BONK!

Well, today I experienced something I never thought I would.

I totally bonked!

Of course, I've heard about bonking (i.e. "hitting the wall") but this is something that happens to marathon and ultra- runners.  My longest run ever was 14 miles.

However, after today, when a marathoner talks about what it was like to hit the wall, I can nod my head, pat her on the shoulder and say - "I know exactly what you mean!"

From Runner'sWorld.com - Full article HERE

Q - So, how did I bonk on an slow 5 mile run?

A -  severe glycogen depletion.

Q - How does one suffer glycogen depletion on a 5 mile run?

A - extreme calorie restriction!

You see, I have been trying to lose this pesky 10-15 lbs of excess body weight for about a year now.  But I have two things working against me:

1. I love to run hard.
2. I love to eat.

I discovered a while back that not eating enough calories severely impacts my training.  In a calorie deficit, my times and distance would suffer.   So, now that I have decided to just run easy this summer (no speed work or tempo runs) I thought that this would be the perfect time to "diet" off that weight.

However, my second problem is that I really love food - and after 6+ years of pretty much constantly counting calories, I've gotten sick of that.  Then I was struck by a stroke of brilliance <- sarcasm font!

 I would stop counting calories and just limit myself to one meal a day.  

They call it "intermittent fasting".  This way I can eat a nice, tasty, FULL meal everyday, and not have to count calories - and still lose weight!  Win/Win!!

I started this diet on Monday - and had no problem with Monday and Tuesday's treadmill runs.  But today I am 4 days in.  I woke up hungry.  By the time I ran at 6:30 pm, I had gone 21 hours without food.

And the heat index was 101!

The run started out fine.  Great, even!  But things slowly began to disintegrate - and by the end of mile 4,  I had completely run out of energy.  I couldn't run another step.  My brain was foggy.  I tried to talk to my husband, but I couldn't think of the words - and what I did say sounded slurred.  I felt as if my head was about to explode, and it took all my concentration just to get my legs to walk because they felt almost as if they were no longer under my control.  I was extremely lightheaded, and all I could think about was lying down in the cool grass, curling up in a ball, and going to sleep.  Not all these things happened at once, there was a progression, but I can't remember exactly what happened when.

My husband went on ahead, and I managed to walk another mile (very slowly) before he picked me up in our vehicle.  Thank God I had a Kind Bar in the car... I downed that sucker like a one-year-old eats birthday cake!

My son Levi (now 7) eating his first birthday cake!

So... Now I have to figure out how to avoid this in the future.  I probably just need to eat a couple hundred cals. before my run.  Or run after dinner.  I just can't let this happen again!  Losing weight is so not worth this!

Q- Have you ever bonked?

Q- Have you ever googled "bonking"?  Apparently it has ...um... several different meanings (lol!)