Today, I’m sharing an amazing success story from Mark’s Daily Apple reader Nic, who achieved an enormous physical feat with a smart workout and nutrition regimen.
Have you improved your health, achieved your fitness goals or overcome obstacles with the help of Primal Blueprint? Share your story with the MDA community by contacting me here. Your story will inspire others!
I signed up for Marathon des Sables (MdS) about a year before the event in 2022. In terms of racing experience at the time of registration, I had run many marathons but only one 50. kilometer.
For those unfamiliar, the MdS is a self-sufficient race. There is a nightly Bivouac (shared for 8 people) provided by the organization. Although water is provided, it is tightly distributed. You can bring everything else you might need for the 6, 7 day, 145 mile run, on and off any Jebels and dunes.
In addition to the physical ability required to complete a race, it also involves planning, training, testing, and evaluating what works. Lived in England, UK while training, which was markedly different from the expected race conditions and lacked available options to reproduce training scenarios without travel extensive international calendar; but you focus on controlling the variables you can!
I’ve seen it Primary durability books say by chance. I had to use up my membership credits to sign up for audiobooks, and with a natural love of endurance running, I picked up this book. I knew nothing of the actual basis of the book, assuming it was more of a technicality than getting things back to work on one’s internal aerobic engine. The analogy in the book is to turn your body into a clean-burning electric engine versus one that burns fossil fuels and creates various things as unnecessary by-products.
The first time I heard the book, I was hooked, although a bit skeptical as I am a Vegetarian. Paleo and Vegan — hard for sure, but luckily, I’m a very basic eater. The more natural the food, the better. There is a history of gluten intolerance in my family. Both my Grandfather and Father were connoisseurs, so the wheat rejection part of the process really impressed me and gave me the ultimate motivation to avoid wheat wherever possible. (Thankfully, I’m not celiac and don’t show any intolerances so occasional exposure is okay.)
Five to six months before the Marathon des Sables, I became more and more aligned with the blueprint outlined in my book Endurance Basics, even creating Maximum Sustained Strength (MSP) workouts for the gym. Exercise to exercise yourself, before going to the sauna. overcame heat acclimatization. Preparing for a multi-day racing event presents unique challenges and deviations with the Primal Endurance approach. I had to adjust physically and mentally to the fatigue of the 20-plus-mile-long efforts over several days, but I did my best to follow through with the spirit of the book. (Sorry Mark and Brad!)
A big part of MdS is managing your nutrition, which is where I believe the Preliminary Blueprint has brought great benefits. If you want to compete over a challenging track, you don’t want to cut carbs during the race. In the heat and other physical demands placed on your body, you want the internal engine to focus on circulating oxygen and blood to your extremities to keep moving forward, not your stomach and organs. other digestive functions. My plan, according to the blueprint, is to eat 100g of carbs per day, no more. I will rely on my aerobic motor to do most of the work. When I need to try, I will use the 100g carb allowance to meet this need.
There is a minimum calorie requirement that all competitors must have, which is 2000 kcal a day. The event lasted more than 7 days, so runners had to bring in a total of 14,000kcal on the first day. We are allowed to reduce 2000 kcal per day so that on the second day you bring 10,000 kcal. Over 6 meters tall and weighing 180 pounds, this 2000 kcal a day would really be the minimum. Of course, runners can carry as much food as they want — at the cost of transporting it for a potential 145 miles!
The strategy for food is simple: you want the lightest weight for maximum calories. At first, I reviewed the delicious nut butters. However, I worry that in the heat of the Sahara this will lead to unpalatable tubs of water. What is peanut butter made of? Nuts. Nuts are the answer. You can buy a variety of nuts to meet your individual nutritional needs: carbs, fat, and protein. I also take a lot of vitamins and some sports greens to make up for the lack of fresh vegetables and fruits. The high fat content of nuts streamlines the Preliminary Blueprint and the adaptations my body went through to become a fat burning monster! My total feed weight at the start of the event was under 6.5 pounds (17,300 kcals).
While nutrition is a major concern for all participants, and rightly so, often overlooked is the form of runners themselves. Any excess weight (think going through middle age) is an unnecessary burden on one’s efforts. The Primal Endurance protocol has helped me lose the few extra pounds that I estimate could have been achieved with keto and intermittent fasting without disrupting my training schedule in the final weeks leading up to the race. . I was at 18% body fat before boarding the plane to Morocco. MSP properties have helped me stay strong and healthy while achieving my lean optimization.
One final benefit I’ve found with applying all of the strategies above is that my previous need to bandage my rickety hips and knees is gone! Some competitors may need anti-inflammatory or pain medication infrequently — or frequently — through their MdS effort. (Some dosages I’ve heard runners mention can kill a mule!) I’ve fortunately found no need to consume any doses, which I attribute to the benefit of not generating Oxidative damage from consumption of grains and other beige spheres.
Result: Successful MdS with a time of 37 hours 48 minutes ranked 241 out of 800 other successful competitors. (Withdrawal rate is around 12% for 2022.) I came home with 14% body fat and a shiny medal.
Excellent, Nick! Thank you for sharing your story with the Mark’s Daily Apple community!
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