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  #1   ^
Old Fri, Oct-14-11, 18:12
mssmolly mssmolly is offline
New Member
Posts: 9
 
Plan: No white
Stats: 153/142/126 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: 41%
Default Running and Low carb

I dont know if this Q has been asked/addressed but in my 4 days of internet research I'm still void of an answer to the following two questions:

I run about 20-40 miles per week, have completed two full marathons and countless half marathons. I just started my LC diet to curb my dependency and cravings.

1) since I have never trained on a LC diet, do I need to introduce carbs in my training - AT ALL? I know I should if my runs are to be over 60min for extra energy at. But what about the 4 or 6 mile runs. Will a piece of fruit after be good or bad for my ketosis?

2) who best serves the "induction phase" part of Atkins? I have been taking in about 20-40 in the beginning...does this mean I'm kicking myself in the foot already?? I just figured with all the running, I need a bit more carbs than the avg dieter...

Any insights?
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  #2   ^
Old Mon, Oct-17-11, 14:44
sprinkles's Avatar
sprinkles sprinkles is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 299
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 145/120.5/110 Female 63
BF:
Progress: 70%
Location: New York City
Default

You can definitely eat more carbs than the average dieter. I was running 20-30 miles per week for a bit, but have recently cut back and am about to start training for another half. You should experiment. When I first did induction, I didn't run that week- I used the eliptical and chilled, took some rest days, etc. Now, I still don't eat many carbs...but on longer runs, I use shot blocks...I'm burning through them anyway, and at a certain point beyond 8 miles or so I start to hit a wall without something.
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  #3   ^
Old Tue, Dec-13-11, 10:49
grinch031 grinch031 is offline
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Posts: 44
 
Plan: custom
Stats: 196/191/175 Male 73"
BF:
Progress:
Default Marathon on low-carb diet

So I've been running long distance for about 4 years (2 full marathons, 4 half marathons). My times have progressively gotten better (PRs at ~3:55 full, ~1:40 half). I tend to gain 5-10 lbs when training for a race because I am a carb addict and overcompensate because of added hunger. But this time I'm trying to go low-carb and run a marathon, but I have about 5 months to adapt to it and train.

The question I have is how feasible is it to train for a full marathon on a low-carb diet? I read at least one source that says once my body is fully to adapted to using fat stores for fuel during exercise, I will be fine. The only time fat stores are less than ideal is for sprinting or other higher intensity exercise but steady state cardio at marathon distance shouldn't be a problem.

So any pitfalls to this or advice? What about carb-loading and the energy GUs that I've been using for my previous races and long training runs? Should I stop using those?
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  #4   ^
Old Tue, Dec-13-11, 10:54
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Have you guys tried googling low carb and running? Tons of stuff out there. Here's a sample: http://runningtimes.com/Print.aspx?articleID=19425

Here's a podcast: http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.c...rn-fat-for.html
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  #5   ^
Old Tue, Dec-13-11, 10:56
Seejay's Avatar
Seejay Seejay is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,025
 
Plan: Optimal Diet
Stats: 00/00/00 Female 62 inches
BF:
Progress: 8%
Default

I would follow Mark Sisson's "how to fuel for a marathon."

He used to be a triathlete, on the cover of Runner's World multiple times. A low carb, paleo guy whose approach is the "Primal Blueprint."

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-.../#axzz1gR0SNTAV
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  #6   ^
Old Wed, Dec-14-11, 12:19
mssmolly mssmolly is offline
New Member
Posts: 9
 
Plan: No white
Stats: 153/142/126 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: 41%
Default

I originally started this post and I guess I should update those who come in to read it.

Well first off I tore my ACL playing dodgeball, so I no longer am running, I'm sitting my injured behind on the couch until surgery comes around... oh joy.

However I have very good news to report:
1) Running & Low-Carb
- While extremely difficult at first (2-3 weeks) I was pleasantly surprised to see my running get exceptionally better with a low carb diet. In the 45 days I was able to keep strictly under 40 g each day all while running 5x/day - 30 miles/week. I gained about 30 sec PER MILE! That's insane in just a 30 day span.

2) Low Carb Training & Losing weight
- To those out there like me who wanted to get that extra training weight I seem to gain off which was my original reason to go LC, well the running didnt help much. [~grinch031 you sound exactly like me when you said: "I tend to gain 5-10 lbs when training for a race because I am a carb addict and overcompensate because of added hunger. But this time I'm trying to go low-carb and run a marathon, but I have about 5 months to adapt to it and train."]
I gained about 15 pounds over the span of 2 years in my marathon training because of the extra hunger and "carb loading" and the LC diet did not help me to lose an oz of weight (but I did lose .5 inch in size).
Ironically now that I'm bound to the couch, and stuck with the diet, I''ve lost 12 lbs! Craziness. I know I'm eating WAY less, but it's still a mind trip to think NOT burning my normal 3,000+ calories a week would AID in wieghtloss not detour it.

Anyway, my point is that LC really makes me feel GREAT! I never feel heavy or bloated. My running was awesome on it - though i would use blocks past 60min runs. I can't wait to get back on my feet and start running LC again. Good Luck all. Hope this long-winded reply helped someone.
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  #7   ^
Old Thu, Dec-29-11, 05:13
Dalesbred's Avatar
Dalesbred Dalesbred is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 164
 
Plan: IF/Keto/80:20
Stats: 162/150/142 Female 5 feet 6 inches
BF:
Progress: 60%
Location: Wetherby, Yorkshire, UK
Default

That's great news and thanks for sharing your experience. I must admit I've wimped out in the past and carb-loaded for running however am going to make a real effort to "train low, race high" next year (Mark Sisson's blog). My own experience is the same, I put on a stone (14lb) whilst training for my first marathon and only maintained during the second by very careful calorie counting on moderate carb - and again like you, find it easier to lose weight when not running. Completely counter-intuitive but true! All the best with your recovery.
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  #8   ^
Old Fri, Dec-30-11, 08:03
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RaceGirl28 RaceGirl28 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 972
 
Plan: Atkins Pre-Maintenance
Stats: 215/134.8/130 Female 62 inches
BF:
Progress: 94%
Default

I really like the idea to train low & race high. It makes sense, although I think that we all need to keep in mind as endurance athletes that our *low* is typically much higher than that of a non endurance athlete. I consider anything over 5 miles to need some sort of carb boost be it fruit or GU, and I'm not inclined to carry a banana on my runs.
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  #9   ^
Old Wed, Jan-11-12, 09:05
fibersnap fibersnap is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 25
 
Plan: varies - experimenting...
Stats: 248/194/185 Male 6 ft. 2 inches
BF:
Progress: 86%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalesbred
That's great news and thanks for sharing your experience. I must admit I've wimped out in the past and carb-loaded for running however am going to make a real effort to "train low, race high" next year (Mark Sisson's blog). My own experience is the same, I put on a stone (14lb) whilst training for my first marathon and only maintained during the second by very careful calorie counting on moderate carb - and again like you, find it easier to lose weight when not running. Completely counter-intuitive but true! All the best with your recovery.


Same experience here - the absolutely FASTEST way for me to lose bodyfat is to be inactive and do strict induction - with only exercise coming from normal activity like walking.

But then, even mild exertion like walking stairs or unloading groceries would really wipe me out and I lost my muscle mass and strength. I got skinny but weak.

It was worth it though, to burn through a lot of bodyfat fairly quickly.

Trying to rebuild my muscles and becoming stronger is really tricky now, as I find I need more carbs to exert myself, but then it's easy to slip up and start gaining the fat back.
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