Type 4 Fun!

BOOOOO!!!!

What about us little folk, the metabolic disordered, how do we high carb train?!

I admire David Roche, this is not a criticism of him or his training strategy, nor am I arguing against SWAP. In fact, the SWAP philosophy is right up my alley. Training is remarkably personal in ways that feel hard to quantify. We are all unicorns and that is why personal coaching can so valuable and constructive.

If you are an elite athlete, a generalized approach can be well applied to the workout and nutritional components of coaching. Even to a pristine athlete, all of the elements of coaching would seem to fall within conventional wisdom; whether it is physical therapy, nutrition or gut health, training load, cross training, or what have you. Ultimately, a template of a strategy can be configured to meet your needs.

To date, I’ve yet to find a coach, institution, or philosophy that caters to athletes with diabetes.

The principle selling point of any coach is the personalization of the plans they offer. What does that actually mean?

I could pay one of the greatest ultra marathoners in the world, Ian Sharman, upwards of 5k a year to train me how to finally complete a hundred miler and whatever he tells me would most assuredly get me to that goal. But, could I also just do that by randomly running around from time to time and hoping for the best? Yes. For sure, don’t be silly. But, how well it goes and how one feels at the end are the price conscious variables.

As an athlete with diabetes, seeing all of the science point towards my own personal poison as the key to success, it becomes very difficult to quantify the value of coaching. Whether it is from tremendously successful experts like Sharman or Roche who serve sponsored elites or local coaches with more intimate client lists. I yearn for that level of confidence.

I’ve hired coaches before. SWAP actually referred me to Drew Macomber, prior to my venture in the Swiss Alps. I feel his input was crucial to my ability to finish at the supremely diffcult Ultraks Matterhorn Sky and VertiNight combo I completed in 2022. Drew had his work cut out for him. We don’t have to go into that.

Later, I attempted coaching again. This time, I sought it through my club, Northwoods Athletics. I hired Eric LiPuma to guide me to that 100 mile glory. With a solid strategy coming into fruition, naturally, I promptly rolled the eff out of my ankle. Nothing short of coming to my house and pulling me out of my bed every day would’ve properly prepared me for the the hottest Javelina Jundred that year. That is my excuse, at least.

Eric and Drew, to their well deserved credit, have an incredible amount of wisdom to utilize when they coach. I learned a lot from brief time with both of them, but one thing that I have to learn in spite of their guidance is that there are factors they will not be able to account for. Variables like, how goddamn sad I might be from day to another day feel impossible to coach around. Yet, if the popular science around physiological endurance spent some more time assessing metabolic disorders as a statically significant factor, I would love to to learn which potato variable won’t careen me into hyperglycemia when I’m just 30 miles in to a hundo.

When I see stats like 75 to 90g of carbs per hour in those iconic or monumental efforts by the elites, I immediately gag. There is gut training, and then there is gut training! My weak ass pancreas can’t handle that intake! It doesn’t matter how big or bouncy my quads are, hip mobility isn’t a factor, and who gives a darn about cadence if a single tator tot jeopardizes the whole dang thing!

We know carbs aren’t the only energy source, I only weigh about 130 pounds, so I need some option that will keep my blood sugar away from dangerous highs and allow for a manageable stability between miles 10 and 90.

We’re going to the moon again, surely we can figure out my problem too.