10k prep

(Kyle Lindenmuth) #1

Appreciating much of the discussion items already posted here for exercise. I am no runner, but was able to do a 6 and 7 mile run the week of Thanksgiving, while fully inflated by carbs. Been Keto for 8 weeks, and my wife and I had been paleo for about 2 years. Weightlifting has been fine and I’ve altered my reps to follow many of the recommendations on the internet by sources found in this forum. However running above 3-4 miles has remained difficult and I have a 10k in 8 days. My longest run to date was 5 miles and the last 1.5 was really hard. I am pretty sure my salts were low, so I just added bone broth to add sodium. I have experimented with running in a fasted state in the morning and running also after work. I have few problems eating two meals a day and on most days go without breakfast, and simply have coffee with and without fat added.

Any suggestions for these next eight days? I am really nervous about how its going to go with my results to date.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #2

Try and have a cup of bone broth about half an hour before the race. You may find it makes a significant difference. Also, eight weeks is still early ketosis, and it can take people longer than that to become fully fat-adapted, so don’t worry about your performance just yet. I don’t believe that Tim Noakes has yet updated The Lore of Running to reflect his low-carb experience, but he is on record as saying that his performance is just as good as when he was a sugar-burner, perhaps better.

(Kyle Lindenmuth) #3

Thank you for the response, PaulL. For my next two runs, I intend to try bone broth the previous day, and bone broth 30 minutes before and see if I notice a difference. I will post my findings for the benefit of other future readers.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

Good luck with the race, and as I said, don’t worry about performance just yet. Once fully fat-adapted, though, endurance athletes usually have quite an edge over their sugar-burning competitors, from what I understand.

(Kyle Lindenmuth) #5

Thank you, thank you! I think it is clear that my sodium levels were low. My first run after using bone broth 2x the day before and running fasted in the morning - went well for a 3 mile run at my normal pace. Two days later and normal bone broth supplement, I ran in a fasted state except Keto coffee, used bone broth 30 minutes before, and ran just under 6 miles at my normal pace. I experienced normal fatigue during both runs. Not surprising, water weight came back on, 3 lbs, but I know it is just that - and not a big deal. Hopefully this will help other readers.