2015 Booneville Backroads 50K Race Report

Going into this race, I didn’t have any specific time goals as I didn’t have any idea what I was getting myself into. This is the longest running race I’ve done to date and the added challenges of running on gravel and the course layout left me in uncharted territory. With that said, I did have a few goals:

– be thankful and grateful to be running the race
– appreciate the beauty of the course
– run in honor of my sister and all of those diagnosed with MD
– positive and mental toughness through the low points

The day before the race was pretty routine, go to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant, lay out my gear, and relax for the evening. While getting my nutrition ready, I realized I was really low on my Tailwinds nutrition, which I have been using throughout my training with great success.  I planned on having 6 bottles total, one for each hour.  I was able to fill two.  I improvised a little with 6 gels that I had by adding 3 gels mixed with water in each bottles to come out to 300 calories and would just pick up gels on the course.  Panic avoided and I was set to go.

Saturday morning I woke about 5:00 and downed my usual shake and coffee and headed to the course which was about 15 miles from home.  The day was perfect for running.  Temps in the 50s and overcast skies.  The start was pretty anti-climatic as the race director counted down from 10 and off we went.  Despite the fear of getting lost, I was feeling great

My initial thoughts were to run slow, and if it felt slow, slow down a little more.  I had to continually remind myself to pull back the reins from going slow to go really slow.  This was a long race and it would eventually catch up with me.  The first 10 miles flew by, and despite the gravel and hills, I was feeling awesome.  Taking in nutrition every 20 minutes and hydrating like crazy.

One of the things I really like about this race is being able to run the course with seemingly one around.  I trained that way, so being in that element gave me a peace of mind.  It gave me the opportunity to enjoy nature and internalize the gratitude I felt.

Around mile 20 is when ‘the hurt’ started settle in.  Luckily I had a few pacers that were popping up about every 3-4 miles that helped me push through.

It felt like mile 20-31 were the hilliest and hardest of the course and my pace and enthusiasm were a direct reflection of it.  I continued to push forward and looked down at the sign I had “31 miles for Kim Sammler’ as a motivation to keep forging ahead.  Mental toughness was touch and go during this stretch and there were times where my inner monologue would say “WTF are you doing”?

Like all things, the negative mind thoughts passed and I got into a better pace mentally that helped me push through to the end.

I absolutely loved this race and I am certainly going to do it again and more like it.  It was easily the hardest running race I’ve ever done and a start of something wonderful.  It also hurt like hell!!

Very appreciative of my families support and Carmen and the girls for tolerating me through the months of training.

Thanks for reading.

Paleo vs Whole Foods Lifestyle

In this post I want to distinguish between the two eating plans, Paleo and Whole Foods.  Let’s break this down into sections so it’s easier to see the differences.

Top Ten Ways to Eat Better

As the first official blog post, I wanted the opportunity to share my top health suggestions from a diet perspective.  These are guaranteed to make you feel better, have more energy, and improve your overall health.

1)  Alleviate wheat, barley, and rye from your diet.  Essentially, remove the bread, cereal, tortillas, and rice.  These are directly linked to HBP(high blood pressure), heart disease, and obesity.

2)  Eat whole foods.  Generally, the first question I am asked is ‘what is whole’?  Whole foods are the purest form of a particular food you can get.  Let’s take milk as an example.  The purist form of milk would be organic whole milk – avoid the skim milk with added Vitamin A an D.  I would generally consider produce, meat, and eggs as pure as well as long as they are grown/raised correctly.  Avoid things that come in a box and/or are processed.

3)  Buy organic.  It’s crazy to think of the pesticides, herbicides, and GMO-ized products that we eat these days.  Genetically modifying foods and additives isn’t good for us.   Supermarkets are becoming more cognizant of the need of organic foods and are offering more selections.  Other options are Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

4)  Shop Local.  When I say ‘shop local’ I am mainly referring to Farmer’s Market, your local CSA, and local farmers.  This will give you the opportunity to shop for organic foods, buy directly from the producer, and guarantee you’re getting the best product, as well as supporting your local community.

5)  Eliminate carbonated drinks.  Drinking carbonated drinks during meal time lowers the acid level in your stomach so food can’t be broken down to a liquid form.  If the food isn’t in liquid form your large intestine can’t absorb the nutrients from the food and your missing out on the vitamins and minerals it needs.

6)  Variety is the spice of life.  Try and expand your culinary horizons by experimenting with recipes with different kinds of vegetables, meats, and spices.  I’ve got 3 extraordinary links on my blogroll and I’ll have more recipes on here at a later date.  Create, adjust, and reform.

7)  Baby steps.  Don’t go home and throw out everything in your pantry and fridge and run to your local Whole Foods and re-invent your entire diet.   Eat what you have now and over the course of the next few months, replenish foods you run out of with better options. Once you run out of milk, try organic whole milk.  Before  you know it, you’ll be converted!

8)  Moderation is key.  If you have a craving for pizza, have a slice of pizza.  The key here is moderation.   This is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.  Eat the foods you want, or have a cheat meal.  The key here is to resist falling off the proverbial horse and going back to your old ways.  Get your fix and then hop back on course.  Eventually these cravings will go away.

9)  Adjust on the fly.  What we want to do here is figure out what foods we do well with, and ones we don’t.  Some people don’t handle lactose or milk products very well.  If that is the case, remove it from your diet.  By experimenting in our food options, we can optimize how we good we feel and maximizing our nutritional benefit.

10) Lifestyle.  Eating well is a lifestyle.  It’s not a quick fix to drop weight in a hurry or do a 60 day challenge.  Sure, it will help with weight loss and weight maintenance, but it’s meant for the long haul and a lifetime of good health, wellness, and feeling good.

I’d love to hear your comments and suggestions.  Thanks for reading.  Stay tuned for the next post of Whole vs Paleo Diet