Sometimes I think there is an athlete's induction phase where you add carbs slowly and at different times and in different ratios until you come up with a performance level you are happy with, not going over your critical carbohydrate level for losing and not going under your critical carbo level for performing. My best race was the day after my daughter's birthday where I ate half her cake!

I've shared this story before but it might be useful to repeat it. I started running last December and while I did have cheats, it wasn't much worse than when I wasn't running - I gained a bit and had a hard time not getting injured if I dropped my carbs to losing levels. I stopped running for two months (did some light pool running and swimming). I lost 7 pounds the first week of no running and then 3-4 pounds a week after that - my metabolism was a furnace. I got 28 pounds off very quickly during my time off (had to fight myself very hard to not be more active). It's stalled now that I've started running and swimming again, but my body seems to function better on lower carb than it did previously, so I don't have cravings. I am still slower than I would be with carbs, I think, but I am just living with it hoping it changes.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that because it was helpful to me to realize that my metabolism problems with running were just that - it was just the running, and when I rested my body I could see the good results of all those months of low-carb.