I've already experienced it twice this season, the hunger attack, the man with the hammer.
The backstory:
Neheim , MTB marathon and Fleckenberg, Falke Rothaarsteig marathon on the half distance will not be forgotten any time soon. The characteristic of both events was that I started much too quickly at the beginning, I gave it too much gas. But I let myself get carried away and it went well!
The symptoms:
From one moment to the next, it was over: in Neheim after a small descent, during the half marathon after a flat section. My legs were numb, my heart was racing wildly, I found it difficult to speak, not to mention breathe...
That really pushed me to my limits.
The further course:
I wanted to finish the course both on the bike and while running. That meant turning off all the engines (muscles, heart, etc.) and eating as much as possible. I wanted to eat particularly carbohydrate-rich drinks and foods that cause the sugar level to rise quickly: cola, apple spritzer, isotonic drinks, dried fruit, bananas, etc.
I don't know if it's an advantage or a disadvantage that you can recover on downhill rides when cycling because no muscle (apart from the postural muscles) has to do much work. When you run, the muscular work is greater even when going downhill. When fewer muscles are working, more resources are conserved. At the same time, your circulation drops even further because your muscles are no longer pumping the blood. Your heart now tries to take over the work of your muscles... and that's with a pulse that's already over 180... When you run, my pulse was higher when I was starving, a maximum of 213. Of course, I noticed the difference between downhill, flat and uphill: I walked uphill, otherwise I would probably have just fallen over because I had no more fuel. As I said, I don't know which is the better alternative in this situation.
Actually, I don't want to experience that again.
At the finish I had to be cared for by the German Red Cross in Neheim, but in Fleckenberg I knew more or less what to do. Coke, coke, coke and even more sugar. But it can't get into the blood that quickly, as I kept thinking.
The scientific background:
Hunger attacks are also known as hypoglycemia. This means that the carbohydrate stores are empty, there is nothing in the blood, nothing in the liver, neither freely available nor in the stored form. The fat metabolism paired with a few last carbohydrates keeps the machine running. However, because the load is far too high and it is already too late, the fat metabolism does not start properly. Fats only serve as an energy source when the load is low and the fat metabolism cannot function without carbohydrates.
The muscles, but above all the brain, slowly run out of fuel. This leads to dizziness, nausea, etc. The muscles and brain report to the control center in the brain: no more fuel, so the blood has to circulate faster, the heart has to pump faster so that the nutrient-rich blood (nutrient absorption from food via the intestines or conversion of the storage form) can quickly reach the consumers. And this is where the error in the calculation lies...
Because there is no nutrient-rich blood. Neither food nor storage provide anything. Feedback from the muscles and brain: Where is the fuel? Heart, beat faster! My pulse is over 200...
The only option, since the storage is empty, is to consume carbohydrates, simple sugars, as quickly as possible through food. But even these need a moment to take effect. This explains why after the run, after about 20 minutes, the lights came back on for me, the symptoms completely disappeared, and the fuel arrived.
A hunger attack is really a borderline experience for the body. So I went to the doctor and had everything checked: blood, long-term and stress ECG. Because of my low-carb diet, my reserves are always pretty empty, but my body is used to it. So I have to pay more attention to preparing for the strain. I can't eat too late during the race either.
I hope, of course, that these two experiences remain one-offs and that the doctor has no complaints now.
