Capitol Peak 50k, an intentional bonk

Why an intentional bonk?

I had a few reasons. My running partner Shela always slows down on the second loop. I ran hard last weekend and wanted to take it easy this week. I wanted to make my body remember how to feed off itself. I wanted to practice seeing the signs so I could prevent it. And I wanted to practice coming out of it and running through it.


I ran the first loop without any calories or salt, just Nuun. I ran pretty much the whole loop at a good pace but not fast. I finished the 1st loop in 2:16 still feeling strong but I could tell my energy was running out.


I started refueling right after starting the second loop because on the very first hill my legs were just dead weight. I took a few hits off my Gel bottle and had 1/2 bag of peanut butter sandwich pretzels. Shela ate the other half. I kept taking small hits off my gel bottle every few minutes and I finally came out of the bonk at the first water stop at mile 7. I cruised in easy from there except when I blew through a turn and did an extra 1/2 mile of bonus trail. It's a good thing I came across a mud hole with no footprints through it.

My final time of 4:55 wasn't too bad considering the pace of those first 7 miles on the second loop. I did learn a few things and/or were reminded of others. I can still improve on my ability to spot the bonk and coming out of it faster.