Sweet Victory

Four months ago, I completed my first 100 mile ultra marathon. Since then - athletically speaking - I've been adrift. Not inactive. Most weeks, I'm out there five to six days per week. Even in a particularly bad week, I'm out there four times. But by adrift, I mean without a plan. Without a goal. I've done several small races and I've talked about doing several large races. But large races (in my world) require commitment to a plan and executing on that plan. I know people who go to big races unprepared. I've done it a few times, myself. I don't like it. I realized a while ago that there are two ways you can approach endurance sports. You can make time for them or you can find time for them. If you make time for them, the workout WILL happen. You will adjust your life and sleep around it. If you find time for them, most days you'll get the workouts in, but when the life gets in the way, oh well. For most of the past six years, I've been making ...

Disclaimer: What you are about to read is not a medical study, but rather a case study of one diabetic athlete. Your mileage may vary. In addition, I talk about treatments that are relatively uncommon at this time. Don't do any of this stuff without consulting people far smarter than I. Over the past couple of years, I've become quite adept at consuming a lot of carbs on my runs. Typically speaking, 50-60g per hour, which is on the higher end of what most athletes can handle. To accomplish this, I've kept my basal rates at 100%. The combination of insulin plus exercise has lead to outstanding diabetes control and has also helped me to accomplish many of my ultra running goals. Despite that, I decided to mix things up a month ago. I'd read some articles about ultra runners using low-carb diets. In doing so, the theory, goes, you program your body to burn fat rather than carbs. The potential benefits here - according to theory - are two-fold: 1. By consuming fewer...