I started back with the Paleo a couple of weeks ago. Things have been going well; I seem to be able to stick to it a little better this time around. I am also keeping it exciting by trying out new recipes each week.
Two weekends ago I did a 25 miles bike ride in the Hill Country. I was on Paleo for about a week and the ride seem to go well. It even seemed easier then I had remembered from a few years back. Thanks to CrossFit the past year I'm sure. I felt fine throughout the ride. This was only a ride not a race so they had several rest stops and at each one I would get a half of a banana or a couple pieces of an orange. At the end Bratwurst and Sauerkraut. Yum. All in all things went well.
Then this past week I participated in the Rock n' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon. Not the same results. This was my 7th half marathon and I have done several other races including 5Ks, 10Ks and sprint triathlons, I would normally wake up and eat my usual english muffin with peanut butter, honey and banana. That always seemed to get me through every event without being hungry during the event or weighing too much on my stomach. However that isn’t Paleo. So before this race I went with a banana and 1/2 apple with Almond Butter on the way out the door at 5am. The race started at 7:30, but with so many people we didn't cross the start line until 8:30. By this time I was already hungry again, but thought nothing of it. Two hours into the run I crashed and I crashed hard. Of course my knees hurt and my feet hurt, this is to be expected. But the feeling I was having was mal-nutrition. I actually felt like my body was being sucked in and it couldn’t find anything to feed off of. (I have plenty on storage; it just wasn’t looking hard enough, haha) My stomach was aching, my chest felt tight and actually hurt, I was dazing in and out and felt kind of dizzy. Like I said this is my 7th one of these, I know I can do them; it’s just a matter of how well. This time I thought I wouldn’t finish. I contemplated just sitting down on a near by curb and wondering if people would look at me all crazy wondering with a runner with her bid still on is just sitting on a curb. I was even thinking if I saw someone drinking a coke I would literally grab it from them and drink it. I kept pushing through and was downing the water at the water stops 2 cups at a time. I did have some carb blocks on me that I could have taken, but at this point my stomach was feeling so weird I thought they would push the feeling of throwing up I already had way over the top and lead me straight to the port-o-potty. (Definitely didn’t want that). I did finish and I got my medal (what it is actually all about to me) and went straight for the food. I ate a banana, some of an apple and a bagel and instantly felt better.
I know I have just started going Paleo again and it takes some time for my body to adjust, but it was really missing those carbs on the long run. I truly understand the meaning of carb-loading now. Next time I know to eat my breakfast but also bring something to eat closer to the start time and maybe some nuts or dried fruit for along the route.
I did finish and I got my medal. However I need more training on nutrition; especially when it comes to long endurance workouts.
