A beginner's bonk

I've been very fortunate in the time that I've been running never to have bonked, in that classic all-out blow-out of dehydration-induced misery. On Saturday morning, I set off on a 36 km run, these days a good sized but not unusual weekend run. These are the rules I broke:

from nolimitsendurance.com

Rule 1: Don't go out too hard

I went out too hard. It was a great morning, and being out with a great group, there was a kind a collective "Let's go!" And we went. I slogged along quite happily for quite a while.  I got tired early on but I didn't ease off. I was having too much fun!

Rule 2: Make sure you drink enough

I didn't drink enough. I know this because I still had at least 1.25 litres left after 2 hours. Opps.

Rule 3: Fuel properly

I didn't fuel properly. I only ate half a muesli bar and some gel shots before I started feeling too sick to eat. Yup - the trifecta.

By the time I got to the 20km mark, I was doing it harder than I should have been. The track was gorgeous but I couldn't quite make the most of it. And from there it went downhill into cramp, which I'm very lucky to not normally have; nausea, cold sweats and general lack of anything in the tank. No little people coming out from behind the trees but they probably weren't far away!

 Luckily I was with someone else also in a rough patch, but who knew what to do, and was getting himself better. He offered me an electrolyte tablet, which I refused. Ten minutes later he insisted (think getting a kid to swallow an aspirin), and kept me company and patiently got me through. I must have looked like the walking dead - during the times when I was actually walking. Oh yes, running pretty!

By the time I got to the end of the trail I was feeling much better, but it took a couple of hours to feel semi-normal. The next morning I felt like I'd been out on the tiles the night before, which in a bodily sense I had. And it was just as self-inflicted as any nasty hangover. Just less expensive and at least no-one got photos on Facebook.

Kind of embarrassing, kind a stupid, but something I'm pleased I did that day, and not on race day. No longer a bonking virgin - I've ticked that off and hopefully, learned my lessons well.