# Feeling flat.....HELP



## shomyoface (Nov 24, 2007)

So, my power is down, sleeping appears a little off and I feel I need to spend some time regaining my edge and losing my flatness. How long (weeks) should I expect to spend my time riding easy to get over this hell? I have to ride, I need something to fight life's stress', so how long should these rides be?

Thanks to the wise folks......:thumbsup: :thumbsup:


----------



## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

Easy rides, under 2 hours, maybe a coffee stop. Ride with a novice group and do some mentoring, a great way to do some goodwill and you will generally be riding quite easy. Alternatively, do not ride on the road and do something different like go for a hike, or ride MTB if you have one.

In terms of time, everyone is different. Depends on how long your season is, how much base you have, how many years you have in the sport, etc, etc. Reducing volume and intensity is good, but you also have to focus on getting quality sleep and recovery to truly bounce back and feel fresh and ready to train hard.


----------



## Rollo Tommassi (Feb 5, 2004)

*go see a movie*

air conditioning. seriously, you need a break - mentally and physically. cycling is stressfull, so you are not excaping stress by doing it. 

if you must ride, ride in small chainring only. you should remain at a pace where you do not need to open your mouth to breathe.

be good to yourself, eat well, eat constantly (grazing) and get a massage.

i really like the mentoring suggestion!


----------



## albert owen (Jul 7, 2008)

Go for a ride *to* somewhere. Get a bike with panniers and take in some sights, some cake. Cycle as a form of slow transport - see how long you can take to get from A to B. Re-align your molecules ;-)


----------



## MarshallH1987 (Jun 17, 2009)

take a week off the bike, no riding at all, not even an easy ride. if you never let your body rest and recover you will just get slightly less "flat" and go right back. I was feeling pretty good then went on vacation and didn't ride for 6 days and felt way better after coming back. The first day back on the bike sucked, but that is expected, the next day riding felt good.


----------



## dcl10 (Jul 2, 2010)

I always start to feel kind of flat this time of year. 9,000 miles since March and only 8 days not doing some kind of riding, training is getting increasingly boring, and since most of my big races are done so I have little motivation. I think I will start doing some mountain biking again. I have not touched my mountain bike since May, maybe take it easy for the next couple weeks as well.


----------



## shomyoface (Nov 24, 2007)

Thanks all for your words. I think I am "over reached" if there is such a term. I am still highly motivated to ride, which may be a big distinguisher from "over trained". Since I have come to this realization, I've found myself to be more tired than I had first realized. I'll be spending the next couple of weeks riding easy, get my MTB out and explore a little, hit some trails and ride slowly and enjoy the woods. I think I'll ride every other day for no more than an hour, although perhaps at the weekend, I may ride a little longer, but keep my heart rate around 100 - 110 (no power meter on the MTB). Just get fresh....I may lose a little top end, but gain much more......:thumbsup:


----------



## heathb (Nov 1, 2008)

This time of year I run 3 days a week and don't ride on those days. Running actually makes my climbing a lot stronger and it helps the up coming cyclocross as well.


----------

