Originally Posted by
smoore
Well . Yesterday as part of Bike Ride Across GA (BRAG) I rode 59 miles. The course was moderately hilly, and the temp was 77 when I started and 86 when I finished. Humidity was 60%. I averaged 15MPH.
I ate and drank at all three of the SAG stops (PowerAde and water) and drank lots of water while riding. At no time did I feel dehydrated nor did I feel like needed food. However...I bonked big time in the last ten miles and the last couple of hills just about finished me. It was all I could do to put my bike rack on the car and get loaded and I was very dizzy for the hour car ride back home. Thinking I needed protein, I stopped at a Wendy's but that didn't seem to help at all. Once home, I collapsed for about the next five hours and remained somewhat dizzy for the first two hours. My quads hurt big time and I was just totally exhausted.
Thanks.
You have symptoms of either/or or a combination of: (1) bonking (insufficient glycogen replacement), (2)dehydration and (3) overheating/insufficient cooling which can be related to (2) and even (1). Eating meat was the absolute incorrect approach and would have exacerbated the issues. Protein plays no role here except being canabalized from the muscles and converted to glucose to feed the brain if in fact bonking was the cause. That protein conversion helps to make one feel really sore I understand.
Suggest you learn how to eat and hydrate (which includes adequate sodium replacement) properly and also deal with high temps/humidity given the time of year. You'll find an excellent tutorial in Ryan's Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes, 2nd edition. The first chapter deals with hydration and starting on p237 is an excellent section dealing with training/racing in the heat.
If you are relying on thirst and hunger symptoms to determine feeding and drinking, you're going to hurt yourself.
There is one point missing from Ryan's book is a cool-down period. I ran into this a few years ago after some rally hard single-track rides in 90+ deg. temps and humidity levels probably in the 60's. I would get a little dizzy maybe 20 minutes after the ride which would last maybe a half hour. I found an article dealing with that and it recommended a slow cool-down ride after the hard stuff. I tried it and it works. So after a "hot" ride, I'll spin for a mile or so and circulate the blood to get the heat out of the body more quickly.
Al