Tomorrow is the start of our great pinole experiment - or more accurately the whole foods experiment. I will use our home made pinole, dates, chia seeds and the fruit and potato's available at aid stations to fuel myself at the North Face Endurance Challenge 50k. This is our last big race/run before the Mohican 100 and if all goes well tomorrow the same fueling plan will apply. It's not as if I eat a lot of junk - or even any junk - during my races. If anything I may have been overly strict and that limited my calorie options. For the C&O 100 my plan of dates, Lara Bars, and gels worked OK but felt limited too. Pinole has been a staple for generations of great runners in harsh conditions without aid stations available and even with aid stations (Leadville 100 in the mid 90's) the Tarahumara of Northern Mexico relied on their pinole and out performed the great ultrarunners of that time.
It's not that pinole is a super food (all natural, whole foods are super foods) it's that it's food - REAL food - and not a concoction designed in a lab. I will have gels as a back up. I like some gels and will use them on a limited basis - and that's just it - I don't wish to rely on them. I want to be fueled by food. Too many gels seem to leave me queasy with an "empty gut" feeling after a point - just a gel rolling around in an otherwise empty stomach if that makes sense? Any way this may not pan out - we've researched it quite extensively and have searched for reviews of others who have tried and I'm feeling positive that we may have hit upon something. I'll now more tomorrow! Thanks for reading.
Peace,
Eric
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