century ride recovery question

-You have to work very hard to get a true hyponatremia (low serum sodium level) so I would doubt that is the case. You would have to drink MANY litres of water and nothing else. Even with sweating, if you are drinking accelerade and eating food you will get enough salt to keep your sodium level normal (combined with the body's more than adequate compensatory mechanisms).
-Are you eating plenty before and during the ride? Completely depleting your stores of glucose/glycogen can leave you feeling awful.
-Have you done sufficient training leading up to that level of exertion? I.e. Are you going from maximum 3 hour training rides up to this ~5 - 6 hour ride?

I don't know for sure why you feel like that but I would hope with sufficient food & fluid intake and appropriate gradual increases in training intensity that it would not happen.

Thanks for your reply patch70.

I believe that the training foundation is sound having completed 5 centuries and over 2500 miles this year. Also, I believe I'm pretty good about eating and drinking during the ride. Using urination as an indicator, the system was working pretty well.

There is no doubt that all stores of glycogen/glucose are consumed during a century in the extreme heat of Napa Valley in August.

Do you or anyone on the forum use a post ride recovery program? I'm looking for fluids, supplements, foods and exercise that will eliminate/mitigate the God awful sickness I feel the next day.

BTW, the sickness dissipated around 5:00pm on Monday after the Sunday century...about 26 hours. I'm sure my body requires something substantial after the ride...I just need to know what that something is.

I don't have a specific recovery program. However, I do try to eat plenty of complex carbs before, simple carbs during and obviously lots of fluid both before & during. Afterwards, I'll eat more carbs and some protein and do plenty of stretching. The next day I'll try and spin the legs during a slow, easy ride.
If I overdo it on the simple carbs, then sometines I feel nauseated but not for 26 hours.

This article appears to be helpful in addressing the recovery issues...

http://www.ultracycling.com/training/recovery_ld_cyclists_part1.html

I'm going to give it a try