Brick Bonk - Biking Lessons Learned

I thought I would share my experience from my brick workout yesterday in case anyone else is in a similar situation. One thing is for sure, endurance workouts teach you ALMOST as much as lessons learned in a race.

I planned on a 50 mile bike and 10 mile run as I prepare for my first 1/2 IM. The bike went well and I averaged approximately 18.5 MPH on the first 25 miles. I felt good and thought that I would pick it up on the second 25 and averaged 19 MPH. I got off the bike and the legs felt pretty good. I took off on my run and ran a 7:45 first mile. Knowing that I could feasibly race at a 7:45 pace I neded to back off. I slowed down to about an 8:30 pace for the next 7 miles. We'll talk about the last 2 miles in a minute.

I know now that I needed to hydrate better on the ride. As everyone is already aware, the evaporation of sweat is something that us reformed runners have a hard time acknowledging. It was a relatively cool morning (as Atlanta weather goes) and, like I said, I felt good coming off the bike. I probably had 40 ounces of Gatorade during the ride but I was bone dry from a sweat perspective. I also brought two Clif bars for the ride but ate only one. I also had two gels during the ride. Also, when I took off on the run I failed to bring any water. There was a water fountain close to the turnaround point and I took advantage of that.

Well, back to the last two miles. I hit the wall at the beginning of mile 9. I struggled for most of this mile and managed a 9:30 mile. Mile 10 was worse. I did the unspeakable ... I walked! Yeah, yeah I know, walking during a long run is not a sin but it is something that I am not accustomed to. My last mile was well over 10 minutes. I had SERIOUSLY bonked and recognize the feeling that I had at mile 20 of my first marathon.

So, in summary, I learned (and would appreciate confirmation) that:

1 - I need to hydrate more on a 50 mile bike ride and 10 mile run
2 - I need to fuel more on the bike (at least 2 Clif Bars and another gel or two)
3 - Hydrating during the run after having biked 50 miles is also critical

These are probably lessons that most people already know but I thought I would share as I have a pretty good running resume but the whole bike thing is pretty new to me.

Chris