I did IMFL in 2003 and was doing great (21 mph & 8:15 pace) until mile 12 on the run…bonked and had no legs left. The same thing happened to me at Spirit of Racine Half IM last weekend: was doing great until mile 5 on the run…bonked and had no legs left.
I’ve been doing sufficient long runs in training and feel fine. I don’t want to bonk again at IMWI in five weeks.
What should I do? Slow down the bike at the race?..better nutrition at the race?..more long runs in training? Or what?
Thanks.
sigh, I bonked HARD on a 3.5 mile xterra run last weekend, hot and humid and ran way to fast hoping for the cash run prime, mile 3 and I went from flying to staggering backwards to on the ground with the EMTs for 30 min. bonking sucks as I think it was a combo bonk/hella hot sort of problem. didn’t know you could do this in an hour and a half… would have handily had that run prime too:(
I feel your pain…that’s PRECISELY what happened to me… 
Any suggestions to prevent it in the future races?
I was hoping you’d have some suggestions:) I took in 50 oz of sports drink (HEED) during the bike along with 4 endurolytes plus a hammer gel so that’s 500 cal on the bike alone, a bit more drink on the run but probably no more than 8oz or so while running. A 200 cal bottle of HEED in the hour before the race began. I think taking the other gel I had in my pocket early on the run may have helped and my sweat loss was crazy high that day so maybe another 20oz of water/sports drink would have been a good idea. Main mistake may have been pacing, I should have cooled my jets after moving into 2nd…
wish I could be of more help to you and to myself. Finally got the cramping promblem solved (way more fluid intake with LOTS of endurolytes, calcium, potassium and zinc supplements every night) it seems but now here’s a new one for me to figure out.
Good luck
Sounds like we’re still in the same boat…sounds like you know your stuff and are plenty fast. Lets be patient and hope some of these "knowledgable ST’ers will bestow some additional knowledge upon us…
“Finally got the cramping promblem solved (way more fluid intake with LOTS of endurolytes, calcium, potassium and zinc supplements every night)”
I am nowhere near your speed but have the same issue with Carmping. Just curious, how exactly did you get the cramping solved. I take Edurolytes before and during and use Nuun in the bike but still cramp toward the end of a race or a 5+ hour bike. How many are you taking daily and how many during workouts and races. Thanks Tai
No help from these wise Slowtwitchers…???
More info needed. Was this your basic glycogen-depleted bonk, or just huge fatique. One is nutritional, one is more fitness related.
How can you feel the difference?
What’s wrong with you guys? An actual tri-related thread?
Man I’ve visited this territory a time or two, or six. FWIW I think the difference between a glycogen bonk and a fitness bonk is in the former I see a significant level of consciousness change. I get spacey. In the fitness bonk I find the run wheels come off rather rapidly and once they do generally my day is done. Last month in a 1/2 I had a poor swim, great bike 2:37, running 10 min/miles to mile 8 and wham, finshed the last 5 in 1:10, ouch. I want to “go” but the accelerator just will not move. The head is clear but the body just will not respond. I get the sense that in a fitness bonk I could push through but its clear the trip home would be hazardous and the recovery would be extensive. I “recovered” once in an IM to run the last 8-9 miles but miles 4-17 was a lot of walking. I think the majority of my bonks are fitness related and stem from a run fitness that is not up to par with the bike fitness. The easy answer is to back off on the bike but I enjoy it too much to go any easier than a PE of Mod-hard. We might add electrolyte bonk to the mix as well – GI distress for me. Shuts me down like an old broken down car.
This is an excellent thread, I know we’ve got posters who have been there and whipped this one.
I raced Buffalo Springs in June and I bonked big time on the run. I swam a 31:07 and biked a 2:42 and ended up walking most of the run. I use a heart rate monitor and unfortunately I was not monitoring it as well as it was monitoring me. What I mean is my heart rate for the swim and the bike were higher to the point that my gut shut down. I was pouring calories in, but not absorbing them. I ended getting bad GI distress. I think that if the fitness is there, and by that I mean the endurance, then the key has to be pacing. It’s sometimes hard to slow down in the water or on the bike and let people pass, but like I’ve heard many times before either they are faster than me and let them go, or I’ll be passing them later when they bonk. Unfortunately lately I have been the bonked! Choose a race as a B priority and practice different pacing strategy. That’s what I’ll be doing.
Sounds like it could have been heat exhaustion. You were downing plenty of fluid, so I can only imagine your core temp went up too high and your body starting shutting down.
Pacing and Nutrition are what cause most people to bonk. especially nutrition. People seem to think they need to take in the minimal amount of calories in order to cross the finish line. Aim higher then the minimal. You need some reserves in the bank, because at some points in the race you will always burn more calories then what you think you do. This could be do to pacing, the weather, egos etc. If you think you need 600 cals per hr then aim for 700 cals. There aren’t too many people around who bonk for eating too much are there??.
Pacing is critical. Build into your bike. There is nothing wrong with riding hard, its just you need to pick the right times to do so. The first 2 hrs is when you need to take it easy to put back the calories you have lost from the swim. From about 2-4/5hrs just ride to your correct or target pace. If you feeling great in the last hr of the bike, use that time wisely to open yourself up and ride through the field and gain some valuable time. Gaining this time on the bike will eleviate some of the pressure of meeting targets on the run.
Goodluck
fluro
Thanks for the input. YES, I will definitely start taking in more calories…
Any additional input?
That’s all you had for fuel???
I started a liquids-only regimen for my races this season and it’s been working well.
I have 2x400cal Ultra Fuel starting 3+ hours from the start. One when I get up and one an hour later. I then take a 200cal Ultra Fuel while getting to the race, setting up, etc. Ultra Fuel is just carbs, so you’ll need to salt it or take salt tabs.
The bike is just Cytomax and Hammer gel/GU (1 every 20-30 minutes).
Run is whatever they have on the course.
200cals an hour before the race isn’t going to do much as it’s too little and too close to the gun to be readily available.
I have bonked several girls on the run, and this is why I am not married anymore.
Oh, different bonking…
What did you eat for lunch, dinner, and breakfast (in that order) before the race?
No way you can even hope to fuel yourself for something as long as a 1/2 IM during the race. The meals leading up to the race are the important ones.
During the race, you are basically trying to keep cramping at bay and giving your body enough easy fuel (sugar) to keep things running so that you can burn fat and food already in your gut.
First place to look when you bonk is the day before/morning of, assuming it really was a caloric-bonk.
That being said, it was HOT during that race. Like, kill you HOT, and your body’s efficiency may have gone way down as a result. Pacing that was once efficient ceased to be, and you may have just ceased to be aerobic, thus causing shutdown…
Great input as usual, Jordan…thanks! Pre-race meals are a very good point. I always eat sushi before the race (I highly recommend it), but I don’t think I ate enough for breakfast that morning…I just ate a cliff bar, a little beef jerky, two bananas, and a 20oz. Amino Vital…not enough for my high caloric metabolism…urgh. That was probably enough for the typical Olympic races but not for a long race.
I better plan better for IMWI coming up…
I try to eat a minimum of 1,000 calories in the morning. Large glass of OJ, big bowl of granola, at least one banana, plus one full bottle of some sports drink during the time leading up to the race.
The day before, I try to eat so much at lunch and dinner that I don’t really want to eat any more. A good balance of healthy protein/fat/carbs, but quantity (especially at lunch). Make sure if you get sushi, you supplement that with something like Yaki Soba, which has some good fat from sesame oil, plus some complex carbs in the buckwheat noodles.
Once the food is well into the digestion process (like dinner and lunch will be), it should be fine assuming it isn’t like chili or something super spicy that might cause havoc on the back-end. Karen Smyers was the one who really helped me out here, since I was lucky enough to eat lunch with her before my first half. She said long course racing is PRIMARILY about fueling well. Your legs don’t have to be their freshest (like they would for an Olympic), but you do have to have the calories to burn.
Jordan, you’re the man. Thanks for the great advice. I WILL start living by it!
I have such a high metabolism I need to eat A LOT…sounds like you’re similar that way.