Gut Instinct: Lauren Callahan of Goddess Health Shares How Diet, Reiki & Holistic Coaching Can Impact Ultra Running Performance, Incl. Her Own!

Transcript

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Well, hello and welcome.

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If this is your first time with us, thank you for stopping by.

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You're listening to Choose to Endure the show dedicated to the back of the pack runners, where we share stories, interviews, gear and training tips specific to the tail end heroes of the Ultra Universe moment.

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To do so yet, please consider heading over to your favorite podcast app hit, follow, rate the show and, if you're getting something of value, feel free to leave a review and let others know.

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My name is Richard Gleave.

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I've been running ultras now since 2017.

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I have taken on and finished numerous ultra distances, all the way up through 220 miles, and I am unashamedly a member of the back of the pack, just like many of you.

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Now, today, we are joined by the wonderful Lauren Callahan.

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Lauren is an ultra runner like us, but also a gut health expert, a Reiki master and author of Couch to 50 Miles the story of a girl, a trail and the relentless need to always run.

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Now Lauren is hopefully going to share with us today a snapshot of her journey into ultra running, as well as how both gut health and Reiki may be useful tools for you to consider as part of your training.

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Additionally, lauren is also a performance and recovery coach with Goddess Health, where she helps, in her own words, everyday female athletes in their 40s and 50s to improve their mood, energy, sleep and recovery and to ditch the RBF bloat and the belly fat for good.

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So this should be a really awesome conversation for all of us, but especially if you're someone who fits into that demographic, stick with us.

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We're going to be right back after this.

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Discover raw, inspiring stories from runners who've been right where you are.

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This is the Choose to Endure Ultra Running Podcast with your host.

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He's English, not Australian, Richard.

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Gleave.

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All right, Lauren, welcome to the show.

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I am super excited to have you in the studio today.

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How are you doing this evening?

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I'm good and thank you for having me, Richard.

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I love the feel of your podcast.

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I love the whole focus on back-of-the-pack runners, of which I am one proudly.

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Well, thank you.

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Yes, the front of the pack, the elites, get so much attention, and rightly so.

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They are fantastic at what they do up there, but there are so many of us here at the back of the pack with fantastic stories, and so we just try to tell a few of those and help folks as much as we can.

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Talking of which, I wanted to get into your book right out of the gate, because I think a lot of listeners can associate with Couch to 50 Miles.

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That's where a lot of us started, maybe not 50 miles, but certainly on the couch.

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So now, lauren, what inspired you to write this book?

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Can you share a little bit about the story behind the book?

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Sure, you know one reason that I wrote the book.

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Certainly, whenever I've told my story to people, I've heard many, many times Lauren, you should write a book.

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And so I finally just took up that advice and did it right.

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But, you know, one reason is because one of the things that I have heard over and over and over again when people ask me about what I've done as far as athletics go, is I hear I could never do that.

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I can barely run a mile, and I think what I really wanted people to know was that that was me, you know, just about seven years ago you talk about 2017, right For me at that point in my life, I was walking, slash, jogging, a mile a day, and I'm not undermining that experience.

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That was really important for me at that time, but that was me.

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Right, I could barely run a mile, right.

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So I don't think it's out of the question, you know, if you don't want it to be out of the question to to run an ultra, and I think the other reason too, um, was also maybe to show the human side of it.

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You know, I think people look at ultra runners and think, oh, my god, they're immortal.

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Yeah, and, and I think I wanted to show that.

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You know there's that.

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There's another side to it.

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You know there was a lot of inner healing work that was going on for me and my pursuing running ultras was a huge reflection of that and some of that you don't want to invite that into your life if it's not there, right?

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So you know there's both sides of that story.

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There's a human behind the person that is running 50 miles on the trail or, dear God, like you, running 220, right?

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Yeah, there wasn't much human left after that.

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Right For sure.

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Yeah, it's an interesting one because you tell people like, yeah, I do ultras, whether it's the 50K or 50 miles, and people assume you are this kind of superhuman.

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And it's really not.

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Most of us 90 plus percent of us are out there just regular people finding a way to get things done.

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I think that's super cool.

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Yeah, you know, I, you know I was joking with my daughter the other day, who has gotten into running herself and is really good.

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She's faster than me, you know.

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But I'm gearing up to run 100k and I I went out the other day on a two and a half mile run and it just about killed me.

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And that's the other thing that I think people don't realize.

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Surely, if you run 50 miles, this must be easy for you.

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Well, no, even a two mile run can feel really, really hard.

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Yes, absolutely it's not linear.

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So there's all sorts of work that goes into getting to the end of any race really hard right?

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Yes, absolutely it's not linear.

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So there's all sorts of work that goes into getting to the end of any race really.

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But yes, it goes away as fast as it comes and everything is all.

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It's not a linear transition until I you've run 50 miles, so everything else should be easier.

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It doesn't?

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work that way.

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That's one of the things I really like about the ultra running in particular is the discipline required to either get to a goal or continue to progress.

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So I think, just from a life perspective, it's great for teaching yourself and anybody else.

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You can have the discipline and you can reach these goals.

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But it doesn't stay if you don't put the effort in it.

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You kind of almost at some point go back to the start and you can go again, but it doesn't translate to great.

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I can go out tomorrow and run 50 miles.

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Yeah, yeah, that's so true, that's so true.

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That's one of the reasons I've chosen not to get you know the well.

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Okay, I'm not like bashing anyone who gets a tattoo based on a race that they've done.

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I think that's wonderful, but it's one reason that I won't, because I don't want a tattoo on my body that is specific to a race.

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And then I think, oh, I've done it.

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And then I never continue to grow and look forward to the next thing and I will say that, like, I may change my mind tomorrow and be like oh, I want a tattoo with that race.

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I just did so.

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I'm saying at this point in my life, though, I want to have that mindset of always looking forward to the next thing.

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So yeah, I think too people, when you tell them you do ultras, they imagine that you run like it's like a 5k or a 10k.

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They imagine that trying to do that for 50 miles.

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Oh, yeah, yeah you know, and I think they have in their head.

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That's what you're doing, and I take great pains to say no, I try and do a beer at every aid station and I eat hot dogs and burgers, you know, and they're like well, that's ridiculous.

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Yes, it kind of is, but that's the point.

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It's just whatever you need to get to the finish.

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It's very different from road racing.

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So, yeah, anywho yes, now, in your own transformation.

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We talked a little bit about your two-miler here and struggling, but when you were going from a non-runner to an ultra-runner, how did you set yourself out to do that and what were potentially some of those moments along the way that were pretty key in getting you to the finish line, or maybe even to the start line and then?

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Subsequently to the finish line.

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I would say there were three pivotal moments for me.

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So one was when I when I started even doing that mile a day.

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So once again, I you know I don't want to undermine that right that was very important and for me it was that I realized that here I was in midlife and I had a job and a lifestyle at that point that involved me needing to sit a lot.

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I was like.

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I have got to do something.

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So that was the thing that got me starting right, even just doing that one mile a day, when it changed.

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You know, when I say I took that next step, you know, up that second pivotal point, that was very storybook.

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That was, you know, the man who is now my husband walked into my life and he was, you know, we're.

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We were talking and he was telling me that he was training for his first half marathon at St Jude's because his daughter now my stepdaughter is a St Jude's patient and she is cancer free.

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Um, but this was a way of like, yeah, this was a way of giving back right by doing the St Jude's Marathon weekend, and so that's the moment that I decided I'm a runner, so I started training with him.

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So that was that moment of pivoting to, you know, looking for some higher mileage.

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And I think the third pivotal point was, you know we had done a couple of half marathons.

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You know, several different races.

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We had done a couple of half marathons, several different races, and my husband had a friend who now lives in North Carolina and he came to Louisiana, where we live, to do a race and he ran a 50-mile race and it was at a trail that was less than a mile from our house.

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So we had this privilege of living really close to a beautiful forest trail that's 26 miles long.

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So so he comes, he swoops into town, runs 50 miles, wins the race and then gets in his car and drives back home to North Carolina Like nothing happened.

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And my husband and I were just like whoa again, like he's a mortal right.

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Who does that?

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Wow, but hearing his friend do this, I guess we just hadn't been in that circle.

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We didn't know that people really do this.

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And it really just put that seed of a question in our minds what are we capable of, what can we do?

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And that question was the one that really got our wheels turning what, how, how far can we go?

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What other races can we do?

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And then you know I would say that is what started the train and you know, once you maybe do that longer distance or do that different kind of event or something like that, you just start wondering what else can I do?

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How else?

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can.

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I grow.

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How far can I really go?

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can I do?

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How else can I grow?

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How far can I really go?

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Yeah, and, and that's that's exactly my situation.

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I did the same thing essentially, and that's really my continuation to how far can I go, and I've hit 220 now from where I started at a, at a half marathon.

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So I'm just doing that.

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How far can I go before I completely crap out?

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Yeah Now, did you go straight into the 50 miler or did you kind of, did you do a marathon of 50k, you know, did you build your way up?

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So, yes and no, okay, that would be the standard way to progress, right, like to do a marathon and then do a 50k and 50 miler.

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But after the half marathon, I did attempt to do a marathon and I tried and I tried and I tried and actually tried for four years and I never could get it, like something always derailed me, usually having to do with injury, and I would say, within the training process, you know, I would, you know, have certainly over-training was an issue, so like there would be recovery issues that translate into, like injury and you know, mistraining days and being sick, right, like getting sick a little more easily, and so there was that whole cycle and I could just, for whatever, for all the different reasons, not ever achieve that marathon.

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And then, you know, and I know this is something that we'll talk more about but I began to get curious about gut health.

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And as I did a little more research, a little more research, you know, I come to this understanding that, you know, gut health is related to everything.

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And I hear these stories about these athletes who improve their gut health and, all of a sudden, they were not getting sick to the extent that they were, they weren't having injuries to the extent that they were and I'm over here thinking, yeah, really, like I improved my gut health, I'm not going to have knee injury All right.

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Let's see about that.

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But I had, you know, tried a million things right, like changing my run form and, you know, going to all the professionals and doing all these things, and nothing was working.

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So I decided I needed to give this an honest go and so I worked for and after.

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That is when I finally ran my marathon.

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But I will say kind of more into answer of your question that marathon that I ran wasn't actually part of a race, like I just did it in the woods on my own as part of training for the 50 miler that I had signed up for.

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So really like mentally in my mind, I kind of skipped over the marathon and just decided to go for the 50 miler, and that's when I was finally able to do it.

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So definitely put a pin in the gut health, because I really do want to talk about that.

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That sounds super interesting.

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We'll definitely come back to that.

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But for your 50 miler, how were you feeling then, having not really had much in the way of buildup races when you stood on the start line?

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What was going through your head at that point?

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Because, you must've been like sort of anxious or did you feel kind of good about what you were about to do, Like what was, what was in your head at the on the start line of that first 50?

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You know yes and no and all of the above Right.

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So so to be clear, I did attempt a 50 mile race on the wild Azalea trail, which is right near where I live.

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That trail it's within a mile, or was within a mile, of my house, and I didn't finish that one.

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So I did have like a knee problem show up, but I was so determined, um, so two months later I decided to go out into the woods and just do it, right, with nobody there.

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Yeah, and so you would think that that would mostly take like performance nerves out, because if you're doing it with nobody around, you know nobody can see you if you fail.

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But that was also the thing that I knew would get me in the end was, if nobody knew that I was doing it, it would be easy for me to give up.

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So I, who pretty much never went on any sort of social media, at that point I purposefully went onto my Instagram account Facebook, I don't even know and I posted that I was going to run 50 miles.

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I wanted to make sure that people knew it so that I couldn't just talk myself out of it easily, right?

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And so just doing that like added some performance anxiety, I guess to my day.

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And you know I, I had wanted that, like I had trained really um, consistently.

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You know, for when I, when I attempted the 50 mile race that I didn't finish, I mean I like I was like a star student as far as training goes, you know I, I mean like I didn't miss a day, like I did it.

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I mean maybe I missed one day, I don't know, but I mean you know, on the whole, like I didn't miss my training.

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And so when I didn't finish that race, it was quite devastating for me and it really it really rocked my confidence.

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So when I showed up, even for this race, that was just in the woods and nobody was around for two months later, yeah, I was.

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I was really nervous because my confidence had just kind of been shot, like I didn't know that I believed in myself.

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But I had this moment where I decided who cares if you, if you have failed in the past, it's in the past.

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It means absolutely nothing about today, like it's not a story that holds any weight to it at all.

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Just because I didn't do it yesterday, it doesn't mean I can't weight to it at all.

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Just because I didn't do it yesterday doesn't mean I can't do it today at all, and so that was the mindset that I took in with me that day, that kind of overcame all of those nerves.

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Fantastic.

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So as far as training leading up to that, were you starting from scratch or you were coming from that failed 50 miler prior to that.

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Yeah, you know, actually I really didn't have very good training going into the second attempt because I really needed about a month to let to let my knee heal.

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And so then I kind of had less than a month to go into this run, so my training really wasn't there, but it was one of those things that I just I was like it's Louisiana, it's only getting hotter.

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It was like March or something.

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So I was like I've got to do this now or I'm going to miss my like.

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I'm not going to end up doing it because it's just going to be too hot for me.

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Yeah, I kind of think it's funny sometimes the way the way running works.

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You can do all the training in the world and feel really good standing on the start line and go and have an absolutely rubbish race, like it just doesn't work and you can roll up to a race two weeks later with no training or you know a year late, whatever Like you can roll up to a race on the back of signing up last night and have one of the best races you've ever done.

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So it's a mystery sometimes how this stuff plays out, but yeah, it's it's really intriguing trying to figure out and crack the code.

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You know that whole I'm going to age myself but the whole Rubik's cube is how on earth all this stuff fits together.

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It's crazy, and that's part of the appeal, to me at least.

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It's like trying to figure out what worked and what didn't work from the last time and then apply it to this time and it just it doesn't have the same effect.

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Yeah, well, I love that you use that analogy of the Rubik's cube, actually, because I, you know, I feel like in general we tend to approach training from not that perspective.

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We treat ourselves like we're robots, like, oh, if you just hit your zone to you know pace whatever and your heart rate threshold and stay in it for this amount of time, like it's going to work.

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And then I mean we're human beings, we're not robots.

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There are so many factors exactly like that Rubik's cube, right, and you know you have to lovingly and very compassionately address all of those different factors and be compassionate where there is breakdown, right, and not expect that you're just going to be this robot that follows a training plan and it's all going to work.

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And to your earlier point, like ultimately nobody.

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But you cares, and that's one of the things I love about about trail running is that everybody is so into just helping each other get to the finish and so supportive.

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It's a very cool community of people out there.

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I love it, yeah.

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So give yourself a bit of grace, you know.

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Yes, there's probably things you can do that will improve your chance of getting to the finish, but do I have to hit every split of every mile of every day of every week?

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You know it's, it's OK.

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One run, one miss split is not going to, it's not going to impact you that much when you're going 50 miles or 100 miles, you know.

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Yeah, I love that perspective.

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Yeah, and that's so true, especially in training for an ultra.

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You know, I feel like, yeah, that is more true, like one one missed run or workout or whatever does not mess you up, right it's.

00:19:03.843 --> 00:19:07.184
There's a much bigger picture there of what you're putting into it.

00:19:08.226 --> 00:19:12.949
So did nutrition play a role in that?

00:19:12.949 --> 00:19:18.811
Were you thinking nutritionally at that point, or were you kind of getting into it from maybe a marathon perspective?

00:19:18.811 --> 00:19:19.732
Where was your head?

00:19:25.855 --> 00:19:34.951
Yeah, definitely, at that point I had spent several months really focusing on gut health and I would say that a huge component of gut health is nutrition, although I think it is a misunderstanding to think that nutrition is the only part of gut health.

00:19:34.951 --> 00:19:42.458
But certainly, nutrition is nutrition, although I think it is a misunderstanding to think that nutrition is the only part of gut health, but certainly, you know, nutrition is primary, one of the primary things in gut health.

00:19:42.458 --> 00:19:58.037
So, yeah, I'd spent a lot of time, you know, working on my nutrition and my gut health outside of the actual, you know, racing or training environment, during the runs, and this was true then and this is still true now.

00:19:58.037 --> 00:20:04.195
Palate fatigue is a real thing for me, I mean, it's a problem, right.

00:20:04.195 --> 00:20:16.703
So when I was I I don't remember what all I did for nutrition that day, other than I did have a lot of chocolate milk, because that's something that I could have, and there are other people that would never be able to stand that.

00:20:17.326 --> 00:20:17.607
Yeah.

00:20:17.930 --> 00:20:18.371
But that's.

00:20:18.371 --> 00:20:20.178
That's what kept me going for most of the day.

00:20:20.178 --> 00:20:24.596
I can't do chocolate milk now, though, cause I my palate is over that Right, so I've got other things.

00:20:24.596 --> 00:20:26.359
Now they're my go-tos, yeah.

00:20:26.881 --> 00:20:28.103
That's really unfortunate.

00:20:28.103 --> 00:20:29.664
That's like one of my go-tos.

00:20:29.705 --> 00:20:57.346
I love some chocolate milk mid-race almost as much as I like a beer mid-race, but you know, okay, well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna floor you here probably with what my go-to's are right now and this, you know, will probably change next year because of palate fatigue for me, but when it's cold, or like when it's cold out, the weather is cold my go-to is eggnog oh wow, like real eggnog, not the no alcohol stuff yes, yeah, yeah, I put it in the water bottles.

00:20:57.675 --> 00:20:58.738
Oh my god, like I.

00:20:58.738 --> 00:21:02.986
I went through like 50 miles of eggnog back in november.

00:21:02.986 --> 00:21:05.498
Now I'm not doing that during hot weather.

00:21:05.498 --> 00:21:08.068
It's actually tomato soup for me in hot weather.

00:21:08.088 --> 00:21:14.403
I put that in my water bottle now I can definitely see tomato soup, but I've never seen eggnog before.

00:21:14.864 --> 00:21:17.227
Yeah, Most people haven't Like I don't know, I had the.

00:21:17.227 --> 00:21:18.890
I had the week before that race.

00:21:18.890 --> 00:21:21.763
I was like this is incredible, this is magical.

00:21:22.575 --> 00:21:24.259
Yeah, that's what I need right there.

00:21:24.259 --> 00:21:26.246
I think the closest I've ever come to that.

00:21:26.246 --> 00:21:29.703
I ran a race over in the UK one time and a guy was was running with.

00:21:29.703 --> 00:21:30.445
Have you ever seen?

00:21:30.445 --> 00:21:32.938
Do you know custard Like English custard?

00:21:32.938 --> 00:21:33.097
Um, like.

00:21:33.097 --> 00:21:33.478
Have you ever seen?

00:21:33.478 --> 00:21:34.338
Do you know custard like English custard?

00:21:34.338 --> 00:21:35.200
Like the yellow hot?

00:21:35.560 --> 00:21:39.265
you put it on desserts yeah, yeah, okay, yeah, I don't know if there's maybe a different version in the UK.

00:21:39.384 --> 00:21:41.827
There is like an instant version of that.

00:21:41.827 --> 00:21:44.351
Okay, yeah, instant coffee, but it's instant custard.

00:21:44.351 --> 00:21:46.814
You just add hot water and it makes this kind of thing.

00:21:46.814 --> 00:21:55.806
So this guy was just running around with just getting hot water and putting this instant custard in there and eating it, like almost like, uh, I just.

00:21:55.806 --> 00:22:00.230
And then he had it in a bottle and he was drinking it and I was like that is the weirdest thing I've ever seen.

00:22:00.230 --> 00:22:04.046
But yeah, eggnog is right up there too.

00:22:04.066 --> 00:22:07.477
I I know it's basically custard with more milk in it, right, yeah?

00:22:07.517 --> 00:22:08.700
it's not far off, is it?

00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:13.855
But yeah, that's, that's terrific good job, and so I assume it stays cold.

00:22:13.855 --> 00:22:15.316
You got to keep that stuff cold, don't you?

00:22:15.316 --> 00:22:17.123
So that's probably why you only have it in the cold.

00:22:18.214 --> 00:22:22.605
Yeah, yeah, and when I did this race that I had 50 miles worth of eggnog.

00:22:22.605 --> 00:22:28.887
It was in November and it was in the mountains, so it stayed cold, just you know, by being in a pack.

00:22:29.394 --> 00:22:30.877
You had eggnog for 50 miles.

00:22:32.641 --> 00:22:33.563
That is a great one.

00:22:34.324 --> 00:22:36.749
I'm telling that story again someday, I'm sure.

00:22:36.749 --> 00:22:44.728
So your first 50, you had a I think you said a knee problem that kind of derailed that.

00:22:44.728 --> 00:22:47.960
Maybe this 50, was this an actual race?

00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:52.209
Like which race was this and how did it go for you?

00:22:52.694 --> 00:23:09.256
Yeah, so the race that I attempted was the wild Azalea trail run and so that is on that 26 mile trail in Louisiana and, um, it's always the first weekend in January and you know so that that is basically my backyard right, so I run on it all the time.

00:23:09.256 --> 00:23:14.663
But when I showed up for actual race day was when I had this knee issue.

00:23:14.663 --> 00:23:18.809
It's like a little tear on the side of, like a minor tear that I get on the side of my knee.

00:23:18.809 --> 00:23:38.557
So when I didn't finish it, I went back two months later to the same trail and to the same exact run, just without the official race actually happening Although I did, you know, we know the race director and I was like okay, so if I go back and finish this, can I still get the mug?

00:23:38.576 --> 00:23:39.239
because I really wanted the mug.

00:23:39.259 --> 00:23:39.380
I was.

00:23:39.380 --> 00:23:40.343
I was really kind of obsessed with the mug.

00:23:40.343 --> 00:23:41.567
And he said, lauren, if you finish it, I'll give you the mug.

00:23:41.567 --> 00:23:47.885
And so I finished it and he gave me like like an old version of the mug that they just still happen to have around.

00:23:47.885 --> 00:23:49.276
So I felt like I had a classic.

00:23:49.276 --> 00:23:53.103
Actually, there you go yeah, still have mug.

00:23:54.325 --> 00:23:56.208
It's all about the end game.

00:23:56.208 --> 00:23:58.617
Some people like a buckle, some people like a mug.

00:23:58.617 --> 00:24:00.784
Yeah, I'll, I'll take whatever.

00:24:00.784 --> 00:24:02.237
Whatever gets me to the finish, you know.

00:24:02.819 --> 00:24:12.368
Yeah, yeah, and there really was something about that mug that was getting me to the finish, because my, my husband had one and my stepson had one, so they had both done.

00:24:12.368 --> 00:24:21.607
He had done, you know, and my husband had done an ultra run and my, my son, had done an ultra bike ride, and so they both had mugs and I was like I want the mug too.

00:24:21.607 --> 00:24:25.843
I don't know why, but that was a huge motivator.

00:24:27.276 --> 00:24:28.638
Well, sometimes that's what it is right.

00:24:28.638 --> 00:24:30.644
I mean, gosh, okay.

00:24:30.644 --> 00:24:38.058
So let's, let's get back to the gut health a little bit, if we can, and get a little bit more into that, Because I'm really curious.

00:24:38.058 --> 00:24:43.624
That's a very specific part of nutrition and clearly you know something that has worked for you.

00:24:43.624 --> 00:24:56.757
So, from a gut health perspective because that's not something I have thought about, maybe a lot of listeners maybe haven't thought about either as part of the nutritional equation, why is that important, especially for runners?

00:24:56.757 --> 00:25:04.522
And then what can we do to kind of identify where we're at now with it and if we and improve if we need to?

00:25:04.864 --> 00:25:05.144
Sure.

00:25:05.144 --> 00:25:10.818
So you know, scientists these days are calling the gut your second brain.

00:25:10.818 --> 00:25:14.365
Oh yeah, and there's a really good reason for that.

00:25:14.365 --> 00:25:18.157
It's because it is connected to everything in your body.

00:25:18.157 --> 00:25:25.358
So it is connected to your um, certainly your energy, certainly your gastrointestinal health.

00:25:25.358 --> 00:25:27.184
I mean, we could kind of guess that one for sure.

00:25:28.269 --> 00:25:41.344
But your your immunity, so your ability to be around sick people and not get sick, or your ability to overtrain a little bit and not get automatically sick from it I'm not encouraging overtraining, but you know where I'm going.

00:25:41.344 --> 00:25:44.355
It's connected to your mood, right?

00:25:44.355 --> 00:25:49.948
So your ability to feel happy and calm and motivated for your training.

00:25:49.948 --> 00:26:00.682
So I can't tell you like how many you know middle-aged women in particular I talk to, I mean they're, you know great, like runners and triathletes, and they tell me Lauren, I'm not motivated, like I don't, I don't want to do it Right.

00:26:01.155 --> 00:26:07.057
Your motivation is actually very directly connected to your gut health, your ability to think clearly.

00:26:07.057 --> 00:26:08.441
Think clearly.

00:26:08.441 --> 00:26:12.438
You know women especially in this, in this middle age time period.

00:26:12.438 --> 00:26:17.083
I mean, men experience this too, but brain fog is a very real thing.

00:26:17.083 --> 00:26:19.923
Your gut health is directly related to that.

00:26:19.923 --> 00:26:26.107
Your gut health is related to inflammation on so many different levels and in so many different ways.

00:26:26.107 --> 00:26:37.299
And so if you think about that, I mean for me, I'd consider inflammation, I'd say it's the root of all evil, and especially as a runner, right, if you have inflammation, yeah you're not recovering the root of all evil, and especially as a runner, right, if you have inflammation, yeah, you're not.

00:26:37.339 --> 00:26:39.229
You're not recovering the way that you should.

00:26:39.229 --> 00:26:44.304
Yeah, you're way more susceptible to injury and have a harder time recovering from that injury.

00:26:44.304 --> 00:26:49.424
Certainly, if you have inflammation, it is going to prevent you from it.

00:26:49.424 --> 00:26:59.977
You know you might end up with sleep issues, right, like issues falling asleep or staying asleep or having a good kind of restful recovery sleep, and if you don't get that, once again you cannot recover as a runner.

00:26:59.977 --> 00:27:09.227
If you were just, you know, experiencing like not having energy as a runner, again, your gut health is directly related to all of that.

00:27:10.255 --> 00:27:12.798
So you've just pretty much described me on there.

00:27:12.798 --> 00:27:24.981
So, having understood some of that, what can we do to improve our gut health and or sort of figure out okay, I think that's me, how do I go about making a change?

00:27:25.537 --> 00:27:35.901
So I'll answer that question, and first I'll preface it with a very frustrating answer, and that is it depends, Ah yes.

00:27:35.901 --> 00:27:40.984
Everyone is different, you know, and I'll give you an example to illustrate if that's okay.

00:27:40.984 --> 00:27:47.670
Yeah, so so when I first had my gut health tested, what I did not realize was that it will okay.

00:27:47.670 --> 00:27:50.652
So there are 11 different gut metabolites that were tested.

00:27:50.652 --> 00:27:51.633
So, I'm sorry, let me back up.

00:27:51.633 --> 00:27:54.637
You can get your gut health tested so that you know exactly what you're working with.

00:27:54.637 --> 00:27:56.500
Okay, so that you do know what to do?

00:27:56.641 --> 00:28:04.837
Yeah, and that's one of the first things that I do with my clients is that we get their gut health tested so we, we can know the path like we're not guessing, right?

00:28:04.837 --> 00:28:18.190
So one of the gut metabolites that was tested, it's called 3-methylxanthine, and 3-methylxanthine is a direct reflection of inflammation in your body that's related to caffeine.

00:28:18.190 --> 00:28:26.846
Yeah, right, and that's something certainly that's, you know, talked about a lot like how much is too much, right, in running circles?

00:28:26.846 --> 00:28:29.416
Well, in any circle, but anyway.

00:28:29.416 --> 00:28:38.851
So I was very surprised to find that I, like, my threeylxanthine level was high, like really high.

00:28:38.851 --> 00:28:41.884
And I'm thinking, oh, my God, I'm a tea drinker.

00:28:41.884 --> 00:28:53.319
I don't even drink coffee, I drink black tea and, okay, maybe I drink it a little strong and maybe I have two or three cups a day, but whatever, it's tea, this should not be an issue.

00:28:53.319 --> 00:29:01.921
And so you know, so I do the things to like help improve this Right.

00:29:01.941 --> 00:29:14.993
But months later when, um, you know, my husband is going to get tested, right, cause I'm totally sold, like I'm feeling the difference in my body, like I'm I'm feeling better, like I can feel inflammation going down, I'm getting better sleep, I'm having more energy, like I don't have anxiety the way that I used to like so many.

00:29:14.993 --> 00:29:18.201
I'm not getting sick the way that I used to like all these great things, right.

00:29:18.201 --> 00:29:30.125
So my husband gets tested and I'm thinking, oh dear God, his three methyl xanthine is going to be terrible, because that man could put away some coffee like a lot, a lot, a lot of coffee.

00:29:30.125 --> 00:29:35.945
Like if you come to our house and he makes you coffee, like you will probably have to add hot water to it.

00:29:35.945 --> 00:29:36.626
It's very strong.

00:29:36.626 --> 00:29:52.981
So he gets his results back and do you know that his three-methylxanthine levels were like a little high, but not that much Like he was actually pretty darn close to optimal levels and I was like what the hell, how does that?

00:29:53.002 --> 00:29:57.204
work, yeah, and so this, you know, how does that work?

00:29:57.204 --> 00:29:59.340
Well, it's just, you know, an illustration of how I mean.

00:29:59.340 --> 00:30:05.442
Yes, I can give you the general principle reduce caffeine for better gut health, and that would be true.

00:30:05.442 --> 00:30:10.376
But is that super relevant to you and to your gut health?

00:30:10.376 --> 00:30:11.500
Maybe, maybe not.

00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:15.761
You know this one person can drink a cup of coffee and this other person can drink a cup of coffee and they have very different effects and gut health.

00:30:15.761 --> 00:30:16.083
Maybe, maybe not.

00:30:16.083 --> 00:30:19.556
You know this one person can drink a cup of coffee and this other person can drink a cup of coffee and they have very different effects and gut health and all that.

00:30:19.556 --> 00:30:22.869
So, yeah, so it's different for everybody.

00:30:22.890 --> 00:30:36.053
I can give you the general principles, but just keep in mind that there's no like one straight shot, but as far as what you can do, you know, the analogy that I like to use for gut health is is a forest.

00:30:36.053 --> 00:30:38.104
So I live near a forest, so this is an easy one for me.

00:30:38.104 --> 00:30:42.220
And and well, I mean dear God, but like we're all ultra runners, like how many of us don't hang out in the forest?

00:30:42.220 --> 00:30:53.227
So you know, if you think about a forest, you know if you, if you go out to where a forest should be and you're like, oh look, there's a tree 10 miles away.

00:30:53.227 --> 00:30:55.130
Like that's not a forest.

00:30:55.130 --> 00:31:05.663
Right, like you would know there's a problem, because in a forest, you know, you would have like a lot of trees and a lot of like wildlife and our gut is the same way.

00:31:05.663 --> 00:31:08.144
I would think of the trees and all that like bacteria.

00:31:08.144 --> 00:31:12.266
Our gut likes bacteria and it likes a lot of it.

00:31:12.266 --> 00:31:14.227
It doesn't want just a little bit, okay, it wants a lot and it likes a lot of it.

00:31:14.247 --> 00:31:14.971
It doesn't want just a little bit.

00:31:14.971 --> 00:31:16.898
Okay, it wants a lot and it wants a variety.

00:31:16.898 --> 00:31:22.520
So if you walked into a forest and you had nothing but pine trees, like you would say, well, that's a problem, right.

00:31:22.520 --> 00:31:28.063
Like where you know where are the, you know the hardwood trees, where are the mushrooms?

00:31:28.063 --> 00:31:29.567
Like, where are the flowers?

00:31:29.567 --> 00:31:30.215
Where are the deer?

00:31:30.215 --> 00:31:31.420
Where are the rabbits?

00:31:31.420 --> 00:31:36.778
Like you know the birds, like you need other wildlife and things to say that it's a healthy forest.

00:31:36.778 --> 00:31:39.627
And so, again, like, our gut is the same way.

00:31:39.627 --> 00:31:45.885
It wants a high population of bacteria and it wants a diversity of bacteria.

00:31:45.885 --> 00:31:47.611
So how do you get that?

00:31:47.611 --> 00:31:49.395
Well, there are a few things.

00:31:49.395 --> 00:31:57.819
So, for example, if you're not getting enough fiber, you are going to have a problem with the population and diversity of bacteria in your gut.

00:31:57.819 --> 00:32:01.407
Your gut wants fiber and fiber supports that right.

00:32:01.407 --> 00:32:04.621
So that's one thing that's going to help with that.

00:32:04.621 --> 00:32:08.778
As far as you know, if we go, if we keep going with the forest analogy, right.

00:32:08.778 --> 00:32:19.401
So if you walked into the forest and you, you know, maybe see all the trees, but you don't see the deer and you don't see the rabbits.

00:32:19.401 --> 00:32:23.598
But you look around on the ground and you see that something has been rooting around.

00:32:23.598 --> 00:32:25.065
It's probably a hog.

00:32:25.355 --> 00:32:28.792
Now, in Louisiana, wild hogs are actually an invasive species.

00:32:28.792 --> 00:32:32.805
Yeah, and if they're around, they're driving off all of the other wildlife, right?

00:32:32.805 --> 00:32:34.721
It's a real problem In our gut.

00:32:34.721 --> 00:32:35.134
This is the same thing.

00:32:35.134 --> 00:32:35.292
It's a real problem in our gut.

00:32:35.292 --> 00:32:39.362
This is the same thing that's happening when you're eating crap.

00:32:39.362 --> 00:33:13.186
So if you're having a bunch of junk and a bunch of like processed foods or foods with highly refined sugars and inflammatory oils, for example, those are things that basically are kind of like the wild hogs in the forest, like they ravage that bacteria in your gut and you end up not having the bacteria that you need to process like good, healthy food, which translates into all the things we talked about earlier, like immunity and energy and emotional balance and all that.

00:33:13.186 --> 00:33:19.465
If you're just having junk, it basically just destroys all of that right and just messes up that balance.

00:33:20.327 --> 00:33:25.260
Interesting, so my burger and beer mid-race probably not a great idea.

00:33:25.340 --> 00:33:26.683
It may not be helping, yeah.

00:33:27.125 --> 00:33:28.688
I don't know.

00:33:28.688 --> 00:33:30.557
Actually that's an interesting question though.

00:33:30.557 --> 00:33:42.426
So sort of pre-race and during race is there anything we can do to sort of help either maintain or improve our gut health, because it's usually a smorgasbord of crap?

00:33:42.688 --> 00:33:43.930
Yeah, yeah.

00:33:45.057 --> 00:33:46.420
On the aid station table.

00:33:46.420 --> 00:33:53.865
There are there things that probably we should be looking for at the aid station or bring it with us to sort of maintain a good gut health.

00:33:54.036 --> 00:34:00.778
You know yes and no, but I think that the bigger focus for improving your gut health would be outside of race day.

00:34:00.778 --> 00:34:10.012
So you know, like I said earlier, right, like I have really bad palate fatigue, right, so what I can actually have on race day, like I have very few options.

00:34:10.012 --> 00:34:16.922
Like most stuff that's at an aid station table, like I just can't, even, like I can't take it in if I wanted to, like I can have one fig bar and then I'm done.

00:34:16.922 --> 00:34:19.947
So I usually end up having to bring my own stuff.

00:34:19.947 --> 00:34:23.471
But you know that's one day of racing.

00:34:29.083 --> 00:34:31.534
Like your body, your gut, is going to experience a lot of stress anyway.

00:34:31.534 --> 00:34:33.036
Certainly, if there are some healthier options, go for it.

00:34:33.036 --> 00:34:38.164
But I mean, really, like, if there's a point where all I can have is like chips and Coke, I'm going to have chips and Coke, right, because that's what I can take at that moment.

00:34:38.164 --> 00:34:42.349
So, really, like, the bigger focus is outside of race day.

00:34:42.349 --> 00:34:45.282
Like, what are you doing on a day-to-day basis, right?

00:34:45.282 --> 00:34:49.056
I mean, if I were going to, you know point out a few other specifics.

00:34:49.056 --> 00:35:01.686
So, like, women in particular generally know that they don't get enough protein, especially as they get older, they know that they need to increase their protein, especially women who are middle-aged and above.

00:35:01.686 --> 00:35:08.668
We grew up in this generation where we were taught carbs are bad, food is bad, fat is bad.

00:35:08.956 --> 00:35:09.954
Pretty much everything is bad.

00:35:10.054 --> 00:35:11.039
Right, don't eat it.

00:35:11.039 --> 00:35:12.579
And so what do we do?

00:35:12.579 --> 00:35:14.842
We're like, oh, okay, well, that's bad and we need more protein.

00:35:14.842 --> 00:35:19.059
So we go and get these protein bars and we're like, yeah, we're healthy.

00:35:19.059 --> 00:35:22.126
Well, like, actually, no, you know that that actually is not good for your gut.

00:35:22.126 --> 00:35:33.128
Like you need a good balance of of carbs, of healthy carbs, of healthy fats, of healthy proteins from, like, real food sources, as opposed to trying to like pack it all into a bar.

00:35:33.128 --> 00:35:34.990
You know that's in general.

00:35:34.990 --> 00:35:41.862
I mean, if that's the only thing you're gonna get for that day, like go for it, but in general, like you need to go for those higher quality proteins.

00:35:41.862 --> 00:35:45.264
So I'll maybe give an example to kind of break that down too.

00:35:46.396 --> 00:35:53.521
One of the gut metabolites that will show up again and again in these tests and in your gut health is serotonin.

00:35:53.521 --> 00:36:25.478
So serotonin is one that a lot of us are familiar with more as like a neurotransmitter, as in if you go to the doctor and you say I'm feeling depressed, then you will likely get a prescription for an antidepressant and that prescription will likely be an SSRI with one of those S's standing for serotonin, and that medication will not give it to you but impact how your body produces it.

00:36:25.478 --> 00:36:31.677
Well, little known fact is that 90% of your body's serotonin is actually produced in your gut.

00:36:31.677 --> 00:36:36.153
If it's in like its natural state and you're not taking medication for it, okay.

00:36:36.153 --> 00:36:37.757
How does that happen?

00:36:37.757 --> 00:36:41.295
Well, serotonin is actually a derivative of tryptophan.

00:36:41.905 --> 00:36:52.311
So a lot of us are familiar with tryptophan like Thanksgiving turkey, but you can get it from like a variety of high quality proteins.

00:36:52.311 --> 00:36:53.998
Yes, you will see it on a package for like a protein bar, but that's low quality, okay.

00:36:53.998 --> 00:36:59.577
Your body receives it differently, but you can get tryptophan from eating like chicken thighs, for example, okay.

00:36:59.577 --> 00:37:01.347
Or free range eggs.

00:37:01.347 --> 00:37:18.179
So if your gut is healthy, like you're not eating crap, you're like having fiber, you're hydrating well, you're not overly stressed, okay, cause your body registers that stress in your gut and brings about inflammation, okay.

00:37:18.179 --> 00:37:28.340

Gut Instinct: Lauren Callahan of Goddess Health Shares How Diet, Reiki & Holistic Coaching Can Impact Ultra Running Performance, Incl. Her Own!

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