Where we at...

Qualification for the big day came early this year. We decided to run the Ottosdal night race as our first marathon for this year. Partly because the pressure is on to tick the box and the timing was right for us in terms of our planning for the next 3 months. Nervous and and all, we packed our car and headed to Ottosdal. The strange thing about the race being so late in the day, was the constant weirdness about what to eat and what not to eat. I stayed away from heavy protein and had eggs for lunch. My current go-to meal for pre-race eating is scrambled eggs, fattened up with cream and some bacon and mushrooms. But basically eggs. This seems to be the most compatible food before running long races - for me anyway. We then proceeded to run a full marathon without carrying anything to eat. No sugary, starchy foods. Not even nuts or biltong or Lindt 90% dark chocolate. As one can see from my photo, I still have adequate fat stores to maintain me for the nearly four and three quarters hours of race time, but jokes aside, I still find this the most amazing thing. Not having to carry 1k of GUs with you when you run a marathon! Even when I did get hungry, it was not intense and it also goes away again shortly. Hunger is fleeting and then your body just switches to find the fat stores and start chugging away at it.

We finished the race significantly faster than our previous qualifier (last year March) and I believe the hard work at the track is starting to show. Night races are an adventure though and I am not sure I'd run this particular marathon again. The organisation and atmosphere is fantastic and I'd gladly do the half marathon to see if I can do a PB, but the marathon, not easily. It is just too long. It is draining running in the dark for starters. It could also just be that heck, running a marathon is tough. Not counting the Ultra's, I've now run 6 marathons in my running career. One of which was the Great Wall Marathon (adventure marathon), 2 Wally's, Jackie Gibson, Deloitte and now Ottosdal, but I was quite surprised about how nervous I was pre-race. Maybe a bit of humility is a good thing. Running a marathon (or longer) remains a big deal. I read that only 0.5% of all Americans will ever run a marathon in their life. That is quite a bit lower than I expected. I am sure it's a bit higher in SA but probably 1% of South Africans fall in this category. So even when I feel, somewhat defeated by the race, I remind myself regularly that what we are doing is special. Most people don't complete a marathon - ever and here I am, non-athletic type, running marathons for training runs for the Comrades! I sometimes have to pinch myself to remind me that I actually am in the club. So even if I am still a slow-poke, I am out there on the road, plodding along to the finish line. Always happy to finish.

While the running is a work in progress, which includes a lot of suffering, I am also still discovering how amazing the LCHF lifestyle is for running . I truly believe it's made all the difference for me. I wish some days though it was not so controversial. I thank Prof Noakes for highlighting this option to me. I've never had stable a blood sugar before and for nearly a year now I've not had a single blood sugar incident. Not one! I've never been this satisfied with my eating either. If a craving hits, there is always an option to deal with it. Nearly a year later, we are still Banting strongly and I have not eaten any wheat, corn, rice, pasta, potatoes or bread in all this time. Nor have I ever been "tested" or tempted. It's just been so easy. I've embraced this lifestyle and live it to the full. New recipes and discoveries await you if you are interested in changing. New products are coming on the market as the popularity grows. Soon we will be like Sweden I hope, where this diet is accepted and not regarded as weirdos.

My latest accomplishment was the amazing lemon meringue pie - recipe in the latest Lose It magazine. Truly, truly amazing. No kidding, this was the best desert I've eaten pre- and post-Banting. I still allow myself a treat - but it always is sugar free and low-carb. There are so many good alternatives and very creative people out there that even if you miss something a lot, there are really good alternatives to consider. So my sugar-free, low carb lifestyle is here to stay and I am lovin' it.