Had some carbs during marathon...what to do?

[partytrouble]

Hi guys,

7 days into CLEAN induction, with 4 pounds of weight loss, I ran a half marathon (today) in the Arizona sun and heat. When I finished, I felt VERY faint and nauseated. I drank plenty of water on the route, but passed on the sport gels and powerade because I didn't want the carbs. The people in the med tent made me eat some carbs, as they told me my low carb diet did not provide sufficient "quickly usable" energy for a long distance run such as the one I just completed. I felt really ill, so I went ahead and ate half the BIG bagel they gave me. I immediately felt better.

Have I sabotaged my entire 8 days, or can I salvage some of what I have done? I was thinking maybe the huge amount of energy and calories I just expended might "eat up" the bagel carbs...which I think amount to 30 to 40 carbs. I have stayed at zero carb the rest of the day. Any advice???

Thanks!

[Beat-The-Bulge-In_06]

Re: Had some carbs during marathon...what to do?

Just continue tomorrow as usual, just like nothing ever happened. Don't start over with day 1, just continue on.

[Moochiecat]

Re: Had some carbs during marathon...what to do?

I agree...just continue on and don't worry about it. You did more than enough running the half marathon to counteract any damage from a bagel. Your metabolism was probably zooming along so fast after the run that it shot that bagel right through your system.

The problem would lie in whether the bagel caused you to crave&cave and since that's not the case, just view it as a learning experience and have someone there with Atkins friendly foods you can eat at the end of the race.
Betty (ttdriver) can probably suggest some foods that would work out best for you. Hopefully she'll read this or you can ask her in the Exercise forum.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Had some carbs during marathon...what to do?

yep just go on. So how did you do with your run? Next run take your Atkins freindly snack with you and eat it after

[partytrouble]

Re: Had some carbs during marathon...what to do?

Thanks for the support you guys!! Believe it or not, that half bagel almost quenched my excitement and sense of achievement of running the half marathon....I didn't want to fail on my diet while succeeding on my run!!! Thanks for making me feel better about it!

I completed the 13.1 miles in just under 2 1/2 hours, which was my goal. It was lots of fun and I am setting my sights now on a full marathon, but not for several months or so (San Diego Rock n Roll marathon in June). I have had trouble with my right IT band, and need to take a few weeks off to heal. I see some of you are runners, how have you done on long distances with little carbs? What do you eat/drink along the way for energy? The energy gels have been a lifesaver for me in the past, but now that I can't have them I don't know what to refuel on mid race. I try to eat something salty in the morning to hold onto the water during the race, but it just didn't seem to be enough to take me the whole distance....advice? Maybe I should repost this in the exercise forum?

[Becky Sue]

Re: Had some carbs during marathon...what to do?

Like Moochiecat suggested, check with Betty(ttdriver). she is a very successful runner and I bet she can give you tons of advice.
Congratulations on your accomplishments.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Had some carbs during marathon...what to do?

gels are for carb eaters cause they can't store very many carbs to sustane them for the entire run. they bonk and hit the wall when they run out and their body tries to use its fat reserves.

Low carbers on the other hand have lots of fat reserves to tap into and hydration is usually their only issue.

In normal running the human body uses up the glycogen and the phosphogen stores in the first 2 mins in the muscles and then has to send out signals to tell the liver to make more and the fat cells to release fats for fuel or refuel on a quick sugar source. When folk say somebody got their second wind that was the energy level coming back up cause the fats were finally being correctly burned to make the needed energy.

if you are a low carber you have all the needed molecules for moving the fats and facturing the fats and burning the fats in abundant supply so you just do it as soon as the signal starts coming. Low carb runners actually store additional fatty acids in their muscles to use as immediate fuel source too.
High carbers on the other hand have low amounts of fat burning needed enzymes,carrier molecules and burning sites so they need to refuel with their gels or bonk.

Low carbers fuel up at their nornal meals by having some protein, some fat and some, carbs. that energy will be there when you run. You can make low carb gorp if you are on the OWL phase and past rung 4 with dried berries and nuts or you can take nutbutter and a low carb bread to snack on if you need it. After working out if you can refrain from refueling for an hour you are getting a great extra fat burn going on. The fewllow who wrote the BFL program, Bill Philips, and is a high carb even waits an hour after his workouts to get that burn.

Dr Stuart Treagur the head of Atkins right after Dr Atkins died is an ultra marathoner done the Iron man and the NYC and Boston and he uses Atkins. of course he is now a goalie and can have more carbs as part of his Atkins just as Dr Atkins says those in vigorous exercise can have them. I know in OWL I could lose lifting and HIITing on over 100 net carbs as did Loonatika our exercise mod back in 2005

[Yellow Jacket]

Re: Had some carbs during marathon...what to do?

I'm on day 14 of induction, and I'm struggling a little with my running. I'm used to running for hours at a time, running up to 16 miles. I've run 2 marathons in the last 2 years and numerous 10K and 5K races. But I have had a lot of trouble with just a simple 3-mile run. Two days ago, I finished it with no problem, but I was pretty winded. Yesterday I had to walk a good bit of the way back. Today I ran the 3 miles straight through, but still felt fatigued. Today my legs were really sore, like they have a lactic acid build-up, which is something I haven't felt in many years. Up to now, I had been recovering from a hip injury for a month, but I find it hard to believe my conditioning would drop off this much in one month.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Had some carbs during marathon...what to do?

actually any acid build up is felt as pain when you work out not day after. day after is the damage to the tissue so it will be repairing and building. it is actually a good thing.

it takes time ofr your body to switch from carbs to fats as I posted above you need to create the extra carrier molecules and the enzymes needed for the reation you got to grow more power houses to burn the fatty acids in the muscle cells. Give it some time and you will discover you actually have more endurance and energy running. The card of induction are very limited and the nurtients youa re getting from them too. Are you supplementing like Dr Atkins recomends in DANDR?