Journey to Kona Day 210: Carbs, Keto and Training

Days like today remind me of the challenge of carbohydrates.  I worked out yesterday, but changed my training plans today when I didn't get enough sleep last night. I took a nap instead.  I was debating  squeezing in a bike ride this afternoon, but decided against it due to 90 degree temperatures and the fact that I was still tired after my nap.  We've still got three and a half more days of babysitting, so I need to conserve my energy!  This morning and this afternoon I took in some carbs (honey stinger waffle this morning and frozen yogurt this afternoon). I pretty much immediately felt lousy.  It reminds me of how I used to feel when I was mostly running and following the carb loading approach to training.  My body and carbohydrates are not a great match, especially when my metabolism isn't burning the carbs immediately.

Training for an ironman with a low carbohydrate or keto diet has its challenges.  First of all, it's not for everyone.  We all have different metabolisms and body types.  There is no doubt that I can tolerate a low carb diet, but at the same time, I don't want to be training with inadequate carbohydrate stores in my body, as the stress of doing so is an added one.  As I keep learning from babysitting, there's all kinds of stresses that impact the human body, and exercise is just one of them.

I'm intrigued about what it would take for me to get back down to the weight I used to race at a decade ago.  I'd have to lose about 10 pounds, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it's not like I'm carrying around too much excess fat.  This means that burning carbohydrates risks burning protein in the muscles, which could have a negative impact on me.  Nevertheless, I've thought a lot about trying to get down to what I call "fighting weight" for awhile now, especially after I gained weight a couple of years ago while my training lapsed.

I am certainly not against a "keto" diet, in fact, I tend to lean in that direction.  However, I am a firm believer that everything should be done in some degree of moderation.  It probably wasn't a good idea to eat "empty" carbs today, in lieu of the fact that I'm not going to work out today.  Of course, I didn't know that this morning.  In fact, I often don't take in any carbs in the morning and start my workout without any sort of carbohydrate "boost."  I can't complain as to how that's worked out for me in the past few years.  At the same time, with 5 1/2 weeks to go before Kona, I have no intention of doing anything differently right now.  I'll keep listening to my body, and keep doing what's gotten me here.