Ironman season is done. Time to do some obstacle racing with my family, running races, and hiking. With each triathlon season I try to take away things that I need to work on. To get stronger, faster, and able to endure more. IMCA brought out more badassery than I knew I had. I knew I was a badass. But I rose two more levels with that race. I challenged my ability to endure and surpassed it. I can get stronger on hills. I can get faster. I will work on my bike strength in the off season and into next season. I need to get better at swim starts. I freak out and lose time. I need more swim starts to improve on that....maybe independent swim races in 2019?? My run is solid. My run performance was indicative of the heat not my abilities. My strong run is what allowed me to finish! But I can always get stronger!
One big thing that has been lacking is my nutrition. It's gotten better since using Generation UCAN and Clif Shots; and then this year Tailwind and Huma gels. But I've still felt like I haven't had enough in the tank. Not the "I'm not fit enough" but the "I don't have enough gas" feeling. What I was doing this year was OK, but it could be better. Amy and a few other friends have been doing Keto for a while now and had very good success with it. I made a promise that I would at least try it after Ironman.
One week after Ironman, after I had my chance to eat all of the things I started dabbling. Trying to eat low carb, high fat, moderate protein. I felt sluggish day to day and even sluggier on short runs. Was that the keto OR simply recovery? I dabbled for a few weeks and this week I committed. If I am going to become fat adapted now is the time to do it. I'm training, but nothing TOO intense. I am going to blog about it weekly so that I can look back and really decide after 8 weeks if this is helping me. Do I feel better day to day? Do I have more energy in the real world and in workouts? How do I feel on long runs (no long rides right now)? Does that belly fat finally go away 100%? Is all of the GI distress gone? Is the bloating gone?
Week one: 50 g Carbs, 99 grams of fat, and 67 grams of protein. No grains, no veggies from the ground (this makes me a little sad), and no sugar.
The first few days of for real trying I could only get my carbs to 77 grams. My gawd I must of been eating a ridiculous amount of carbs. The last few days I've really upped my fat and my carbs have stayed low. I've had a steady level of energy despite being active with chores and workouts. I haven't had as many super hungry moments as is normal day to day for me.
I did a 9 mile run on Sunday having a bar with 31 g of carbs and coffee before hand. I had a high fat meal the night before. I felt great on my run. No bonking and pretty steady energy level. Today (Monday) I did a 3.3 mile hike at a fast hike-run pace in high 80's temp. Good energy through-out and the rest of the day.
I'd call week one a success. I LOVE Bullet Proof coffee. Eating high fat goes against everything I was ever taught and makes the old overweight Kristi twitchy, but there is some good science behind is being a good thing. I miss potatoes. It is worth continuing.
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