DAY 11: NUTRITON FACTS

I mentioned there had been some interest in nutrition and what does it take to do something as long as this? It's probably a long topic, but I'll try to shorten it for today and we can touch on this on maybe a few other days as well.

There are really two big things I've learned over the last decade or so that are critical. One of them is what are the right calories? Calories are energy. And the second is getting enough calories and enough energy.

So what do I mean on the first one? I mean, yes, there are some famous ultra marathoners that they say they eat candy and things all the time, and that's great, but I can tell you from my experience the vitality of eating good whole foods. What are whole foods? Things that are as close to their natural state as possible should be the foundation of what you're putting in your body. Think of it as good fuel for a car versus putting in sludge. The car is going to run a lot better with good fuel than it is on sludge.

The second certainly is getting enough. I spent decades as an athlete, and I would call it in deprivation, thinking that being super skinny or not eating before races was a way to keep the weight off and to be able to get an edge in speed. But looking back, I sacrificed getting that extra energy, that extra power, kind of like a jet fuel. I now realize that for something like this, getting enough is obviously critical. So two major things, getting the right food, healthy food as close to their natural state as possible. And then if you eat other things, supplementary, great. And then getting enough, because if you are under nourished, you will not perform at your best. We saw that in the beginning of this. I struggled as I was not able to get enough calories. I'm now eating enough and we're still powering through bronchitis.