RTL: Suffering any after-effects?

[David_Stone]

One after effect I did NOT experience was itchy legs. As one of the few guys who actually did shave his legs below the knee (both as a joke/inspiration to my team and as a way to avoid bad bandage problems in the even of a nasty scrape), I was afraid that my legs would itch for days. They haven't. This may be on account of the fact that I only wear shorts.

My wife said that it felt weird to have a pair of smooth legs in the bed with her. I must admit that I like the way my legs look shaven and will give some real thought to this matter...

[saskatchewanian]

no real after effects other than a strong urge to run a few K to burn off some energy. Perhaps the extra 60km "cool down" ride after hitchhiking all night trying to get to the airport helped.


On second thought I have been having 36er dreams and keep thinking about getting a second one to put a geared hub into.

[rolandisimo]

Originally Posted by genbirch

... I set out for an intended hour of riding in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore area near Gary Indiana. Within a hundred meters I cramped badly in my quads and painfully limped back to the van. ."

I had a very strange incident today that I will blame on RTL. Both my legs completely cramped up during a game of ultimate, after just playing a few points. I get the occasional leg (quad) cramps at the end of 2 days of ultimate, but never right at the start of a game like this, and never this bad. The cramps continued all evening, and still hurt. I was able to play 1 point, rest 1 point, play 1 point, although my playing was more like limping around the field.

I'm still not really sure why. Its 6 days since RTL. I was playing without eating dinner, but I do that all the time with no consequences. My guess is that my metabolism was still all jacked up from last week and expecting a constant flow of electrolytes that I didn't give it. I haven't had any other exercise since RTL.

Whatever the issue was, I think it shows how much the 5 days of racing affected my physiology. At least I hope it does, the alternative is that I'm just getting old!

Ro

[genbirch]

Originally Posted by rolandisimo

I had a very strange incident today that I will blame on RTL. Both my legs completely cramped up during a game of ultimate, after just playing a few points. I get the occasional leg (quad) cramps at the end of 2 days of ultimate, but never right at the start of a game like this, and never this bad. The cramps continued all evening, and still hurt. I was able to play 1 point, rest 1 point, play 1 point, although my playing was more like limping around the field.

I'm still not really sure why. Its 6 days since RTL. I was playing without eating dinner, but I do that all the time with no consequences. My guess is that my metabolism was still all jacked up from last week and expecting a constant flow of electrolytes that I didn't give it. I haven't had any other exercise since RTL.

Whatever the issue was, I think it shows how much the 5 days of racing affected my physiology. At least I hope it does, the alternative is that I'm just getting old!

Ro

Hey Ro, I'm actively pursuing this sh*tty problem - I'll let you know if I find anything really illuminating. As you probably know, there are diverse factors at play and inter-play regarding cramping. Tough to diagnose.

[phlegm]

Another side effect: 150 mm cranks are freakin' long! I'm thinking about getting some 137s for 29er MUni.

I also want to thank Personal Rollercoaster for making me ride fast. Competition keeps me from being lazy.

[genbirch]

Originally Posted by rolandisimo

I had a very strange incident today that I will blame on RTL. Both my legs completely cramped up during a game of ultimate, after just playing a few points. I get the occasional leg (quad) cramps at the end of 2 days of ultimate, but never right at the start of a game like this, and never this bad. The cramps continued all evening, and still hurt. I was able to play 1 point, rest 1 point, play 1 point, although my playing was more like limping around the field.

I'm still not really sure why. Its 6 days since RTL. . . the alternative is that I'm just getting old!

Ro

Hey Ro, I've got the scoop for you I bet. Here it is:
http://www.csmfoundation.org/Exertio...domyolysis.doc

Ck. the last line under Exercise-Related Risk Factors. 'Eccentric exersizes like descending on a unicycle . . .', they should have written.

The first time I experienced this problem was when I was 19 after a big bike tour. Then again in my early 20's after another bbt. Also, several times since in the past 8 years of active cycling. I'm proud to say that this year, after RTL, was my most painful episode ever of this EXERTIONAL RHABDOMYOLYSIS (non-life threatening degree). Something predisposes me to it - don't know what, but today I've finally put a name on it (w/the help of Dr. Dave Belk and some lab test results - my CPK was 4000ish as of Thursday).

My doctor said not to do another intense 5 day unicycle race. What do you think I said to that?
"Well . . .", he said, ". . . at least don't drink alcohol after, do stay well hydrated and don't drive 3 days home by yourself after the next one". Next RTL, I'll take the airplane.

This is almost worth a sports med sci journal article - I wish we had more data, esp. regarding my CPK values over the days post-race. I'm going in tomorrow am for another lab bloodletting.

[Eroick]

Originally Posted by genbirch

My doctor said not to do another intense 5 day unicycle race. What do you think I said to that?
"Well . . .", he said, ". . . at least don't drink alcohol after, do stay well hydrated and don't drive 3 days home by yourself after the next one". Next RTL, I'll take the airplane.

Good man.
I hope you recover from that. I'm glad that I didn't run into any trouble. On day 5 I realized that I hadn't eaten or drank anywhere near enough on the other days. When I actually drank a bunch and ate more than some trail mix on the fifth day, I felt amazing!

A new side effect for me, any wheel looks and feels SO small. My 29er feels like a 24 so I can't wait to ride some muni on it (hopefully tomorrow). Bikes wheels (26) look far too small, and my trials seems ridiculous.

One thing I mentioned in my radio interview about RTL was that it didn't even seem odd when we were riding our cokers, it actually seemed quite normal. Now I've got to get that out of my head .

[rolandisimo]

Originally Posted by genbirch

Hey Ro, I've got the scoop for you I bet. Here it is:
http://www.csmfoundation.org/Exertio...domyolysis.doc

Thanks for the link. I found another related article here
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...g=artBody;col1

I think you might be right that some aspects of muscle dammage/rebuilding associated with RTL affecting my cramping during ultimate 6 days later. However, my case wasn't very bad and didn't include many of issues discussed in those articles. For example, I had been training hard leading up to RTL, I didn't have dark urine, and my cramping came on from the effects of strenuous exercise (sprinting) and went away after one evening. So I don't think I had the full-blown syndrome, but probably did have a few nasties in my bloodstream left over from RTL.

They seem to have worked their way out, had a great Muni ride yesterday with no complications.


-Ro

[Munivision]

I have had two episodes of severe cramping in my quads, both after long plane flights. The first was during RTL training the second was last night, the day after I returned from Nova Scotia. I felt great with no real soreness the whole week after RTL as I toured the country with my wife. Only side effect seemed to be uncontrollable hunger!

So last night I go out for my first post-RTL ride and within a quarter mile, both quads cramp so severely, I had to walk home. Ached all evening and feel fine this morning. Urine is clear. This is very puzzling to me as I have never had cramps in my life. I associated it with flying, since both times were after a long flight. But I am going to look into this Rhabdomylosis.

[phlegm]

Another side effect: weak core muscles. Two months of training and riding only on the road has leaned out my upper body. After a weekend of MUni my sides and shoulder muscles are feeling it, even though the rest of me feels ready for another RTL.

[pabutt]

Originally Posted by Munivision

I have had two episodes of severe cramping in my quads, both after long plane flights. The first was during RTL training the second was last night, the day after I returned from Nova Scotia. I felt great with no real soreness the whole week after RTL as I toured the country with my wife. Only side effect seemed to be uncontrollable hunger!

So last night I go out for my first post-RTL ride and within a quarter mile, both quads cramp so severely, I had to walk home. Ached all evening and feel fine this morning. Urine is clear. This is very puzzling to me as I have never had cramps in my life. I associated it with flying, since both times were after a long flight. But I am going to look into this Rhabdomylosis.

I have exactly the same symptoms as you have described. have u had any success in finding what causes this cramping.