Bonk Recovery Tips

[Nokomis]

I had a great ride yesterday. Fueled up thru the day - I made sure not to cut calories to help esure that I had enough going in to the ride. Drank lots of water. The ride itself was very challenging for me, but I managed all the climbs and recovered on road for a very strong finish. 2 hours, 28 miles, avg HR 150, and only rarely & breifly went above my lactic threshold. I went thru 1 water bottle (with electrolytes) and a TrioBar on the road (about 170 cal, 15g carbs). I didn't feel hungry, tho we were riding when we'd normally be eating dinner.

Once we got home, I got cold. I tried to get some hot dinner together as quickly as possible, but I was already bonking - hard. Headache, nausea, tired, shaky, and nothing sounded good. DH took over cooking to let me recover. I had to force myself to eat. It took about hour to warm up, even then I had to stay tucked under a blanket, and let the dog snuggle in for extra heat.

I am not sure if I should have eaten more on the road, or had some food ready to go directly after.

How do you best recover if you bonk? Can you tell you are about to bonk - or does it happen too quickly?

[mimitabby]

were you bonking or were you suffering from hypothermia?

[Nokomis]

I'm wondering the same thing - based on how long it took to warm up, that might have been it.

[KnottedYet]

I get cold when I bonk.

(but I'm hypoglycemic anyway) Lots of Clif Bloks before, during, and after rides, hot drinks after rides as needed, a cozy wool hat for after rides, and thick wool sweater. (even in the summer)

Seems to go better for me if I anticipate a bonk at every ride and treat myself accordingly.

Kind of a bummer, but it works.

[TryToKeepUp]

agreed, you have to prepare for the worst and follow the same routine everytime after a hard training session. your body will eventually get used to using the routine as a sort of calming effect

[Andrea]

I know you said you had some electrolytes, but a lot of electrolyte supplements & additives don't really have as much salt as what you need (it's 99% of what you lose in sweat as far as electrolytes go). I put 1/8 tsp of salt in my water bottles and choose carb supplements that also have some sodium, like powerbar gels.

I get chilled very easily after rides, too (even if it's not too cold out). So, like everyone else said- could be hypothermia.