Mr. Trig: I bonked

Ending Week 10 on a sour note - but staying positive!

Usually I write optimistically about my running - or have something positive to report about my run. Saturday's run was a good one - didn't really stick out at all. Sunday's run, however, was a big learning lesson. So even though I didn't have a good run yesterday - I'm going to use it as an opportunity for self improvement.

As I said, Saturday's 5 miler run went fine....I did feel extremely tight afterward but I just took some time to stretch (after treating myself to a lunch of lamb, rice and tomatoes (pictured right) - Yes I made it myself! The stretching session, as usual, helped breath new life into my legs.

The 11 miler - a different story. A new experience and hence a huge lesson.

I BONKED

It was going to be my longest run ever - but I "bonked." What am I talking about? From what I have read - this is the unofficial name for when your body just stops and says to you - NO, you are not running anymore. With a light breakfast this morning, I set out on my 11 mile run. I met up with some friends who were at the Art Museum for the "running of the Rockies" - a funny event with a few hundred people dressed up as Rocky running up the steps.

Apparently, their Rocky-like toughness did not rub off on me! I set off running - and I knew from the beginning that I was 1) dehydrated and 2) starting to get hungry. Bad news. Around mile 3 I felt a little strange and the downhill feeling continued. My mouth started to feel parched at around mile 5 and I ran to a point where there used to be a water fountain. To my extreme disappointment, no water fountain anymore.

So I turn around and decide to run about 2 miles back to the Art Museum area to get a drink of water - figuring by that time I would be 7 miles into the run. At that point, I could hydrate and knock out the last 4 miles. But the fatigue dramatically increased and turned into cramps and by 6.5 miles, I could not run at all.

The stopping point occurred at about 55:00...

I tried to alternate running and walking but quickly my body would not even allow me to run for .1 miles...it was bad. I reached the water fountain and hydrated. I felt better but even with my best efforts to keep running I just couldn't. I decided that I would walk....I made it to 10 miles and that was enough. I had to chalk this up to a learned lesson. No more running on too little food and no more running without having hydrated or something with me to chew on.

I know it's not an issue of being in shape or stamina - and I'm trying not to beat myself up too badly. Considering the fact that I ran a 5 miler the day before there was no reason that my body would give out at a 6 miler - unless it simply did not have enough fuel. As soon as I got home, of course, I rested - but I also went online to research what exactly was going on in my body. Hence the discovery of "bonking." "Hitting the wall" or "the bonk" describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles - which manifests itself by precipitous fatigue and loss of energy. And now it totally makes sense - because when I did the 15k in Rhode Island - I had eaten about 5-6 of the fruit chews that my wife had bought just to try them out. And I felt FINE after that run.

So what's the major lesson? I MUST teach myself to prepare my body correctly for the long runs! I might be in "shape" to run a half marathon but it's not something to just jump out of bed and do. The body's a big chemistry set and when the chemistry is off - bad things happen! Sunday afternoon and night were rough - but lesson learned. I'm going to stay positive - and I'm not going to let one bad run ruin the fun of all of this training. Some things are gonna have to change in the last two weeks before the big run!

Warp Shot!!

I hate to do this to you all - but yes, I found yet another great online game...the game is Warp Shot. It's basically golf....but even more addicting. The goal is to get the ball to hit the white "orb" in as few strokes as possible. It starts out relatively simple.