The Birkie Bonk/Boost

Bonk city. Population: me. 

Since returning from Wisconsin, I have bonked on three workouts over the course of 4 days. 5k Ski race, weight circuit, and most recently, 4 x 1k erg. 

This morning, I went out conservatively at splits I have held in the past for this workout and on the third piece, in what seemed like a matter of seconds, I went from feeling fine to feeling like I would not be able to finish the workout. 1.29's-1.30's turned into 1.31's, 1.32's, 1.33's, 1.34's....yikes. All the sudden I was finishing the workout at 6k pace. No fun. 

At lunch today, I asked Rosie Brennan, who got third at the Birkie last weekend, if there is any evidence of people feeling really shitty after racing the Birkie. She quickly replied, " Oh yeah, it's the Birkie Bonk. It takes about a week to recover from, but don't worry, it's followed shortly by the Birkie Boost!"

Oh reeeeallllly? Well, I will be looking forward to that, Rosie. For now, I feel weak, unmotivated, tired, and hungry. All the time. The icing on the cake is that we have a 2k test on Monday. If anyone is looking for me, I will probably be in my bed, asleep, for the entirety of the weekend. 

The human body is amazingly complex and capable. For the most part we treat it like a machine, asking it to go on command. It's time like this when I realize that I need to be thankful for how capable my body is and listen to it when its run down.