Super Bonked - Out for the Count

Mr Half TRI-ing was KOed in 12 Miles

On Sunday I was super excited because I was going to be getting back on the bike.  Lately I have been sidelined due to half marathons and laryngitis. I was also excited to try out my new shoes.  But the ride did not end so well.

Sunday started off like all other rides.  I was riding with the Florida Freewheelers on a nice B/C ride.  It was a course I have done about a half dozen times before.  The ride started off a little cold but I was prepared with the proper winter gear.  I was feeling fine for about 11 miles.  I was doing an average pace of 18-21 mpg and riding as point for some of the ride.  I was feeling great.  Then we stopped to have the C riders catch up.

This is when things went south really quickly.  When I stopped I started to take off the arms of my windbreaker because I was starting to sweat.  As I was doing that I started to get really light headed.  I told the guys I did not feel right and that I would catch up.  That is the last thing I remember for a few minutes.  My buddy Angel said he was staring at me but I was not staring back at him.  He said he was asking me to tell him his name and he got nothing from me.  He then tried to get me off the bike but I had a death grip on the handle bars and would not let go.  He knew there was an issue because I normally would have told him to leave me !@#$ing alone (which I would have LOL). 

They got me off the bike and placed me on the ground.  Someone thought I was having a stroke (not sure why they thought that) and started to call 911.  Just about that time someone shoved a GU into my mouth.  The combination of hearing 911 and the GU woke my butt up quick because I remember saying why are you calling 911?  They said they were either going to call 911 or call Bonnie.  I said calling 911 would be better than calling Bonnie (she does not take situations like this well).  I finally convinced them neither was necessary. I drank two water bottles felt much better. 

The boys stood next to me the whole time.  No one would leave me till they were confident I was much better.  Many of them volunteered to ride with me back to the car.  I finally said I only needed one person and I wanted the other to continue on with the rest of the ride. 

When I got home I drank a lot of water and ate some grub.  I then went shopping and still did not feel right.  I did not feel all that bad but still not normal so I had some ice cream to bring my sugar back up.  That did not seem to help.  I called my doctor friend and he asked me to come to his house (it’s sure is nice to be great friends with a doctor).  He checked my sugar levels and they were normal.  He wants me to stop by his office tomorrow to do some further tests.

So what did I get out of this?

1. Make sure you always eat a breakfast BEFORE going out to train.  My doctor friend yelled at me for only eating a banana.
2. Drink enough fluids the day BEFORE training.  This was not a hot day and I was only about 30 minutes into the ride so the ride did not dehydrate me but I may have not have drank enough the day before.
3. Doctor informed me to make sure to take Magnesium and Potassium supplements to help with the dizziness and light head issues.  
4. Make sure you eat enough throughout your training.  When I am at work I eat every 2 hours and I eat everything in sight but when I am off of work I tend to skip meals and eat poorly.
5. Never pass Angel on a ride because I think the real issue was him slugging me because he was pissed I was beating him on a ride.  :-)
6. I love the Freewheelers.  They are a great group of cyclists.  They really care for each other and are super friendly.  Today they got a lifelong member.  Thank you guys for everything!!

Well, Mr Half TRI-ing bonked really hard today.  It was a little scary and I hope to never have this happen again.  

Has anyone else ever had this happen to them?