I’ve been conducting an experiment of one because I’ve long suspected that I have some sort of sensitivity to something I’m ingesting - sugar, hops, and gluten are the leading candidates. Plus, I love to overeat. So there’s that too!

Basically, I go into a sneezing fit after a couple IPAs (heavy hops), and I always gain weight (average of 10 pounds) during my peak mileage phase of each training block. I love beer and long runs, so this is a problem that needs solving.

Beer has gluten, hops, and plenty of sugar, so that kinda hits all three suspects. On that front, I hit the bar and had a cider, a seltzer, and three Coronas (low gluten, but not gluten free). I woke up with a stuffy head, but didn’t have a sneezing fit at the bar or the next morning. Progress. Next time, it’ll be 100% gluten and hops free with vodka seltzers.

On the run part of things, training for ultras and marathons requires long runs and training your gut to digest calories on the run. I have always used cheap calories in the form of Gatorade because, well, I’m cheap. It’s basically straight sugar with a little salt.

Calorie/electrolyte drinks have evolved a great deal since Gatorade came to market, so there are other options. I’ll have to wait until my next build in the Fall to test something else, but while I’m doing short runs and long hikes, I won’t need much of this stuff.

I’m cheap, so I’m sure I’ll go through what’s left of my Gatorade powder on these long, hot days.

So, here’s the tally. 230 lbs. after Carter Caves and currently 222 lbs. - that’s 8 pounds lost in 4 weeks.

In terms of the experiment, here’s what I’m doing differently:

• Limit gluten foods - can’t always stay away from this

• Limit sugary drinks - still love an ice cold Coke on hot days or a Gatorade on the trail

• No beer for now, only old fashioned vodka seltzers and dry ciders

We’ll see where this goes over the next few weeks, but good progress.

I was 240 lbs. after Millinocket in December, so that’s a total of 18 lbs. over the last 6 months which is great. My low weight this year was actually 220 lbs. back in February, but then the long runs started. I should cross that 220 mark again later this week or next.