Running on Low Carbs - it is possible!


When I went down the ketogenic rabbit hole last year, it was because of the revelation that I had breast cancer and needed to do something about it.  There's a whole story around that experience, obviously, but for today's purpose let's just say it was a great motivator to find a way that my diet could fuel my recovery.

My thought at the time was that with every bite of food I was either killing the cancer or helping it.  And I was not going to help it one bite.

The cancer scare is gone now.  I've dealt with it and now I wait to see if my body will learn to better identify future cells and have the energy to kill them.  Everyone has rogue cells (cancer cells) every day.  The body has mechanisms to find them and destroy them that work great as long as there aren't other stresses like environmental factors or physical challenges that distract the immune system and let the little rogues set up shop.

So the cancer threat was dealt with and has been chopped away.  My dietary habits have improved dramatically and my stress levels are generally low just because I'm at a cool place in my life that isn't terribly stressful.

I dropped out of the fully ketogenic diet because I didn't need that heightened level of a food plan anymore.  I'm not significantly overweight, I'm not fighting any big food sensitivities, I'm not fighting an active cancer threat, so I don't feel the need to be hyper vigilant.  I do feel the need to be healthy and clean and to find a steady way to burn fat out of my body regularly.  I do feel the need to be off the carb wagon. I dropped it because the threat was gone and I didn't think I could maintain my active lifestyle with it. 

Because I'm also a runner.  Not an elite runner.  Not an ultra runner. Just a happy recreational, social runner who enjoys the process of training and running half marathons.  It's a distance that keeps me honest and on a training plan, let's me push without tearing me down, and gives me time to focus on health and friendship in my running community.  So it's my thing.

I didn't think I could maintain a low carb lifestyle while training for a half marathon.  If you're a runner, you know the "carb up" mindset that comes with it.  The "carbo load" the night before a race is part of the fun of coming to the end of your training plan before your next big race.  How could I possibly run without carbs?!  It's unheard of, right?

Actually, no. 

I've discovered a source for information about endurance training while on a low carb lifestyle that is making all the difference for me.  It starts with the book Primal Endurance by Mark Sisson and continues with the Primal Endurance podcast that goes along with the book.  The book reads like a textbook of science and details that you need to really understand the chemistry of what's happening when you low carb and perform an endurance sport.  The podcast is the kinder gentler support version that is easy to understand and really motivational. I have absolutely no affiliation with the Primal folks and get nothing from recommending the book or podcast.  It's simply changing everything I ever worried about in terms of low carbing and running, and I have to shout it from the rooftops: You need this book if you want to change your life!

I'm in week 5 of a 12 week Half Marathon training program and I'm diving back into the low carb lifestyle because of the inspiration I'm getting from this Primal lifestyle.  The next 7 weeks are going to be my primal experiment and I'm really excited to see how this works for me!  Follow along on the journey.

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