Century this weekend, but not quite fat adapted!

(Karl L) #21

Report back, please!

(John) #22

So I setup my computer wrong, no surprise, so I could only see average heart rate while I was riding. I am going to attempt the Maffetone protocol so I can see if it is primarily my fitness or nutrition.

Anyway, I also took a new route for the first half which had some traffic light waits, but I was really surprised by what I saw with my heart rate at the midway point. At the halfway point I had 20 grams of Maltodextrin in addition to the 30 grams of MCT powder that I drank in my water throughout the ride and 30 grams of coconut oil in coffee pre-ride. I will get this more standardized as I go.

Without further ado, my HR chart. You can see my HR slowing way down at the traffic stops getting to a low point which is where I consumed the Maltodextrin. From that point on I had a much higher HR, average 132 before that point (excluding the ramp up at the beginning) and 150 afterward.

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No drastic differences in elevation but my cadence went up from 63 average the first half (excluding the breaks at traffic stops) to 74 the second half. This did make my speed go up as well, it wasn’t just spinning.

Curious why without any feedback I decided to pick up the pace then.

(ianrobo) #23

OK many factors here, wind, road conditions etc. It is why training by power meters is more effective for cyclists than HR. I do do MAF but use Zone 2 power rather than HR for a lot of it.

Anyway once you increase cadence in same gear that obviously = more power - more heart rate … cycling is more difficult to measure than running, for example a MAF test is almost impossible as you need the same conditions !

(John) #24

Agree, I am just curious if the pace increase was due to the carbs, placebo etc. it doesn’t seem to appear in any other metrics. I did feel like I recovered quickly but it is going to take a lot more for me to see, it wasn’t obvious.

As you said, too many variables without a lot of samples.

(ianrobo) #25

yep it takes many rides to understand the impact of what you are trying to do. I can tell you for certain being fully fat adapted opens up so many different avenues, adding carbs during a ride, sportive etc just ives you a supercharge boost.

(debbie cunningham) #26

Ooh glad I found this thread. I have been low carb for a year or so and just started (last week) with proper Keto. Only had one day of feeling headachy but otherwise feel fine. I am doing my first 10km race on Sunday and am worried about the impact of Keto on my running and also about what and when to eat. I don’t think bulletproof coffee will cut it for a 10k race so I’m thinking that maybe I should have a low carb protein shake before I run, maybe with some coconut oil. Advice anyone?