sunday.
As I see it I can either:
Ignore the pain, and train through it, hoping that a 2-week taper will be enough.
Change the training plan and focus more on core work and less on riding.
Start an early taper and give myself the most possible recovery, even if my fitness suffers.
As an aside, I just ordered a riser bar. I think it will help but I need to set it up to test.
Been down this path a few times… Rest definitely helps. 2-3 days completely off the bike. In theory, your back should come out of it stronger. Don’t do any landscaping. No long flights or car trips. Avoid other sports which activate your core like racquet sports. Raising the stem is a good idea short-term. I would not ignore the pain, you’ll be miserable and compromise your training anyways.
Big thing is do not be putting down serious power in an aero position. That’s the big killer. Only on the hoods or tops.
I wouldn’t start any major strength session as that could make things temporarily worse if you only have a month. Alternatively, this is an excellent 6-minute glute activation and stretching routine you could incorporate daily https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qJPTwPwv8c (personally, I omit any ball work). Let’s be honest, this is just abbreviated yoga without the static core work or spirituality.
Until your back is good I would also avoid any drop group rides where someone else is dictating pace and end up back in the same place.
The reason you feel better after 2-3 days of rest is that’s the length of the “acute phase”.
Your core is supposed to provide stability against motion, so it sounds like you already understand that.
Work on these exercises, make sure there is no pain when performing them.
I also notice a huge difference in my lower back pain when I get lazy about my weight training. In particular deadlift. When I stay consistent with lifting fairly heavy, full body, I never have back or arm or shoulder / neck problems on the bike. When I let the lifting slide, it’s not long before long rides become pretty unbearable.
This is older now, but it works. It’s hard at first, but the effects are noticeable after only a few days. Having used it diligently twice a day for many months at a time as part of rehabbing injuries, now I can jump back into it here and there if I feel anything in the posterior chain acting up and it “fixes” it right up in a few days. Twelve minutes. That’s all it takes. And my trainer says you can’t do it too much. Do it multiple times per day if you have time.
