So I’ve been
experimenting with something for the past month. Quietly, haven’t shared it
with many people (until very recently) because I didn’t want it to be a
*thing*. I don’t do things because they are popular, I’m not jumping on some
bandwagon, I was just genuinely curious.
I’ve been following a Keto diet.
Super controversial
right now, especially since Jillian Michaels recently lost her shit about it. I
didn’t want to talk about it or draw attention to it. I’m not going to
proselytize or loudly complain about things I “can’t” have (it’s
ridiculous…I can have whatever I want, I’m making a conscious choice. Why would
I complain?). But I’ve heard some compelling things in documentaries and
podcasts that made me curious. This isn’t just a diet or quick fix to drop a
few pounds (though if that happens, I’m never going to complain). As someone
embarking on serious endurance training, I’ve heard about the potential
benefits for endurance athletes and it made too much sense to me not to at
least try it out and see.
The basic gist of
why I tried it, why it makes sense to me: the human body can only store so much
glycogen–after a couple of intense hours of exercise, this is used up, and it
becomes harder to replace it as you continue to go on–if you can’t stay on top
of it (and very few can), you bonk (also known as the dreaded “wall”
in a marathon). Even if you do manage to keep up on it, the amounts of sugar
and fast-acting carbs you need to ingest, particularly over the course of an
ultramarathon, will wreak havoc with most people’s digestive systems (runner’s
trots). If you’re fat adapted (which is what happens when you’re consistently
in ketosis), you’ll still require some outside fuel (especially in ultra
scenarios) but the human body–even the leanest athletes–have enough stored
fat to work through to avoid the dreaded bonk. So even if you can’t or don’t
fuel at exactly the perfect intervals you can continue moving.
So I’ve been playing
with this since the beginning of the year. I’ve managed to stay between 20-50
grams of carbs a day most of the time (I tend to go slightly over around my
long runs, but haven’t noticed any negative impact from that). I’ve noticed that
I can go longer and farther during my runs without fueling, or with
significantly less than before. I used to take a gel about every 5 miles (about
1 hour), for any runs over 6 miles (I might take it earlier than 5, but you get
the idea). I’ve gone 10 miles without any additional fuel without a performance
drop. My last 15 miler, instead of the full 3-chew serving twice during the
run, I took 2 chews at a time twice during the run. I’ve done training runs
with just a few sips of gatorade in the middle miles and nothing else but
water. And I feel good. It’s not perfect, I’m still working out the kinks and
figuring it out, but by and large I plan to stick with it and see how it goes.
I’ve lost about 10 pounds (again, not my main reason for doing it, but as
someone chasing racing weight I will never complain), and honestly, despite how
much I love carbs (and I do…) I don’t really miss them. It’s not like I’m
saying “never again” to carbs. I had a beer during the hockey game
the other day. I will eventually have real pizza again, though I’ve perfected
my cauliflower crust and I’m digging it. And on race days anything
goes–whatever sounds good I’ll go for. But as long as my training is going
smoothly, and I feel good, and it seems to be having the desired effects, I
might as well keep this up.
I never imagined
this would be something that I would try and like. The idea of “giving up
carbs” was foreign to me. I don’t miss them though–I made stroganoff with
zucchini noodles last week, and it was amazing. I preferred the zucchini noodles,
they gave it a richer flavor. Like I said, my cauliflower pizza crust is pretty
near perfect at this point, and while I miss the convenience of having someone
else make my post-run pizza, I don’t feel deprived. It’s a little more work
(okay, a LOT more work) but I’m not coming home and crashing after my long runs
(like I used to) so I don’t even mind it.
Again, I’m not
proselytizing, you do what works for you. But this has been working for me and
I wanted to share it since I’m a month in. Long run tomorrow–my longest in
over a year and I’m really looking forward to it. Training recap on Monday.
Happy weekend, friends! More soon
