Dear coach,
I know that you have been talking to me about hydration and that I need to drink during the bike to maintain weight. For me that is about 3 pounds or 48 ounzes of fluid per hour (two large water bottles). Last week I did a 2 hour ride and a 30 minute run. I drank 48 ounces. (Not enough I know but it was cold out here in Colorado). When I got off the bike I transitioned fast as you asked me and I ran 30 minutes. After about 10 minutes I started feeling really weak and was almost getting dizzy. This was not good. I never felt like that in a run. How am I going to finish a triathlon if I can not even run 30 minutes after the bike.
Cold triathlete in Colorado.
Dear Cold triathlete in Colorado,
How many calories are there in your 32 ounzes of drink? Did you get any calories like gels during the ride?. Also even if it is cold out you can still sweat quite a bit if you wear a lot of clothes. Were you bundled up? Let me know.
Your coach.
Dear Coach,
I looked at the labels and I only took 250 calories over the 2:30 workout. All of them from my 2 large bottles. Nothing else. I stayed aerobic the entire way but I was bundled up and worked up a nice sweat. Is there hope for me?
Cold triathlete in Colorado.
Dear Cold triathlete in Colorado,
I think you bonked and most likely did not drink enough. I know your weigh is about 190 pounds so 250 calories is not going to do it. If you started the session in an empty stomach as well then you got a big bonk on your hands. My suggestion to you is to next timew you drink closer to the 3 pounds you need per hour but also get more calories in. I suggest you take some gels with you and take them. I know you can run fine but if you do not take care of yourself in the rides you will not do well on your brick run. This is a great lesson for you as it will teach you a lot for race day.
Your coach.
Have you figured out who the cold triathlete in Colorado is? It is me! It looks like I need a coach. No one is exempt from the laws of energy conservation. These laws state that energy has to be accounted for. Even if you stay aerobic you still burn muscle and liver glycogen and if you started the workout without a good meal then the lack of calorie intake is a recipe for disaster. The funny thing is this happened to me last year during one of my first bricks too. Go figure! Plus over the past few days I have answered similar questions from some of the online athletes.
Bricks are tough and they can teach you many lesson or remind you of them in my case. Many races are coming up for many of you so if you are experiencing trouble with your bricks look into your hydration and nutrition. The bike seems to be more forgiving to the lack of hydration and nutrition but the run is not.