Nicotine Patch Not as Effective for Strenuous Exercise (Aftermath of Skiing #1)

Sierra at Tahoe was known as Sierra Ski Ranch when I was there the last time. Which meant that I haven't been here since the 1990s. It's a minor resort off US-50 and that's probably why I didn't frequent it. US-50 is not as convenient as I-5, so I don't come this way for skiing too often at the first place.  When I come, I'd continue to Heavenly rather than stopping here. The exile to MECFS land for 15 years certainly didn't help either. But I got a season pass for it this year instead of the Epic Pass because the price for Epic Pass went up to $800. The first Saturday of December was the season opener. I went up on Monday the 11th.

The first day of the season, and I was lacking enthusiasm for some reason. I got up late -- the alarm didn't go off -- and I almost gave up. I was still tired from biking 5 miles and then jogging 4 blocks on the 9th and the thought of skiing didn't excite me enough to get me going. It must've been the been-there-done-that syndrome. It's the 5th season since I got back on the slope and the wonderment has been slowly fading since. This year is a continuation of that. But it sure felt nice to be back on the white mountains under the bright sky once I got on the lift chair.

Only one run was open. One foot of snow the week before wasn't nearly enough to cover up the rocks and other obstacles. But they managed to open one beginner slope with the aid of snow-making machines. The lack of challenging runs was a good excuse to work on my techniques and all that squatting to get my turns in shape was enough an exercise for the first day.  I skied for 2 hours in the morning and then 2 more in the afternoon before coming back. 

As usual, the morning after was fine. I had a bit of head pressure, so I swallowed a Sudafed pill. In the evening, I was full of energy. I was in the kitchen for a full hour rattling pots and pans, whistling all the while. I was in the best condition that I could ever be in. Then the bottom predictably fell out the next day. I slapped on the nicotine patch in the morning hoping that I'd stay on my feet, but that did not happen. The 1-hour nap in the morning didn't help either: I was groggy and horizontal all day long. I bounced back a little in the evening though. I stayed on my nicotine/Sudafed for 4 more days till the 16th. I was back on my feet on the 14th, with an aid of the patch and 2-hour nap in the afternoon, and then crashed again on the 15th. 

Back in 2020, I felt that getting knocked out for a day or two was OK. Now, getting knocked out even for a day seems too much. The more I improve, the more I expect, I guess.

So, is the nicotine patch losing its efficacy? Or was the skiing too hard an exercise to paper over with the patch? Taken together with the 40-mile bike ride after which I was under the weather for a week, the answer seems to be the latter. Nicotine patch helps, but not as much as living on the road or in the wilderness. I was able to backpack 75 miles through Yosemite in 7 days, but I'm keeling over after 4 hours of skiing. Which kind of makes sense. Nicotine is a powerful dopamine generator, but not as powerful as striving in places that you've never been before. But it is still more powerful than Sudafed.

40-mile Aftermath and 15-Mile Ride to REI

I was still a bit under the weather from the 40 mile ride the week before. But I had to test the new saddle. Well, I had to because I was itching to test it, not because of any exigency. 

The Bontrager commuter saddle didn't work out. The padding nicely softened after the first ride and provided ample support. But the cutout was too narrow, and it still applied pressure on my groin. I kept finding myself lifting my butt when going over bumps. So, I got this carbon saddle with flat profile and larger cutout from Temu. It was a bit larger than my butt, but it was only $10, so I figured it was a good way to try out larger cutout. If it works out, I'll get a new one of right size and more padding. Selle Italia Boost Free-flow, perhaps. Turned out, it wasn't too big. It fit my butt just fine. 

I wanted to make it another 40 miles, from Guy West Bridge to Rainbow Bridge in Folsom this time. A better sense prevailed, and I decided to do a run-of-the-mill 15-mile ride. I swallowed a Sudafed pill to get me out of the weather and then rode at a leisurely pace of about 7 mph, with 5-minute break every 2.5 miles.

The saddle was a success. At last, I could leave my butt attached to the saddle when going over bumps with confidence. The saddle hardly had any padding, but that didn't matter: the cutout was THE culprit, not the padding. Now I'm itching to get back on the saddle for a long ride. I'll eventually make it to Auburn and back for 80 mile ride. For now though, the ski season is about to begin -- they got a foot of snow in the mountains this week. So I might have to put away the bike till Spring.

The day after the ride, I went on a nicotine patch. I've been up and running like a busy bee, relatively speaking, for the next 3 days. No crash, in other words, except for a 30-minute nap the day after. If that was a crash, it was the shortest one ever. 

So, 15 miles is a piece of cake with Sudafed and nicotine patch. 40 miles is a bit iffy. The patch 2 days after the ride prevented the crash, but I was left weaker and more susceptible to crash for the rest of the week. That is typical of hard crashes. They leave you weaker even after you recover from the crash, so you have to remain well below your baseline for a while. I managed to dodge the crash, but not the weakness that followed. I may have to be on nicotine/Sudafed for a week after a long ride. A lesson learned.

Here is what happened after the 40-mile ride on 11/27. (I recorded it as 35 miles because I didn't account for the detour through the city):

The "Total" column is the number of hours I spent lying down the following day. The total of 3 on the row for 11/24, for example, means that I lied down for 3 hours on 11/25. 

On 11/27, the day of the ride, I had to rest in the evening after 40-mile ride. So, I ended up with 4 hours spent lying down on 11/27. The next day, I only spent 2 hours lying down. That's an excellent performance. Then I spent 4-5 hours lying down starting from 11/29, 2 days after the ride, till 12/3. I colored 12/2 red because spending 5 hours or more (on 12/3) constitutes a bad day. That meant I spent 5 days under the weather. Again, I should stay on nicotine/Sudafed for a week after a hard exercise the next time and see if I can stay out of the weather.

40 Mile Bike Ride

Time to test the new set of Conti 5000S TR. Last Monday, I set out with the goal to get to Sunrise Recreation Area along American River. It would've been 45 miles round trip if it went with no hitch. But the construction work on the levy between REI and Guy West Bridge forced me to take a detour and get lost in the city. I ran out of time and had to turn around at Harold Richey Bridge. I skirted the construction on the way back by riding on the other side of the river. There was a construction around Hwy 99 overpass too, but I snuck in through the construction site and made it to Sutter's Landing on the other side. Including the detour, it was about 40 miles in 5 hours total.

I knew I'd be fine the next day. The dopamine from a heavy exercise would last another 24 hours. I slapped on the nicotine patch on the second day to prevent the bottom from falling out. It seems to have worked. I managed for 3 days without crash. But then, I had to pace for the rest of the week because I became more susceptible to PEM. I may have to stay on nicotine/Sudafed for a week following a heavy exercise, not just for a few days.

So, did I avoid crash with nicotine? It may have. But then, I usually manage without crash at the new season of any activity for a few weeks. So I can't tell with this sample of 1. I'll have to repeat a few times in a month or two and see.