I have been reading Natural Born Heroes by Chris Mcdougall.
There is a chapter that references Dr Phil Maffetone, the work he has done and continues to do. This really interested me because of some changes i have been experiencing recently. I am familiar with the Maff' Method from various podcasts (notably Endurance Planet) but have never really tried it, in the main, because i have Type 1 diabetes and could never rationalise the lack of carbs with my, perhaps misguided, need to consume carbs.
What interested me in the article in the book was the analysis of how to fat adapt and what it means to performance.
Most of my run training is as part of my commute. Monday-to-Friday i run between 5-12miles a day depedning on how i feel and how much time i have. Saturday's i do not run and sunday is a long run of anything between 2-4hours. I don't wear a heart rate monitor currently (it actually just needs batteries) but know by feel and experience that i am in the low zone. My heart rate does not get above 135/140 for 7:15/30 minutes per mile. Usiing the rudimentary max heart rate calculation (220-age) with an allowance for my physical condition i equate this to around 70-75% of max.
Where this gets interesting is that i have noticed a shift in my blood sugar readings when i run. I have noticed that now when i run my blood sugar is increassing and not decreasing as it used to. On a long run where taking it steady i would normally eat an energy bar or a gel or two and on getting back home my blood sugar would be on the low side.
Contrast this with yesterday where i ran 17.5 miles with 2,000ft elevation; i had a gel before i left the house (my blood sugar was 7.9mmol) and two on course. I would have expected, on getting back, that my blood sugar be low and between 4-7mmol. It was in fact 14mmol.
This got me thinking if the increase in blood sugar or rather the lack of decrease is due to being fat adapted? To use the language in the book; i was throwing gas soaked rags into the furnace but the flames were not touching them.
I have emailed Dr Phil Maffetone this very scenario to see if this is on the right lines but would be interested to hear from anyone else with thoughts on this.
