Wed, Mar-28-07, 09:34
|
Registered Member
Posts: 1,216
|
|
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 185/180/165
BF:
Progress: 25%
|
|
50 mile run
I was side-lined with injuries much of last year so this was my first attempt at a long distance run in 8 months. I prepped by doing a lot of short, fast runs, a lot of weight work and a very low carb diet. Also a lot of PT for the injury.
I've used lowcarb in the past so I know how it affects me on long runs. I found I need little carb but I do need some. I can't run on body fat alone. The race had the usual assortment of carbs at every aid station: potato chips, lowfat cookies, M&Ms. The available fluid was water or Heed, an electrolyte/sugar mixture similar to gatorade.
As always, the hyper-caffeinated, hyper-glycogenated crowd left me in the dust early. I plodded along, occasionally passing someone with a cramp or strain, but mostly running alone on the trail.
I live in a cold climate. The race was in a warm area. I often have trouble with the heat. Around mile 40 I started having cramps everywhere, not just my legs. For the last 10 miles I mostly walked. I would try to run but that just triggered massive cramps in my legs, back, etc. As I was the last finisher, I was given the pejorative term DFL. Dead fu***** Last! No matter, I'm used to it.
The only problem was the cramping. They seemed to get worse after the race was over. At that point the sun was going down and I was getting quite cold. I was spending the night in a tent and the shivering seemed to trigger worsening cramps. I ended up in my car with the heater blasting while I drank gatorade. After three liters, the cramps subsided.
So this is a new one on me. Does lowcarb affect electrolyte levels? On the positive side, like in the past the muscle soreness was gone in two days. In the old days of marathons on sugar, I suffered muscle soreness for weeks post-race. I don't know whether the lowcarb caused less muscle damage or if running so slowly just didn't enflame the muscles too much.
50 miles in 12.25 hours. DFL. >:-( The winner did it in about 7 hours.
|