Wayne77
09-01-2013, 11:20 AM
Some of you saw my post here (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=134477) about a scary experience at the hospital due to an internal GI bleed. Anyway, it's been a month now and I'm feeling pretty good and have started cycling again.
I have a question about how much "base fitness", endurance, or power one looses over time due to inactivity...some background:
Prior to the incident I had been training and racing all season (mostly crits and some short to medium length road races), working towards doing both the Tour of Park City, a 150 mile road race, and the 206 mile Lotoja Classic (some people race it, some people do it as a fun ride). I missed the Tour of Park City because I checked into the hospital the day of the race. The Lotoja classic is this coming Saturday. When I checked out of the hospital my Doctor ruled out doing any more racing for the next 2-3 months because it takes a long time to for the body to regenerate red blood cells and I just needed time to recover. He also felt it was unsafe to do a 200 mile ride so far away from any medical facility if I did have any new blood loss issues. Fast forward 4 weeks - I got a new blood test Friday and I was pleasantly surprised to find that my blood recovery was better than expected. I checked into the hospital with a life threatening 25% hematocrit / 8 Hemoglobin. Yesterday I tested at 39.9% hematocrit, 13.7 hemoglobin. I understand that normal hematocrit level for a male my age is something like 40-52%. So the nurse said I am basically at the low end of normal now, which was great news.
Then the little voice in my head started to say "maybe I can do the Lotoja after all. I went on a feeler ride yesterday, 45 miles with a pretty steep 1200' climb in the middle. My hopes were crushed. :rolleyes: I don't think I lost too much power/speed (I have a power meter) on the flats, but my climbing was pathetic...almost laughable. I did make it to the top, but it was definitely humbling! When I got back to the flats I did recover pretty quickly and was able to motor the last 20 miles back home at a good pace. The Lotoja is 206 miles with around ~10,000 feet of climbing. None of the climbs are that steep and I've done that ride before, so I know what I'd be getting into. After yesterday's ride I really don't think I'd be able to finish the Lotoja route though. I feel like I've just lost way too much climbing power and maybe even endurance...I managed a solo 140 miler with 8000' 5 weeks ago, no problem, but now I can barely manage 1200' of climbing. Don't get me wrong - I'm grateful to be alive! And I'm grateful to even be able to ride a bike 45 miles considering I almost kicked the bucket 4 weeks ago.
Ok, that ended up being much more back ground than I planned (thanks for getting this far), so here's what I'm wondering: -How quickly do you think one loses 'base fitness' due to recovery and inactivity? Can one lose climbing power but maintain overall power output? Maybe my issue with climbing is not so much strength related, but more a result of less oxygen carrying capacity in my blood, leading to more of an aerobic constraint? How fast do you loose endurance? Any thoughts are much appreciated and don't necessarily need to be directed toward the specifics of my experience. I find this topic very fascinating !
Anyway, I do have an appointment scheduled with Dr Max Testa this Wed (he's actually an in-network provider local to me...amazing that a $25 co-pay will get me in to see him. -He runs his sports medicine and family practice in SLC, Utah when he's not over in Europe with the pro teams) I can't wait to get his input on this.
Thanks all!
I have a question about how much "base fitness", endurance, or power one looses over time due to inactivity...some background:
Prior to the incident I had been training and racing all season (mostly crits and some short to medium length road races), working towards doing both the Tour of Park City, a 150 mile road race, and the 206 mile Lotoja Classic (some people race it, some people do it as a fun ride). I missed the Tour of Park City because I checked into the hospital the day of the race. The Lotoja classic is this coming Saturday. When I checked out of the hospital my Doctor ruled out doing any more racing for the next 2-3 months because it takes a long time to for the body to regenerate red blood cells and I just needed time to recover. He also felt it was unsafe to do a 200 mile ride so far away from any medical facility if I did have any new blood loss issues. Fast forward 4 weeks - I got a new blood test Friday and I was pleasantly surprised to find that my blood recovery was better than expected. I checked into the hospital with a life threatening 25% hematocrit / 8 Hemoglobin. Yesterday I tested at 39.9% hematocrit, 13.7 hemoglobin. I understand that normal hematocrit level for a male my age is something like 40-52%. So the nurse said I am basically at the low end of normal now, which was great news.
Then the little voice in my head started to say "maybe I can do the Lotoja after all. I went on a feeler ride yesterday, 45 miles with a pretty steep 1200' climb in the middle. My hopes were crushed. :rolleyes: I don't think I lost too much power/speed (I have a power meter) on the flats, but my climbing was pathetic...almost laughable. I did make it to the top, but it was definitely humbling! When I got back to the flats I did recover pretty quickly and was able to motor the last 20 miles back home at a good pace. The Lotoja is 206 miles with around ~10,000 feet of climbing. None of the climbs are that steep and I've done that ride before, so I know what I'd be getting into. After yesterday's ride I really don't think I'd be able to finish the Lotoja route though. I feel like I've just lost way too much climbing power and maybe even endurance...I managed a solo 140 miler with 8000' 5 weeks ago, no problem, but now I can barely manage 1200' of climbing. Don't get me wrong - I'm grateful to be alive! And I'm grateful to even be able to ride a bike 45 miles considering I almost kicked the bucket 4 weeks ago.
Ok, that ended up being much more back ground than I planned (thanks for getting this far), so here's what I'm wondering: -How quickly do you think one loses 'base fitness' due to recovery and inactivity? Can one lose climbing power but maintain overall power output? Maybe my issue with climbing is not so much strength related, but more a result of less oxygen carrying capacity in my blood, leading to more of an aerobic constraint? How fast do you loose endurance? Any thoughts are much appreciated and don't necessarily need to be directed toward the specifics of my experience. I find this topic very fascinating !
Anyway, I do have an appointment scheduled with Dr Max Testa this Wed (he's actually an in-network provider local to me...amazing that a $25 co-pay will get me in to see him. -He runs his sports medicine and family practice in SLC, Utah when he's not over in Europe with the pro teams) I can't wait to get his input on this.
Thanks all!