Started Aug. 4th (kind of), starting Aug. 11th (for real)

[Carvy]

Hi Everyone,

 

I decided to do "something like a Whole30" last weekend and wanted to jump right in on Monday; I was really just looking for a way to disengage from carb-dependence, since I have (mostly) not eaten gluten, dairy, or legumes (plus a few other W30-compliant things to which I am sensitive) for eleven years. I'm "just" a carb-addict now: Gluten free oats, polenta, rice, gluten-free vegan soy-free muffins and pancakes— I love it all and it has gotten pretty ugly. I'm a serious runner, too (with the history of achilles tendinopathy, bursitis, and ITBS to prove it!), so I worry about chronic inflammation.

 

Another thing about Monday: I started my training program for my winter marathon that day. I really wanted my W30ish (?) to start at the same time. This didn't give me much opportunity for prep (work is very busy right now), so I just glanced at the directions and then jumped in, not worrying too much about the "little" things, like my multi-vitamin (already gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free, after all) and the restrictions on between-meal snacking and paying attention to numbers (i.e., scales and calories). 

 

First three days were great— no cravings and no afternoon drowsiness. Six days in, I still haven't had any cravings, and I'm excited to have learned a lot about cooking and to be rediscovering how good vegetables can taste... BUT my stomach is not happy and my workouts are going downhill fast slow (i.e., they are QUICKLY becoming SLOW): An 8-mile medium-pace run on Thursday felt like a tempo run of the same distance, and I actually had to bail on this morning's long run halfway through because I was so weak and tired (this despite having done 2 spoonfuls of raw nut butter an hour before trick). I felt sick to my stomach after dinner— again. The only compliant thing that seems to calm my stomach down is avocado, so I've been eating it after meals when I am full just to stop the pain.

 

Sooo... I did a little research. A friend gave me her copy of It Starts With Food, which I'm about halfway through; I've been reading forum posts, looking at recipes, and talking to other endurance athlete friends. The good news is that I am now really excited about and interested in doing an actual Whole30, and I am so much more convinced that this is a good thing for me. But I'm really worried about the effect that my trial has had on my marathon training. At this point I'm inclined to keep doing what I'm doing through the weekend (while I research/prep/set myself up to succeed), start my Whole30 on Monday, and ride out what I'm hoping is fat adaption (I think that's the term... haven't gotten there in the book yet). Going to try to find some digestive enzymes, too... but I'm a little worried about getting the miles in while I struggle with the stomach issues and the weakness. Any advice and/or encouragement would be very much appreciated... and I'm looking forward to "talking" with you all on the forum!

[Tom Denham]

Even when eating plenty of starchy veggies - carbs - during a Whole30, the process of becoming fat adapted usually takes more than 2 weeks and can reach to near 30 days for some people. It happens reliably, however, and if you stay with the process, you will come out on the other side with more durable energy levels. 

[Eatrunworkplay]

Carvy,

I am in the same position as you. What you're experiencing is exactly how I was when I did my first whole30 a couple summers ago.

I'm jumping in and starting another whole30 today! I am nervous because I am also a long distance runner, and remembering the tired and heavy legs last time, makes me either want to stop running or find a solution- obviously the later is what is ideal! I can't stop running!

Maybe we can help each other out- trying to find the balance and success with whole30 and running.

Oh, and a question for Tom- while running or any cardio exercise, should I try to keep my heart rate in the fat burning zone? Will this help with the fat adaption? Also any tips for my heavy leg issue?

Thank you!

[Carvy]

Tom, thank you for the encouragement! Another question: If I eat fewer starchy vegetables (i.e., more leaves, fewer roots), do you think that would force me into fat adaption sooner? 18 weeks out from the marathon, I can do some bad running and it won't matter much, as long as I'm getting the miles in, but at 16, 15 weeks... then my coach is going to start asking me how much I really want to hit my goal time. I know that in the long run (figuratively, not literally), this way of eating should complement my training, but I may have messed up the timing. (If I had actually read It Starts With Food before making my plans, I would have had a greater appreciation for the extent of the physiological changes Whole30 is intended to initiate.) Like Eatrunworkplay, I welcome any and all tips to hasten this part of the process... but I'm willing to wait it out at least as long as my coach will let me. (I basically have one shot to get free coaching for my target marathon, so I can't kick this down the road.)

 

Eatrunworkplay: First of all, "hi" and thanks for replying— it's nice to know I'm not the only one trying to do this who places a really high priority on continuing to run. I actually decided to do this because when I trained for my last marathon, I used a higher-mileage training program and had amazing results (like, nine weeks into marathon training, and without tapering, I ran a half marathon and PR'd by five minutes!) but the high mileage really affected my work productivity; I'd crash every afternoon. I'm also somewhat injury prone (my marathon ended up being terrible because I got ITBS five weeks out and had to finish my training in the pool; I didn't run for three years because of a stubborn achilles tendinopathy, and then after my first marathon I got bursitis), and I've been working on my form to prevent those type of issues from reoccurring, but I thought, "Well, chronic inflammation... maybe I should work on that, too." So (much as I wanted to break free of oatmeal- and gluten-free-muffin-dependence) my interest in Whole30 was really inspired by a desire to make myself a better, stronger, more injury-proof runner (without falling asleep on my desk every afternoon), and having these "heavy legs" (good way of putting it) is freaking me out. Did you see any improvement in the "heavy leg" problem over the course of your previous Whole30?

 

I'm just going to take it one run at a time... today my best running buddy is visiting; we're about the same speed/fitness level, but she primarily runs ultras and trains at a slower pace. I'm hoping that doing a long run with her at 10:30-11:30 pace instead of my usual 9:00-9:30 LSD pace will get me through the miles. Last time I had a couple spoonfuls of cashew butter and a small handful of blueberries about an hour before I went out, and ate a bite of (a technically compliant) Larabar (something I was initially unwilling to eat during even my quasi-Whole30 because it just seemed like cheating) about every mile and a half. It was super-weird: I'd feel good for about half a mile about 5 minutes after each bite of Larabar... Was that my muscles using the Larabar carbs as fuel? And will that slow fat adaption? Basically, I'm torn about whether I should continue to do that when I run so that I can continue to run, or just give my body shock therapy and hope it gets with the fat-as-fuel program quickly. I'll let you know what, if anything works for me... please keep me posted on how it goes for you!

[Tom Denham]

Tom, thank you for the encouragement! Another question: If I eat fewer starchy vegetables (i.e., more leaves, fewer roots), do you think that would force me into fat adaption sooner? 

 

The concept sounds reasonable, but I have never heard any reports that makes me think you can force faster fat adaptation by eating more leaves and fewer roots.

[Eatrunworkplay]

Carvy,

So with my first whole30 I never got past the heavy legs...so about a week or so later I was back fueling my runs with grains and as much fruit as I wanted. Since then, I've went in and out of Paleo eating. It's a concept I truely believe in, and why I'm willing to try it again and perhaps continue strong with an 80-90% paleo lifestyle.

I have been told that perhaps I wasn't eating enough fats the first round, so I'm going to try eating a lot more of healthy fats. So try that too, and see if it helps you.

A little background on my running- started running 4 years ago, have completed 7 halfs, and 4 fulls. I've been injured 3 times, which each took 6 weeks to recover. I'm currently recovering from Plantar Fasciitis. This is a huge bummer since I'm currently supposed to be training for the lululemon half, which is two weeks away and the Chicago marathon which is 8 weeks away.

I'm currently running a minute slower than my normal average pace. This is due to my sore foot, not so much energy, since today is only day 1 of my whole30 and I've been "carbing up", so my carb stores shouldn't be effecting my runs yet.

I did have a goal for my marathon in Chicago, I wanted to do a sub 4:00, my PR is 4:01.

Now I'd just like to complete it, but I may need to back out of Chicago and focus on healing my body with the Whole30.

Let me know how you're feeling! What marathon are you training for? I'm hopeful you're body will have the time it needs to adjust!

[Carvy]

Hi there, sorry I didn't respond to this sooner! I was expecting to get a notification if/when you replied— still learning the forum, obviously! 

 

Anyway, it sounds like we're similar runners... your marathon PR is 1 minute faster than mine! I love half marathons and have done a bunch (my first was in 2005), BUT I haven't been a super-consistent distance runner due to injuries and my job (I end up having a really intense project every couple of years that forces me to drastically reduce my weekly mileage). My major goal right now is simply to run a marathon without a disaster. I overhydrated in my first one in 2010 and ended up jog/walking most of the second half (4:28 finish time); last year, I was actually on track to run around 3:35, but I got a severe case of IT Band Syndrome five weeks beforehand, couldn't run for literally 4.5 weeks (despite a cortisone shot two weeks in and lots of soft tissue therapy). I was able to run 5 miles pain free two days before the marathon, so I went to the marathon as-planned, and by some miracle the injury didn't hurt during the race... pretty much everything else did, though!  I spent the first part of this year doing a lot of short fast stuff, trying to improve my form (I developed the ITBS because I tend drop my right hip when I run, so my left knee swings in ever-so-slightly... multiply that by 16 weeks of 30-55 miles/week and it apparently you have a problem), so I feel super-behind compared to where I was when I officially started training last year. My race is the California International Marathon on December 7th. Last year it was so cold that the spilled water and Gatorade froze on the ground at the first couple of aid stations, and I basically didn't have feeling in my face from the time the gun went off until I was about halfway back to my parents' house (90 minutes away), but it's a fast course and a great atmosphere, and you finish in front of the capitol building. My next race is also in Sacramento: It's the Urban Cow Half Marathon in October. I might do the Humboldt Redwoods Half, as well; it's about two weeks later. Those are my two favorite halves. I've heard Chicago is a great marathon... my coach ran it in 2010 and had a great experience. 

 

I'm sorry you're dealing with PF— one of my friends has had it on and off for ages. She's finally kicking it now (by working on her form!), but it's an annoying one... like achilles tendinopathy (my old "friend"). How are you feeling now that you're in Whole30? I think things are going better for me... I managed to do my 12-miler on Sunday (the one I bailed out of on Saturday) by joining an ultrarunner friend of mine. Rather than starting at 9:30 pace, I ran the first nine between 10:30 and 11:30 pace and I was able to do the penultimate two at 8:45 and the last mile at marathon goal pace (8:20). I also managed to do my track workout yesterday on-or-faster-than goal pace, but I cut down the number of reps (3x1200 rather than 4x1200) and I felt AWFUL during warm-up, so I'm not back to 100% yet. Still, way better than last week. I have been eating a lot of fat, so maybe that is the key. I do a raw nut butter packet 1 hour-45 minutes before a workout and my new innovation for PWO meals is pumpkin and cashew butter. I'll do something more real-meal-ish if I run from home, but the cashew butter/pumpkin combo is good for the trailhead or the parking lot at the track.

 

Let me know how it goes for you... I'm hoping we'll both be back on pace SOON!