Bonking!
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BigG59
Posts: 396 Member
The cycle club I joined last year has four classes of ride. 1. Racing (+19mph) 2) Fast (18-20mph) 3) Steady Training Run (16-18) and 4) Club Run under 17mph adjust speed to slowest rider.
I usually do the Steady Training Run but have even managed to get out on all categories. I consider myself a strong club rider, I say this not to brag but to set the scene for the next paragraph.
Yesterday there was no STRAW so I went on the club run. It wasn't the longest run, not the quickest nor the the most climbing. But I bonked completely and had to call the wife to pick me up. It wasn't the lack of fuel, my heart rate was about 70%, I just couldn't move my legs!!! I was totally goosed.
https://www.strava.com/activities/239732577 the speed falls off a cliff after about 80km a jogger would have over taken me. In the end I had to call it a day, I couldn't move and MrsBigG had to rescue me.
I am trying to figure out what caused it, theories i) Over Training ii)Too much ale night before iii) Lack of fuel I cannot see this as I'd the usual porridge and banana before, banana on the first stage, lunch (beans toast and an egg), gel on 2nd stage. iv) Something else?
Thoughts?
I usually do the Steady Training Run but have even managed to get out on all categories. I consider myself a strong club rider, I say this not to brag but to set the scene for the next paragraph.
Yesterday there was no STRAW so I went on the club run. It wasn't the longest run, not the quickest nor the the most climbing. But I bonked completely and had to call the wife to pick me up. It wasn't the lack of fuel, my heart rate was about 70%, I just couldn't move my legs!!! I was totally goosed.
https://www.strava.com/activities/239732577 the speed falls off a cliff after about 80km a jogger would have over taken me. In the end I had to call it a day, I couldn't move and MrsBigG had to rescue me.
I am trying to figure out what caused it, theories i) Over Training ii)Too much ale night before iii) Lack of fuel I cannot see this as I'd the usual porridge and banana before, banana on the first stage, lunch (beans toast and an egg), gel on 2nd stage. iv) Something else?
Thoughts?
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Did you ride the day before? Or, maybe you are getting something like a flu or cold. That can sap your energy. Maybe if you rested a while and let the gel work in. How long did it take you to recover once you got picked up?
The last time that happened to me, towards the end of a long solo ride, I got back home, but it was torture to go on the last 8 miles or so. Of course, I messed up by bringing no food, no energy drink, just plenty of water, and I felt great right up to hitting the wall.0 -
Thanks Archon. Yes I rode on Saturday. I always ride Sat and Sunday (Saturday is a STRAW ride). Once i got picked up it took me a good hour to recover (and a hot shower). Today I am really stiff and that is unusual, I usually never feel it like this the next day.0
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What is your max hr or better yet your Lactic Threshold? I see you were at 70% effort from your post but it didn't look like a steady state effort at all. Those power peaks will really tear up some legs.
What happened at mile 40?
You said you rode easy but I see several PR's in Strava. Were you pushing up the hills to keep up with someone?
At 87.9+ft/mile, that is a climbing ride and probably a strenuous ride.
My rule of thumb:
>50+ft/mile - easy rollers if avg grade is ~0.5%
50-100+ft/mile - climbing hills avg grade 0.6-1.0%
100+ft/mile - climbing mountains with the prolonged agony of grades exceeding 8%; avg grade >1.0%
What was your water intake? With the average temp of 38F, I am suspecting that perhaps you didn't take in enough H20 and electrolytes. Not sure how much ale you drank the night before but IIRC alcohol will help dehydrate you. You might have gone into the ride slightly dehydrated and matters decayed from there.
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i'm guessing those PR's are the "2015 only" PR's - i.e. chances are it's first couple of times over that bit of road, so you hit one for every segment...
From comparing it to similar rides I've seen you do, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, so assuming you've not already come down with a stinking cold/flu now... if you've hit the wall - well, my money's on the same as @Dahamac - i.e. previous nights beers left you dried out, and then in just above freezing, you didn't drink enough.
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Thanks everyone for your inputs.
YBF is correct they are 2015 PRs, it wasn't that quick and if anything was slightly slower than of late due to being a bit more lumpy. No not gone down with a cold this week. So that wasn't it.
@Dahamac. Yes it was hilly but nothing out of the norm for round here. A bit more hilly than I've done of late though.
I am going with the alcohol night before and not enough hydration theory.
This weekend will tell. Saturday is the normal training ride, Sunday is a bit longer a bit flatter than last Sunday.0 -
After a night of drinking I always feel like I'm running on fumes but maybe you've done that before with no problem, it's likely to be a combination though, drink, a lurking bug in your system wearing you down which only becomes apparent after high impact exercise ... I've had this last week and gives you that bonk feeling, I was consequently off riding for a few days.0
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Ah I don't Strava enough to realize it resets for the new year. I've learned something.
What did you have to eat at for lunch? The closest I have ever come to bonking (feeling so bad I couldn't continue) is on a 600k where I ate a double-cheeseburger for lunch while continuing to ride and nearly dehydrated. The morning temps were in the low 40F range and after the double-cheeseburger I hit hills and 90F temps. I almost laid down in a ditch and quit the ride.
I stopped, loosened my shoes, and soft-pedaled for the next hour or two (it's all foggy) until I got to the next town. There I had to take about a 40 minute break, eat a footlong Subway sandwich and drank a half-gallon of root beer. Then I was all better even though I still had 400k left to pedal (~150k to get to the sleep stop).0 -
On rides longer than an hour try to take in 100 -200 calories per hour of easily digestible food or drink. Stay hydrated and drink regularly through the ride. Eat 1-2 hrs before you ride in the morning, 3 hrs if in the evening. Carbs+a little protein, and again easily digestible (rice and eggs works for me). You will still bonk every now and then, some days are just better than others.0
