I race at 7:30 PM two days a week. Lately the morning after a race I have been waking up with a severe migraine headache. I have a history of them but my trigger is not typically exercise. Has anyone had the same and has anything you have changed work for you?
Are you drinking enough water afterwards?
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Probably not and I am thinking I need salt too.
Is it a problem on both your longer races (such as your 2hr TTT - which sounds painful BTW) as well as your shorter races (under an hour). I would think that if it were electrolyte related you’d see a much bigger issue on the longer rides, and much less of an issue on anything under an hour unless you’re going into those hour events already at a deficit.
I would think if you’re finding issues with one hour events that you might be able to fuel better ahead of the races (assuming you’ve had at least some water), but I am no expert by any means - what I find is personally I’m ok with just drinking water for anything under 1hr, but over 1.5 hours during intense days I tend to need to think more about nutrition.
I get migraines but they’re always apparently triggered by something that happens very close to onset, such as looking at a bright light and then developing a sparkly scotoma within a few minutes, sometimes followed by a headache but not always. Computer screens can sometimes do it, but I would not expect that to happen the next day. The punishment is more or less immediate for me.
I also wonder if you are essentially having a hangover from being dehydrated. If you eat after the race you should be able to easily correct any electrolyte deficiency without resorting to fitness products. The way I would approach your situation would include going into the event in a state of good hydration, which means taking in fluids over time and not trying to fill the tank in one go right before the event, and then drinking some afterwards but unless the event is really long you probably won’t have lost a huge amount of fluid even if you sweat a lot. You can weigh yourself before and after the event to estimate the losses.
Besides hydration, how is the air flow in your train-cave? You may want to invest in a CO2 meter and see if that could be part of the issue. I train in my living room (don’t ask) with a vaulted ceiling, and in an hour my CO2 meter goes from 450PPM to 1350PPM unless I have windows open, that is with three fans going between me and the meter.
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Hi Aaron! It only happens after races, no matter the length. Thank you for the tips! I think I need to hydrate better, get salt in and wait at least an hour before going to bed.
Thanks for the info Paul!
Yes the room I am in gets hot. In fact the humidity gets so high in the room that not sets of the smoke detector. I need to fix that.
You can try a dehumidifier to dry out the air in the room:
https://www.bunnings.com.au/products/lighting-electrical/air-treatment/dehumidifiers
That won’t cool the room, but it will dry it out which might help prevent mould build up.
I also have a fairly large semi-portable air purifier that I use sometimes in my home office if I have the door shut (for silence) or for those times when Sydney gets bush-fires (or hazard reduction burns) because I found that the smoke smell from those made me get severe headaches and feel very unwell. I would also leave it running in my bedroom overnight. You could potentially try one of those also. The good ones are not cheap but they work well. This is the one I use, a locally made one:
Then the next thing is cooling the room properly so you aren’t sweating as much and then hydration. Some of those are expensive to do but could be worth it.
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Thank you so m much!
This is a sign of poor ventilation. Reducing the humidity will make it more comfortable and probably lower your heart rate on long indoor rides so that’s all good. A dehumidifier will warm the air temperature, but lower humidity is worth the cost. But the point about poor ventilation is that increased CO2 in the training space will not be addressed by the dehumidifier, or an air purifier. The only way to deal with that is by pushing air in and out of the room. If the training space is small and enclosed, this will be important.
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Thank you so much Paul! I will. Hoping next week is headache free.
Hydrating after the event is important but being well hydrated before is key, especially a longer race. This will almost certainly mitigate your post-race hangover. I always drink lots of water beforehand and then somewhat less during. If you’re experiencing this after a hard long event, you’re probably not starting out with enough water in your body to begin with. Good luck in the future!
Thank you Mark!
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I recommend to feed well for the ride - to have enough carbs during the race (based on the length and effort) and a recovery mix after. This is especially important for evening races.
A light 5-15 min spin at low power after the race helps to calm the body down.
Another simple trick is to drop a hydration tab into a glass of water and drink it before going the bed. That takes care of salt, electrolytes and water.
I find that these are really helping me be back in shape the morning after ZRL that starts at 8:30pm my time.
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My migraines, both indoor/outdoor are caused my neck tension and a pinched nerve that I have, due to bulging disks in my neck, that causes headaches that radiate along the right side of my head. I’ve found that intense races or riding triggers them within within a few hours of ending the activity, regardless of the amount of electrolytes, fluid intake, and diet.
I don’t ride much anymore, but when I do I try to ride in a more upright position that doesn’t put as much strain on my neck and I focus on relaxing my shoulders during the ride. It’s worked so far.
So maybe, these migraines you’re having are tension related. I hope you’re able to take the suggestions here and figure out what’s causing them.
Thank you James!
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