Tricky Transitioning

I posted on Saturday that I was converting to ultra low carb, high protein and high fat. I've been strict with it since last Friday. The challenge now is sustaining my energy, without sacrificing my precious lean muscle tissue, during workouts when my body is used to burning carbohydrates.

Yes, I know it's not a good idea to change nutrition before a race (i.e. Ragnar this weekend) but this is race season and I have something going on every weekend for the next 2-3 months, not to mention CrossFit and AB training on a daily basis.  Which really just brings me to... If not now, then when?

I understand from Eric that switching fuels can take a good 90 days. Ugh.  I already know from having gone cold turkey off carbs in the past that if I don't make the conversion correctly, I could end up with more issues than are healthy for me.  So, I am being careful with the process and doing the conversion over as long a period as it takes.

What that means in practical terms is that all carbs except leafy greens are pulled out of my regular meals, starting last Friday, and starting tonight I've added a post high intensity workout 1/2 medium sweet potato.  On race days, depending on the distance, I'll likely have to add an energy gel, but we'll see how I'm doing as the races come up.  First event... Ragnar.  I'll have both sweet potatoes and gels with me... along with plenty of protein and fat.  I'll let you know how it goes.

As for this week...

Monday - CrossFit:
Tempo Back Squats - 3 second down, 2 second hold, 1 second up, change breath and start over... for a total of 6 reps.  THEN increase the load and repeat it again for 5 sets.  My final set was at 95#... sounds light, but it sure didn't feel light!
Then 3 rounds of:
6 Weighted pull-ups - (I did weighted negs with increasing loads)
10 Push Presses - increasing loads each round - I got to 65#
then:
5 rounds of:
10 Squat Thrusters - I started at 55# and failed at rep 7 round 3, did round 4 @ 35# and round 5 @45
IT WAS ONE LONG ASS TRAINING SESSION!

Tuesday - 9am CrossFit:
Power Cleans - 3,2,1 Increasing Loads - Went 75#, 85#, 95#.  Been quite awhile since I hit 95#  Felt very good!
Followed By 5 rounds of:
5 TnG Deadlifts (increasing loads - I reached 135#)
5 single Box jumps (increasing heights - I started on 10in, moved to 18in and stopped at 20in... first time I've jumped since taking a header a month ago)
I skipped the last piece since I had AB tonight

Enter Arrogant Bastard practice tonight...
Bastards! Tonight's 6:30pm practice will be a little "Speed Play" at Foothill's Middle School in Arcadia. This is locate at the north end of 2nd Ave.. Please RSVP in comments...
In teams of two - unlike ability... I get my favorite racer, Tom!
Given 30 minutes... In team relay style, how many rounds of 800m sprints can your team complete?
OMG this was insidiously wicked because we both had to race at max pace to balance each other.  Of about 8 teams, we came in 3rd with 9 complete rounds.  Tom started us off and finished his laps in about 3 minutes.  I didn't set my watch, but know my first round was about 3:50 and my last round was likely 4:30.  We were in first place during round one, then fell to third place in round three... then held our position through the next six rounds... thanks to Tom pulling out a sub 3 minute 800m on his fifth and last round.  His performance was amazing to watch and truly heroic.

Next up... CrossFit tomorrow am and Ragnar over the weekend.  See you on Sunday!