3 weeks and a speedbump

Three weeks into my experiment and I finally found my first "speedbump" in this new dietary intervention.  Even though I have had nothing but amazing progress and extremely positive effects from this dietary manipulation, it was bound to happen I suppose.  It has not been my weekly travel as a derailment (actually, that is quite easy with a little planning and preparation).  Nor has it been my energy levels as those continue to be through the roof.  I find that I can easily run for 2-3 hours with very few calories and I can maintain swim intensity throughout a 1.5 hour masters swim practice.

No...my speedbump, while related to my training, is not affecting my performance but rather my body temperature!  As you recall, I have dropped 6 pounds from day 1 until now and with that has come changes in body composition.  Each time I have gotten into the pool to swim (about 3 times per week), I have noticed that my rest intervals must be more strategically timed to prevent my body getting too cold.  Yes, I have finally given in to wearing a swim cap in an attempt to maintain my body temperature somewhat.  Now, I am certainly not complaining as I see this as a very positive speed bump and one that I will accept with pride.  If you see me in the water, please don't stop me too long to chat as you will likely see my lips become discolored and my body begin to shake uncontrollably!  

On a similar note, I have been enjoying this nutrition plan and approach each new day as an experiment to determine what low carbohydrate meal I can put together while attempting to increase the fat significantly.  Tonight, I embarked on making pizza except there was no bread or wheat base.  My crust was made out of chopped/pulverized cauliflower mixed with spices, eggs and cheese.  I topped it with a few slices of Roma tomatoes and more cheese and voila!  It was such a great, low carbohydrate substitute to one of my most favorite foods in the world.  My wife and kids loved it and I do believe it will become a staple in this household for many years to come.  Next time, I'm going to load it with Genoa salami and crushed Italian sausage to add a little zest to it!

Training continues to progress nicely.  My travel puts a damper on some of my long runs but I will be putting this to the test tomorrow with a 15 mile run to determine how well I recover before the next morning's masters swim practice.  To date, my recovery from up to 2 1/4 hour runs has been phenomenal.  No muscle soreness.  No unnecessary mental fatigue.

I can't wait to get quantitative data on myself to justify the great feelings and experience I am having so far!

Until next go around...

Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
Fuel4mance