Updates and Recipes

It has been over a year since I started on a journey to sort out some nagging GI issues and heal my gut. Working with a fabulous dietitian (Rachel Turi @ Trail Transformation), and starting with foods I suspected were causing issues, we began a process of elimination and food trials to see if we could sort out the triggers (see posts from last January and February). By May we decided to try MRT testing. I will admit to being quite skeptical and it took Rachel some convincing to get me to agree to the test, but by that point I was interested in anything that could help me feel better.

The test results were pretty remarkable and showed that some of the foods I had been eating a lot of were those that caused the most inflammation. So, on to another strict elimination diet. This one also resulted in more weight loss, enough so that we talked a lot about how to boost my overall caloric intake and maintain my weight while staying on the diet and continuing to train for a 50 miler in June and a 100 miler in September.

While my main interest was in addressing my GI issues, an unlooked for but very welcome "side effect" was the cessation of the hand, wrist and arm pain I had been experiencing for years. It would ebb and flow but was always present. I also had developed Heberden's nodes on my pinkie fingers (which would come and go) and they also completely resolved!

Overall I was feeling a lot better. So much so, that when it was time to start adding in new foods I was a bit hesitant. I just didn't want to go back to how I had felt prior to the dietary changes. Over the summer we added back in many foods and settled on a pretty decent list of "safe" foods. By the end of August it was time to start trying out the foods that MRT testing had indicated were moderately inflammatory for me. This happened to coincide with my upcoming 100 miler so I opted to wait until I had made it through that race to do anything new.

I should note here that when I have a flare it may start anytime up to 24 hours after eating the offending food, and will last 24-36 hours, with a "hangover" that lasts another day or so after the main symptoms have resolved. Not debilitating, but not very pleasant either. And once I was not having these issues on a daily basis I was even more loath to re-experience them!

Proof that the diet was working and my training was paying off:

 - Black Hills 50 mile (52.5 miles) 12:50:29
This is a tough course with big climbs and descents. While the elevation isn't very high, for a flatlander like me getting near 6000 ft will cause a noticeable effect.  I was on sub 12 hr pace (my audacious goal time) until the final 10+ miles when my quads said enough is enough. The downhills are so runnable compared to the SHT and I had flown down many of them. I just couldn't muster a run any longer (or even sit or squat without whimpering). I ended up hiking the last 8 miles or so to finish in what I feel is still a quite respectable time.

 - Superior 100 mile (103.3) 33:57:31 (38 min PR!)
After last years DNF I was motivated to figure out what went wrong and to fix it. I had a great crew supporting me, had worked closely with Rachel on fueling and hydration plans for the race, taking into account my dietary restrictions (aid station tables are not the food oasis they are for most runners) and had followed my training plan from Jake closely.  Despite some overnight nausea, and vomiting (first time for me in a race), I rallied on day 2 and felt awesome in the final miles. When I realized a sub 34 hour finish was in reach I really started pushing. It was such a great feeling to finish a race feeling that good!

The great race results have continued through 2018 and into 2019. I am really excited to see what I can accomplish this year!

_____________

Recipes

In an effort to gain back some basic foods I have missed (bread) and expand my choices I have gone in search of recipes that are "dietary compliant". I posted about my adaptation of a tahini cookie recipe and have gone on to adapt it even further to make what I call Tahini-Pumpkin Seed - Cranberry bars. Cinnamon, sadly is one of the highly inflammatory foods found during the MRT testing so it is gone from my diet (as is mint and several other foods). These are a great nutritious snack and, if baked properly, travel well in a pack for mid-run/ride snacking.

Other favorites:
 - Cocoa Bites (cocoa powder, coconut oil, pumpkin seed butter and maple syrup)
 - Rye Sourdough bread*
 - Rye Sourdough Apple-Cranberry Clafoutis *
 - Fudgy  Rye Sourdough Brownie*
 - Ramen (noodle soup) made from scratch using Lotus Millet-Brown Rice Ramen
 - a saute of hamburger, veggies and tomatoes, topped with spinach or baby kale and served over sweet potato (my creation)

* from 100% Rye

I plan to start posting the recipes in the near future. I have found that every one of these items has been well-received by friends, many of whom have no dietary restrictions, and I figure they might also be of interest to others. All of the recipes are dairy, nut, soy and sunflower free. Some are vegan, but others are not, though could be adapted. I will note that I use coconut oil as a substitute for butter (many of the alternate butters contain one or more ingredients that are a problem for me) so if you have an allergy to coconut be ready to substitute your favorite fat.