Sarah basically changed my running life, I am so grateful for her nutrition guidance! Within only 2 months of working with her, I finally was able to feel satiated on a daily basis, finally felt like I had good energy beyond the 10 mile mark (plus had this newfound great energy in general!), and finally ran my first sub-4 hour marathon – in fact, well below 4 hours (3:42:45!!). On top of all this I’m healthier than I’ve ever been – and I also made marked improvements in the gut issues I’d been dealing with for so long, and am well on my way to full healing.
I’d followed Sarah’s blog for a while and very much appreciated the content, but I didn’t think I could bring myself to pay for nutrition coaching (it felt very glutinous). Then my friend suggested I could either pay for a mountain of tests or work with a nutritionist that experienced similar gut issues AND was a runner. Once I heard that rationalization I was sold.
Back when I trained for my first marathon I used to reward myself after the long runs with a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s – which didn’t make me feel good. What a cruel reward for my body – yet I was unable to connect my poor training and lack of recovery to my nutritional habits. I didn’t enjoy that training and just wanted to cross the finish line. I ran that marathon, but I struggled with a tight IT band and low iron – and knew I wanted a different experience next time.
When we first started working together, I was very concerned about not being satiated during training and Sarah’s plan addressed that immediately. I learned to love the food preparation part of my week and took advantage of the early morning long run prep hours to make smoothies and dressings. Her recipes are amazingly tasty and surprisingly easy to make with a little planning.
My health greatly improved (my blood work improved dramatically, my cholesterol levels were finally normal – I have never had my blood work tested where my cholesterol was normal – it has always been high) and my gut issues improved dramatically. I am still working on my guts, but I can tell that I am healing and improving. I am also much more aware what foods negatively affect me.
On Sarah’s plan my energy levels are amazing. I honestly never felt overly sluggish after long runs and most weekends I would go for a short, fast run the day after completing my long run. My legs recovered remarkably quickly.
When I took a break from my nutrition plan after the marathon for a few weeks, my training was definitely affected – most noticeably in that my body didn’t recover as quickly after moderately long runs.
In the past I had been shy about setting goals, I didn’t like the idea of the pressure to meet them or having to be too rigid with myself. This goal setting and Sarah’s plan was much more of a realistic path to achieve measured success. And then, wow, I achieved all of my goals!
In fact, one of my original goals was to run a sub-four hour marathon, but once I progressed with my nutrition and incorporated more race pace long runs I know I could go faster, that I’m capable of more. So I’m going to shoot for the stars and am now training to crush my BQ marathon time – Boston here I come.
Thank you for changing my running life Sarah – I really can’t thank you enough!
-Leslie Louis, Portland OR (fall 2016)
(nutrition coaching client)
UPDATE December 2016 – Sarah!!! I ran a 3:36:06 today in the California International Marathon. I jumped over the finish line with “guns a blazing”. Can you believe it? I shaved another nearly 7 minutes off my marathon time – a new PR and I BQ’d with a solid 9 minute cushion. Crushed it! My race fueling plan definitely gave me energy and reversed some cramping. Wow, I did it!!! In very large thanks to you. Still pinching myself. Much gratitude, Leslie
