Hello. I'm looking for some advice on a new problem I've run into, probably related, somehow, to aging.
I'm a 63-year old cyclist and very occasional jogger. I started cycling seriously in the early 1990s and for the next six years or so I was extremely fit indeed, thanks to a brilliant training program I picked up in Bicycling magazine, involving 3-9 hours per week. Starting around 2001 my training fell off significantly but I kept riding. In 2006-7 I wa living in a new and challenging area and I got pretty near to peak shape again. I eased off the next two years, during which I also had some intermittent sacroiliac trouble, but not bad enough to keep me off the bike.
A year ago, on a lark, I started trying to do the full program again, which includes one high-intensity workout a week, as well as a long, slow, low-intensity workout and two mediums. (Low intensity is about 60% of max heart rate.) Incidentally, I am doing all my workouts at virtually the same heart rates that I was back in 1994--maybe a few beats less is all. This went remarkably well and by the middle of last year I was in much better shape than I had been in for a long time. I prepared for a tough century ride on Columbus day weekend, and although my preparation slacked off somewhat the last couple of months, I had ridden 70 miles--a fairly hard 70--a couple of weeks earlier and I thought I was ready.
Now there were some personal matters of the eve of the ride that were complicating things for me, and I wasn't as rested as I would have liked on the day of the ride. Also I probably ate too many pancakes at IHOP before going out on the ride. But I wasn't prepared for what happened. On the first series of big hills, maybe 8 miles in, my quads started to hurt--sharp pain--in way that I had never experienced before. Aerobically I was fine, but it really was difficult to keep turning the pedals. I made it to the first checkpoint (25 miles) and actually thought about turning around and going back but I didn't. I eventually complicated a 67 mile option and the quads felt a little better later on but certainly not the way they usually do. The last part of the ride is flat and on that I was cruising around as always and doing fine aerobically.
Now I haven't ridden a lot since then, but I did one hilly club ride and ran into some of the same pain. And then last Sunday I decided to start doing low-intensity work again, and for a change, I decided to jog, which I did for about 50 minutes. As late as Wednesday my quads were still so sensititve that I could not walk down stairs properly. (Perhaps I should mention that I have rather short and very stocky legs. I am also blessed with good genes--my parents were still playing excellent tennis into their late 70s.)
I do about 15 minutes of strenuous yoga every morning trying to stay flexible, and in general, I think I'm doing pretty well on that front. My back is doing fine at the moment. But I'm wondering if there's some way I could get my quads toned up again. I'm going to continue those long jogs once a week for a while to see what happens--it's always hard to start doing them again, although this was unusual. The jog last Sunday had no ill effects in my calves, hamstrings, or back. It was all in the quads.
DK
I'm a 63-year old cyclist and very occasional jogger. I started cycling seriously in the early 1990s and for the next six years or so I was extremely fit indeed, thanks to a brilliant training program I picked up in Bicycling magazine, involving 3-9 hours per week. Starting around 2001 my training fell off significantly but I kept riding. In 2006-7 I wa living in a new and challenging area and I got pretty near to peak shape again. I eased off the next two years, during which I also had some intermittent sacroiliac trouble, but not bad enough to keep me off the bike.
A year ago, on a lark, I started trying to do the full program again, which includes one high-intensity workout a week, as well as a long, slow, low-intensity workout and two mediums. (Low intensity is about 60% of max heart rate.) Incidentally, I am doing all my workouts at virtually the same heart rates that I was back in 1994--maybe a few beats less is all. This went remarkably well and by the middle of last year I was in much better shape than I had been in for a long time. I prepared for a tough century ride on Columbus day weekend, and although my preparation slacked off somewhat the last couple of months, I had ridden 70 miles--a fairly hard 70--a couple of weeks earlier and I thought I was ready.
Now there were some personal matters of the eve of the ride that were complicating things for me, and I wasn't as rested as I would have liked on the day of the ride. Also I probably ate too many pancakes at IHOP before going out on the ride. But I wasn't prepared for what happened. On the first series of big hills, maybe 8 miles in, my quads started to hurt--sharp pain--in way that I had never experienced before. Aerobically I was fine, but it really was difficult to keep turning the pedals. I made it to the first checkpoint (25 miles) and actually thought about turning around and going back but I didn't. I eventually complicated a 67 mile option and the quads felt a little better later on but certainly not the way they usually do. The last part of the ride is flat and on that I was cruising around as always and doing fine aerobically.
Now I haven't ridden a lot since then, but I did one hilly club ride and ran into some of the same pain. And then last Sunday I decided to start doing low-intensity work again, and for a change, I decided to jog, which I did for about 50 minutes. As late as Wednesday my quads were still so sensititve that I could not walk down stairs properly. (Perhaps I should mention that I have rather short and very stocky legs. I am also blessed with good genes--my parents were still playing excellent tennis into their late 70s.)
I do about 15 minutes of strenuous yoga every morning trying to stay flexible, and in general, I think I'm doing pretty well on that front. My back is doing fine at the moment. But I'm wondering if there's some way I could get my quads toned up again. I'm going to continue those long jogs once a week for a while to see what happens--it's always hard to start doing them again, although this was unusual. The jog last Sunday had no ill effects in my calves, hamstrings, or back. It was all in the quads.
DK