First Long Ride After Transition
So I did my first long ride yesterday, and it almost broke me. After doing the intermediate OS and two weeks of transition I dropped in to week 6 of the Intermediate IM plan. My A race is on 9/11 (IMOO).
I covered about 70 miles in 3.5 hours, with some intervals worked in. Nutrition went fine, hydration was ok. Maybe a little low on water, it got suddenly hot this weekend. I've covered this distance plenty of times in the past, but this was a big bump in volume for me this season.
About 2 hours in I had a flat. As I got off the bike to change it I bend down and I felt something spasm in my back. Things were really uncomfortable from there on in my back and neck. The winds picked up to about 30-35 mph from 20 mph and I had a head wind that dropped me down to about 9 mph. Things got pretty dark. Didn't do the 20 minute brick on the plan, just called it a day. Now, the next day...god am I sore. Like post race sore. My legs are ok, but my back and neck really hurt.
Ok, so sorry about the whining, but...is this the right way to move from out season into general prep? Should I be at week 6 or should I start at week 1 and do that for 6 weeks and then do a 12 week IM plan? Is it normal for the first few rides to be so uncomfortable? It gets better, right?
Comments
What I have done in the past is I plan my long rides so I circle near the house then I switch bikes. So If I have a 3 hour ride in the beginning then I will will ride about an hour or so aero then switch to the road bike.
And winds like that are no joke - the effort to stay upright and straight can easily make a 3 hour ride feel like 6! I had the same experience in winds of 20-35 mph with gusts to 45 two days ago - just drained my brain after a while. Luckily, I'd had neck issues the previous ride and had started doing a lot of pre-ride and daily stretches to prepare. Also, I switched sunglasses to ones without a frame on top, to allow me to keep my head a little less upright.
Al, could you describe the stretches you are doing? I've recently tried the sunglasses without the top frame as well (Tifosi Vogels) I really like them, but it seems like the abscence of that top frame means that I sweat all over the inside of the lenses.
@ ;Michael - I usually don't get warm/hot weather, but it sounds like a sweat band might come in handy for you. The wiki has a thread on the Gutr which might help.
The neck stretches I'm doing I started last fall after I broke four small bones in my neck and had to wear a cervical collar for 6 weeks. There are 4, each done slowly ten times. When I do these, I try to keep all other joints in my body as well as my spine and core as still as possible. 1. Tilt forward, trying to touch chin to chest. 2. Tilt back in the same plane as #1. 3a and 3b. Twist to each side, keeping shoulder still, trhing to touch chin to shoulder, keeping my head in a good upright "military" posture. 4a and 4b. Tilt my head down laterally, in effect trying to get my ear to my shoulder. This is hard to do without trying to counterbalance by throwing my hips side to side. Again, trying to keep the head uprigght, military. (This is actually the reverse order I do them in, but I don;t know if that'e important.
I do them in front of a mirror, to keepgood form. If you notice pain in the neck, or shooting pains or nerve tingles in arms, neck or shoulders, then you should stop and consult a PT or doctor.
I do these in conjunction with a whole stretching routine which works on my lower back and core and spine. I also got a wedge compression fracture in my lower spine, and needed to loosen that area out.