Originally Posted by
xclam
I did my first Century this past Friday with five other friends. I felt really strong for the first 3 hours prior to the lunch break. We stopped at a great deli for sandwiches. I ordered a grilled corned beef sandwich which had 1lb of corned beef in it. Since I was famished after 3 solid hours of riding, I inhaled my food.
About a 1/2 hour into the second leg of the century I became very very thirsty. Within 1 hour I went through both my water bottles plus a third from one of the other riders. I noticed my energy level dropping and found it harder and harder to keep up with our paceline at 18-20mph.
Did I experience my first Bonk? My lungs were fine, but my legs felt like lead. Even spinning at a fast cadence could not relieve the lactic acid from my legs. If I did bonk, was it because of that great tasting sandwich?
You ate a very big meal with tons of protein and lots of salt.
That dehydrated you and pulled a lot of blood into your digestive system to digest your meal.
I suggest eating along the way. If you are famished at 3 hours, you are likely not eating enougnh.