Nutrition is huge !! It was a year into my fitness journey ( 2016) that I realized I needed to change my eating habits or I would not be able to continue to progress. I had started running and was eating the typical ” what I thought was good ” runner diet of carbs and more carbs . I had no formal instructions on what to eat or when to eat . I frequently rewarded myself with food items for a workout or run well done . ( hindsight .. not the best reward ) .
I did my first nutrition challenge in 2016 at Four Barrel Crossfit and did OK eating more veggies and good proteins but didn’t really apply to my everyday life once the challenge was completed. During the challenge , I quit Ice Cream cold turkey . It was my worst go-to reward and I had to take it out forever and this was the only good take-a -way from the challenge. I went back to my old ways and carb loading . I struggled with the scale and THAT number . I have always struggled with the scale and I never liked myself at any weight. I weighed less than 140 lbs at 5ft 10 1/2in at the time . I was running beyond 5 miles , increasing mileage and continued to work out 5 days a week. I would hit that wall of exhaustion quickly and what I was eating ( or now figured out , lack of eating ) didnt work.
I started reading up on what I should be doing and not doing . The thought of gaining weight was daunting but I was gaining muscle mass from weightlifting . I gained 10lbs but I started to have definition. It wasn’t until 2018 that I did my 3rd Nutrition challenge and tried Whole 30 . That was the same year I decided to run KDF Marathon . I was not able to do Whole 30 and train for a marathon at the same time . My body was running into a severe nutrition deficit and I lost 6 lbs during marathon training. I was eating all the time but it wasn’t enough of the right foods to sustain my body. I started hitting that wall sooner and sooner during runs and workouts . I I liked the concepts of Whole 30 and it taught me quite a bit about reading labels and eating more whole foods and less processed. I still apply many of the principals today and I drink green juice . That was a rough one because I do not like green foods.
After KDF , I worked to add more protein into my nutrition . I became more diligent about drinking 80 – 100 oz of water a day . That was in addition to any other liquids I took in over the course of a day. There were days that I felt like a fish swimming in an ocean , surrounded by water . Just the addition of the extra water helped stave off some of the exhaustion and helped my dry skin at the same time . I knew that I would have to step up the nutrition because I had signed up to do a 50 miler on Dec 7th . Physically I knew I could finish with the right nutrition on board . I continued to read labels and eat foods with less ingredients. My Go – To breakfast became Kale and random veggies in a skilled with chicken sausage . I started eating a healthy protein at each meal which was very difficult for me at first . The biggest thing I did to help me was to write it all down . A food journal is the best tool to observe your daily intake. I was meticulous about the amount , type and the time . I did this for 2 weeks to make some new habits and it stuck .
The school year started in August and some of my nutrition went ‘ out the door” . I went back to quick eating in a short amount of time or no eating for the entire day if it was super busy . I was drinking more coffee than water and then the exhaustion hit full time . It was deep into my 50 miler training , October , that I had to reign it all back in and I am glad I dug deep because that race would have sucked more if I wasnt physically ready to tackle it .
After the 50 miler , Nutrition Challenge # 4 for me started . I gave it a good try but didnt do as well as I should at making new habits . The one take-a-way from that challenge was I started drinking a protein shake ( just powder and water ) everyday . I had no idea what I was missing until I started drinking those. Now it did take me about 2 wks to stop feeling like I was going to die drinking it but I still drink that everyday. I am up 15 lbs from 3 years ago and its STILL a struggle when I get on that scale . Its my nemesis and I try to not stress . I know all the nutrition and working out are improvements over my previous self . I do a much better job at planning meals and prepping ahead so that I dont fall into that quick grab and go eating .
My next challenge was the 800 gram challenge . By far , this was my favorite for many reasons. I got to track everything which I like to do in a very meticulous way . I measured every fruit and veggie I ate and added every night . It also had me go outside my normal comfort zone on veg and fruit choices . I confirmed some ” not like” fruits like blackberries and raspberries . This challenge also validated my choices prior b/c I estimated that I already take in about 600-650 grams fruits and veg on a regual basis. I won this challenge at 4B east and the prize was 8 wks of Nutrition Counseling with a coach . Its all about building healthy habits for the long term . Habits that can be maintained without feeling like a chore.
Each year I get better at the nutrition game . Each year I have more to work on but I am willing to challenge myself and go outside the comfort zone . Now I am working to keep nutrition going for my 100 miler . I need all the help I can get to finish that race .
JanuaryRunr11 