Getting over a 'Bonk'

To 'bonk' - to crash, hit the wall, blow up, whatever you want to call it, we all think we can push further, just another climb, another mile, to the next field - and then it comes over us like a bad cloud that you struggle to escape, then it starts raining and it's all over.

Our primary fuel sources are carbohydrates (in the form of blood glucose and glycogen stored in the muscles and liver) and fats (free fatty acids in the bloodstream and muscle triglycerides - in simple terms - three different forms of fats).

Fats may be the logical first choice for endurance athletes to burn, but they require an extreme amount of oxygen, which if your breathing is anything like mine when your racing - resembling a donkey - then oxygen is not something freely going around your body! 

Carbohydrate 'metabolism' (or 'burning') on the other hand, requires less oxygen. Your body cells can derive energy from carbs either aerobically (in the presence of oxygen in your blood) or anaerobically (without).  During a race, your body will split its energy intake at around 75% carbs and 25% fats.

So, just to get it across simply, Carbs are your bodies fuel of choice and are very important to regularly take in so you don't crash - or Bonk - he he!

I hit the wall big time just going into the final run at the Stinger in February.  I had only taken in water and should have had something else.  What a school boy error! I thought at one point the ground was moving and lost my balance several times, it was hard enough to physically stay on the track with out my mind going haywire!  

I have now started to seriously increase my training - up to two hours a day 5 days a week with a solid 4-6 hour once a week, building up to two 12 hour solid rides in May.  Pile that all in with digging over vegetable beds, hammering in stakes for a new pig paddock, and walking 2 miles to the school everyday because my car has broken -  I need to start thinking about taking in carbs and more importantly, when to take them.

BUT My concerns are the stuff you get in these so called 'magic elixirs of life' - what is that going to do to my body?  It has to be processed somewhere and i'm quite attached to my liver - with all that sugar will I end up weeing glue and damaging my kidneys? I eat organic food, drink 3 litres of water a day, I'm fit, happy and don't abuse my body,  but I cannot go for 24hours at a good pace without something serious to help along the way, will I have to resort to the chemicals or is there something natural?

Any serious runner would (or should) have read 'Born to Run'.  Chia seed is apparently the heroin of Ultra Runners and I have just ordered some from Holland and Barrett.  Chia is a seed rather like a small sesame seed, and you take 2-3 tablespoons a day.  They contain Omega 3 and 6 as well as fibre and protein and some other secret stuff which helped the Aztecs run for 2 - 3 days at a time!

I am going to see whether or not I feel any benefits sticking to my natural tree hugging, tambourine playing, free loving morals, or whether the dark side of the gels and fluorescent liquids suck me in.......but how natural is it to ride a bike for 24hours???!!

I will let you know......

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