33Shake Chia Gel Review

When I switched over to my keto/fat-enabled running training mode, I knew I also needed to switch up my race nutrition. I had heard about 33Shake on both Trail Runner Nation podcast and the Primal Endurance podcast. Knowing that it was made with chia seeds made it all the more appealing. If you go back to one of my first posts about Iskiate, the Raramuri chia seed beverage, you know that I was experimenting with chia seeds. However, I never really got a good handle on the drink. It seemed too much liquid to down and very seedy (for a beverage).

 Fast forward to today..

 After hearing about 33Shake, I decided to look them up. The chia energy gel comes in a squeeze pack that you might find baby food or squeezable applesauce pack. I opted to buy a 10-pack of the chia energy gel, which cost me $27.50 plus shipping. The product arrived promptly after a few days. On my next weekend run I took a pouch with me -remembering to fill it up with water to get it soaking (it takes about 10 minutes to gel up). Mostly I wanted to see how the chia gel tasted and if there were any negative affects on my stomach. With my fat-enabled training, I've been doing fasted morning runs, so I waited about a half hour into my run before downing the pouch. First, I must say that the chia gel has a great taste. It almost tastes like maple brown sugar instant oatmeal both in flavor and texture. I will admit it took a couple squeezes to figure out if I liked it and how to exactly "eat" it. Keep in mind, I hate normal gel/goo packs - I could never stomach the flavors or the slimy texture. With the chia gel, I figured don't chew the seeds, just swallow. I suppose you could chew if you wanted to, but in my opinion it's just going to leave you with a bunch of seeds stuck in your mouth. At the end of the run, no issues with my stomach.

About a week later I took two pouches on an hour and a half run. I took one 20 minutes into my run and then the second about 40 minutes later. I wanted to test how my stomach would handle more than one pack. Again, no issues with my stomach. It was easier to take in now that I knew just to swallow the gel. The one issue I had on this run was that one of the packs was a little light on water. The result was slightly drier chia seeds and an inability to get all the gel out of the squeeze pack. Mental note to make sure that each pouch is really full before heading out. Following the run and 2 gel packs later, no stomach issues.

So, the good news is that my stomach can easily handle 33Shake Gel packs. Now the real test will be energy levels on a longer run. I also plan on testing them for a weekend backpacking trip coming up. I'm hoping that I can off-set some of the backpacking food that I will have to eat (that is not Keto). More to come in the next month - more training, more blog posts. I will update the 33Shake experiment as my runs get longer.

 Go Bare or Go Home!

 **NOTE** 33 Shake Chia Energy Gel was purchased with my own money and the review above is my honest assessment of 33Shake to this point. If you are interested in trying out 33Shake you can find their website at https://www.33shake.com/.

Keto/Fat-Enabled Running

Coming up on New Year’s Day, I will be racing in my first 24 hour run. Last month I was trying to decide how I was going to effectively train and power my body through 24 hours of running. I’ve struggled from time to time with nutrition and overtraining issues. With regards to nutrition, I’ve managed to train my body to take in food over long trail runs. However, I’ve never enjoyed or had much success with the typical gels that runners and cyclists use during races. Sports drinks have, likewise, had mixed results during training and racing. With respect to training, I’ve gone the junk miles route with building a base and then ramping up to crazy miles to a peak and then tapering and I’ve done strength training with minimal miles - long and slow.

In my past training, I’ll freely admit that I’ve never been a stickler to any sort of diet. I generally eat healthy, but I do enjoy fast food and pizza. Those who know me well, know that I am a Pepsi addict. After biting the bullet and signing up for this race, I knew something had to change. I knew that I was not going to be able to continue with my status quo training methods. Over the past 7 years as a barefoot runner, I've come to learn a lot of things about how we as humans are designed and how my own body fits into that mold.

So, how did I end up at a Keto/fat-enabled training model? By accident.

It's funny how you come across things that you don't think will have a major impact on you until well after the fact. It's also amazing how the seemingly random puzzle pieces of life fall into place at the right time.

For those of you who have followed my journey, you know that I began barefoot running after reading Christopher McDougall's Born to Run. If you have read the book, you also realize that it is not really a book about barefoot running per se. However, the book has inspired a large number of people to take up barefoot running. When I read that book, I was looking for something to inspire me. I was a frustrated runner. I hated training for marathons, but I loved the challenge. After reading the book and jumping in feet first on barefoot running, my entire outlook on running changed.

Well, in 2015 McDougall wrote Natural Born Heroes. I recently listed to the audio version commuting to and from work. Again, I didn't really know much about the premise of the book, but it sounded interesting. From the get-go I was hooked - an amazing tale of WWII soldiers, amateur historians, natural movement, and human nutrition.

The book was actually a culmination of my personal journey of barefoot running to this point. I have been interested in natural movement since I began barefoot running. Parkour, natural fitness, barefoot running and paleo eating (although I hadn't actually made any nutritional changes) were all interests that have been evolving over the past 7 years. The book brought me around full circle to where I needed to be.

For the past month, I've been following Phil Maffetone, Primal Endurance Podcast and others in an attempt to alter my nutrition and training methods. I've cut out virtually all carbs and most if not all processed foods. My diet is more Primal with most days being under 50g of carbs in my low-carb, high fat diet. My race training has shifted from faster miles to long, slow miles with my heart rate under 136 bpm and occasional high intensity training sessions.

The frustrations with this new method has been with slowing down enough to keep my heart rate under control. Another difficulty has been adjusting what I eat and cutting out all processed foods - especially Pepsi! Old habits die hard. It's amazing how addicting sugar and processed foods are, but if you commit to 2 weeks of no sugar the effect can be life-changing. However, the payoff has really come in training. I have had sustained energy on runs and long hikes - many of which in a fasted state.

I will continue to write about this journey as my race approaches and the training evolves. Stay tuned!

Training for a 24 Hour Run

It's been quite a while since I've posted. Family life, while amazing, takes time away from training and racing. Now that things are a little more routine, I decided to put my money down on a race to "motivate" me to get serious about training and racing again.

So, here's what's new. . .

Over the summer I dropped some money on the race fees for the New Year's One Day race on New Year's Eve in San Francisco. So, it's real now. No turning back.

I started out with some easy runs up to 3 miles at a comfortable 11:30 pace. A 24 hour race isn't really about speed as much as it is endurance. However, I was stuck with how exactly to approach my training - long runs, speed workouts, strength training, and nutrition.

After listening to a number of podcasts from Trail Runner Nation and Primal Endurance, as well as reading Christopher McDougall's book Natural Born Heroes, I have decided to go for the fat-enabled, primal eating route. This includes heart rate training and low-carb, high fat nutrition recommended by Phil Maffetone.

So, stay tuned as I document my journey toward a 24-hour race to 100+ miles!

Future posts will include training regimens, sports nutrition supplements that I am incorporating and overall eating plans that I have implemented.

One final note - Please take note of the new running shirts that I have designed with the new Story of a Barefoot Runner logo on them. For this first run of shirts, there is a limit to the first 50 purchased. I am hopeful that more will be in the works!

Run safe!

Barefoot Runner Shirts NOW AVAILABLE for a LIMITED TIME!

Ok, Barefoot Runners! Come and get them while they are hot! I am offering a pre-sale for my new. dri-fit, long-sleeve, barefoot runner shirts. They come with the Story of a Barefoot Runner Logo on the chest and the text "BAREFOOT RUNNER" down the left sleeve. The colors offered are black, graphite, navy, maroon, green, red, royal blue, and white. I hope to offer some neon colors in the future. The cost is $40 per shirt with shipping included (US ONLY). The pre-sale is for the first 50 shirts ordered between now and October 28, 2017. Shirts should be shipped by November 10, 2017. Please use the PayPal buttons below to select Color and Size options. Thank you for supporting Story of a Barefoot Runner!

Colors

Black Graphite Navy Maroon Green Red Royal Blue White

Sizes

Adult Small Adult Medium Adult Large Adult XL