The Great Aerobic Ketogenic Experiment: Week Four

Week Four of the Great Aerobic Ketogenic Experiment, the second and last week of a micro intensity period. This week started off kind of blah. For some reason I was just not feeling 100%. I wasn’t sick or tired, just not at 100. I went to the Rocky Moutain Tri Club Season Kickoff Party on Monday night. It’s great to be a member and I’m looking forward to doing more with the club. Since it was my first event though, there was a bit of social anxiety. So I ended up drinking a glass of wine. I’m not sure if that threw me off or what. Workouts were on par though.

Speaking of wine, I discovered some keto friendly wine! I’m so exited about this I have to share! Dry Farm Wines, have virtually no sugar or carbohydrates! I can’t wait to try these wines and see how they test, and make me feel. One word of caution, it’s not like you can just drink as much as you want, it’s safe at about 3-5oz per hour. So a glass of wine is probably good.

Training

The training plan for week three was; Monday swim 2900 yards, Tuesday Stryd Critical Power Test, Wednesday strength, Thursday swim 2900 yards, Friday bike & run HIIT, Saturday bike 90 minutes, Sunday Hams and Hamstrings 5K.

The Critical Power (CP) test. This is the running equivalent of an Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test on the bike. Using the Stryd running power meeter, you run a couple of max efforts to calculate your CP. To get accurate results for this test you need to run on a track. There is a track at a local high school not too far away from me. The track sucks, just in horrible shape. But it had to do, and there wasn’t a sole around for the most part so that helped. I ran the test using the Stryd app on my phone, actually a pretty clever way to do it. I got a CP of 324. It will be exciting to see how I can improve this number over time as I improve my running skills.

A large snow storm blew in on Wednesday. With well over a foot of snow I was stuck at home all day. I had planed to do strength training, but after a lazy snow day and my very low HRV reading in the morning I decided to call it a rest day. It’s hard to skip a day of training, but my HRV climb way up the next morning, so it was definitely a needed rest.

I also was very lazy on Saturday. I was going to get in a 90 minute trainer session, but could barely manage 30 minutes. I’m not sure why I felt so lethargic.

Sunday I had the Hams and Hamstrings 5k. I wanted to set a new PR of 22:00. Things did not work out that way. I was not feeling tip top in the morning due to my poor diet the day before. Then it was freezing outside, only 17° which was no fun. The trail was snow covered and the first half was uphill. It was a challenge all around. I new right off that I wasn’t gong to make my time. But I went for it and was able to take 3rd. No PR’s but still a solid race considering.

Diet

While stuck at home, in the snow storm, I snacked way more than I wanted to. What was really interesting about this, is that my ketone levels went through the roof. I’m not sure if it’s the extra fat I took in or what. I’m not going to complain.

And I went of the rails on easter. Wine, candy and a large meal. I ate way to much and sure felt it afterwards. The most interesting thing was that I was still in Ketosis the next morning. We’ll see how that plays out. 

Progress

Progress was something I’m not sure I made this week. I have to admit from a diet and exercise perspective not much improvement was to be had. Swimming, however, is going well. I am making some gains in my times and I’m very happy about that, as it is much needed. I’m curious to see if the intensity does contribute to any gains though.

I’m looking forward to getting back to MAF training and plan to have a much better diet over the next weeks. We’ll see how it contributes to my overall progress.