Thulsadoom

Because, as hard as it might be to believe, occasionally someone might know what the hell they're talking about and hand out some decent advice. If I ran off to the doctor every time I had an ache or pain or otherwise some small "issue of discomfort", I'd be in financial ruin. It doesn't hurt to just ask someone. You don't have to take the advice if you don't want.

roadwarrior

How will you tell the difference? My point is that as bad as some of the bike advice is out here the last thing I'd be doing to taking physical advice.

But hey, that's just me.

Seinfeld - The Heart Attack (Holistic Healer Scene) - YouTube

Something like that....^^^

halcyon100

I agree that more carbs are needed. I weigh more, but feel better with more carbs. I don't race, so c'est la vie.

I have had similar issues with sore and tight leg muscles. Two main issues for me:

*I build muscle quickly and easily and it's tough to lose weight. My body seem naturally suited to weightlifting, pushing big gears, etc. Spinning is easier on the muscles, but it is hard for me to choose an easy gear and spin. I seem to have some kind of irrational inner resistance to spinning in an easier gear... But soreness in my legs has increasingly been making me more motivated to do this.

*Rolling out knots in the muscles is maybe more important than just stretching. I had a chiropractor tell me I had scar tissue in my muscles. I have been trying to get a deep tissue massage when I can afford it and otherwise using a tennis ball, lacrosse ball and foam roller before stretching.

turky lurkey

It sort of sounds like you have an eating disorder. No offense intended. You say you barely eat any carbohydrates and do so because you like to look lean, even though you feel awful. Maybe you should just stop worrying about your diet so much. I think maybe you should eat lot's of different foods and plenty of it, don't worry about how many calories or carbohydrates are in the food, if your hungry, just eat a lot. You are skinny and you exercise a lot so it doesn't matter. Eat lot's of different things so you get lot's of different nutrients and all your bases are covered. Even eat a little junk food once in awhile, who cares, it won't hurt you if you don't do it all the time. Or maybe just go to the doctor.

Thulsadoom

You have to use your own judgement. You have to decide for yourself what advice sounds right and what's crap and act on it accordingly.

Hate to say it, but doctors are just people. Sometimes they are as full of crap as anyone else.

10 Wheels

See a doctor or ask the clerk at your local convenience store.

lenA

selling is selling

milkbaby

I vote for a doctor's visit as well. It could be anything, but it would be good to rule out some underlying medical condition like cancer, thyroid dysfunction, anemia, adult-onset diabetes, a specific vitamin/micronutrient deficiency, unexplained chronic fatigue syndrome, and/or a whole list of other possible problems.

LansingWes

Like others have said, be careful, take it easy. Sounds like the start of quadriceps tendonitis, something I'm dealing with right now. In my case a week off of work, NSAIDS, and Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation had no effect. Today I went to urgent care and got a steroid anti-inflammatory shot (which still hurts 7 hours later) and something different for the pain. I follow up with a sports medicine do on Friday. If steroids and pain meds don't help the next step is surgury.

tl;dr: be careful, this could get worse and last 4 to six weeks.

Thulsadoom

There is definitely something wrong with you people.

Machka 

What she is describing doesn't sound like quadriceps tendonitis to me ... that is an intense pain in a small, specific spot just above the knee. And it requires 2-3 months of rest (no steriods, no surgery) before it fully clears up. You can walk and you can do short easy spins on the bicycle, but nothing that requires effort (no hill climbing, no intervals).

Hopefully the Sports Dr will be able to give you some good advice for your situation.

Carbonfiberboy 

It's not that complicated: you experiment. You take the advice of someone who seems to know what they're talking about and do what they say. Works? Good. Doesn't work? Try advice from another person. Etc. No one other than yourself can really know, and obviously many people don't know themselves that well or they wouldn't be here asking these questions. I've seen better advice on BF than I've had from physicians and physical therapists. One has to be discriminating, and one has to put the advice into practice.

I've seen a zillion threads full of good advice go by and . . . nada. Did they try it? What worked? Frequently we don't know. Sometimes we see from recurring threads from the same posters that no, they didn't listen, no they didn't try.

Machka 

Where does the knee hurt?


And it is a good idea to go to the Dr and get a complete physical done. It's good to do that every so often anyway, but if you're feeling like you describe, even more important. If the Dr doesn't suggest it, ask for bloodwork that checks your vitamin and mineral levels. It is possible, for example, that you could be low in iron ... or if you're like me, high in iron ... both of which can cause various fatigue issues. But you won't know till you get checked. You might also enquire about a thyroid check and a blood glucose check. All those things should be included in standard bloodwork for a complete physical.

At the very least, going to the Dr can rule out more serious issues. Then it could very well come down to taking an extra rest day each week, and eating more carbs.

cyclezen

sleeping ok? no overall general fatigue? other than cycling, life seems good?
eating a reasonable rounded diet?

if you're expecting your cycling and overall strength and fitness, at 100 mi/wk, to be the same as when doing 200+/wk, that would be irrational. Limiting Kcals with a stilted diet is asking for consequences like you describe. If you're worried about weight, keep the diet balance and just reduce consumption.
reducing the gearing you're using, at the lower miles, means you'll still have cardio training.

like others have noted, maybe balance the diet, maybe drop back the gears, ride steady and easier, and do this for a month or more, and see if things improve.
other side of a stilted diet along with periods of mild, extended dehyration are myofascial issues. The knee pains could easily be associated with the ROM limitations that myofascial problems bring. Check out myofascial pain syndrome. Not hard to handle if you suspect it, but it takes a long time to reverse and improve. Breaking down the bonding between the adhered fascia and the muscle can take some regular treatment and time. Regular Massage by a therapist who has an understanding is a great start. Learning self-massage (especially for the legs) and doing regular makes a huge difference. I'm not crazy about the rollers and prefer manipulation by the hands which have the ability to work the muscle and fascia with more diversity.
If myofascial syndrome is part of the issue, resist 'strength'/power training until you feel really confident that the leg muscles have recovered 100%, it may be months.
Myofascial syndrome is the result of longterm neglect of muscle flexibility - usually years. So what we did 2-3 years back directly affected this.
anyway, a fairly common issues for repetitive, hard effort use, like cycling.