I’ve been thinking about endurance and energy a lot lately as I try to put long miles under my wheels. It’s especially easy to be preoccupied with energy when there’s a decided lack of it. I have unpleasant memories of a ride last year which ended with me struggling to keep my body going during the last hour back home. I’d been working my muscles for over three hours in hot sun with very few breaks, though I had been drinking and snacking regularly. But as I headed into that last hour, the persistent wind was in my face, making headway difficult and sapping what remained of my endurance. There was nothing for it but to stop, eat, drink, and rest. Good thing I did, too, because I was on the verge of bonking.

If you’ve ever been an endurance cyclist or marathoner, you’ve almost surely heard of the bonk. Also called “hitting the wall,” “bonking” amounts to a sudden loss of energy and an inability to go on. How does it feel? Your muscles become weak—they might even cramp—and almost all at once you feel as if you can’t move another foot. Concentration falters, and worse, you might find you don’t care if a truck runs you down. You simply don’t have enough energy to care. It’s not a pleasant experience at all, and it can be dangerous, especially if coupled with heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Push hard enough for long enough without taking precautions, and you’re sure to find yourself bonking. Recovering from the bonk isn’t exactly a snap, either, particularly for those of us in the Over the Hill Gang. Older bodies are more reluctant to bounce back from hardship than younger ones. No doubt about it, but bonking can ruin your day. Read more about fatigue, how to prevent it, and what to do when it hits…

 

 
Send a Comment