Jeff Keller wrote:
>
> Tom,
>
> I have been training recently and have backed off allot since becoming
> Paleo. When I first changed my diet from 15 years vegetarian 70% grains to
> Paleo my runs would end after 2.5 miles feeling like I was going to pass
> out. I was so woozy I didn't think I could walk home.


I have had exactly the same experience, when I was trying to
run high carb. I would suddenly feel very weak, and
ravenously hungry. Usually I headed home at that point, but
sometimes, if I kept going, jogging very slowly, the feeling
would pass and I could get on with a fine run. I think this
is the turning point of metabolism, from carb burning to
fat. As I reduce carbs, this feeling came earlier and
earlier in the run, and less intensely. When I run now low
carb, it is just a heavy feeling about twenty minutes into
the run.


  It has become much
> easier after 3 months Paleo and increasing my fat intake.

Learning to do this took me some time. I had to overcome a
learned resistance to eating fat, and I think it takes the
body a while to adjust to a high fat diet. The digestive
tract will gradually increase production of bile and other
fat digesting chemicals as fat content increases. The change
from vegetarian is probably even greater. Go slow, learn
which fats you can tolerate more easily. If it works for
you, maybe a higher carb version of paleo would be better
for running? Not all paleo people were low carb (as Amadeus
takes pains to show us ;--)  I think there is a fair amount
of individual variation.


  My diet seems
> very similar to yours with maybe a little less variety.  I have heard it
> takes a year for you body to recover from a vegetarian diet so I will be
> patient.  If anyone can the one year transition it would be good to hear the
> experience.

I am now one year into the paleo diet. I was not veg before,
a pretty "good" diet, with lots of home made bread. I have
found that there seem to be distinct stages of improvement.
I felt better, and my digestion was immensely better within
days of starting, and cutting out that delicious bread ;--(
 A few weeks later I noticed my headaches were gone. Six
months later my knee pains suddenly disappeared. Since then
I have been running more strongly. Just this summer, one
year into this, I suddenly feel real strong running, it is
like turning a page. I feel a lot like I did when I was 17,
training for cross country. Almost that good. I am 41 now.
>
> Jeff
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tom" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2002 11:42 PM
> Subject: High Intensity Sport
>
> > Hi, I would like to know if anyone else out there is
> > training for competetive sport. I am training for the fall
> > road racing season, hope to run several races in Oct and
> > Nov, ten kilometer.
> >