what's happening in my body when I "hit the wall"?
For example - on today's ride (road, 15 miles, 55 minutes) I felt really strong for the first 11 miles (probably the first 40 minutes or so), but then it totally changed. It was like a a switch was flipped in my body. It was a struggle to maintain any kind of effort, and I felt totally out of gas.
What causes that? I assume my muscles run out of "energy" to burn. At that point, what do my muscles need to keep going? Or is it more a matter of conditioning, as the majority of my rides are about a hour in length?
If it's a nutrition thing, should I be eating something during the ride? or is it more about how I eat/drink during the day before the ride?
Any tips/info would be great. I've got a 60 miler in mind for next weekend, but I don't want to be 30 miles from home and have to call for a ride.
For example - on today's ride (road, 15 miles, 55 minutes) I felt really strong for the first 11 miles (probably the first 40 minutes or so), but then it totally changed. It was like a a switch was flipped in my body. It was a struggle to maintain any kind of effort, and I felt totally out of gas.
What causes that? I assume my muscles run out of "energy" to burn. At that point, what do my muscles need to keep going? Or is it more a matter of conditioning, as the majority of my rides are about a hour in length?
If it's a nutrition thing, should I be eating something during the ride? or is it more about how I eat/drink during the day before the ride?
Any tips/info would be great. I've got a 60 miler in mind for next weekend, but I don't want to be 30 miles from home and have to call for a ride.