About
This blog is my attempt to compile information for all levels of athletes on training, general wellbeing, and a clean, low allergen, gluten-free diet. I believe in a holistic approach to nutrition, that all our systems are interconnected. We should stop trying to simply treat symptoms, but instead look for the root cause of maladies. These posts are simply about my revelations, trials, frustrations, and obsessions as an endurance athlete, mother, coach, baker, and aspiring minimalist.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
More about me….
I was raised in a very health conscious family and always had a keen interest in nutrition, its application to sports, and it’s effect on the environment. I grew up skiing and hiking in the small Rocky Mountain town of Carbondale, Colorado. I started running my senior year of high school winning three events at the state meet and then the 1500 and 3K at Junior Olympics in 1998. I went onto become a successful collegiate distance runner, winning a couple national titles, including the NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships. Along the way I also competed on the US Junior team in cross country at the World Cross country championships in Belfast.
I graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2002 with a BA in International Political Economy. For my thesis I dealt with the economic impact of health care costs that result from the “typical American diet” (namely a diet high in animal products) being exported to “third world” countries. I was also able to complete three minors including one in Environmental Studies, for which my thesis explored the environmental impact of animal-based food production.
After college I had a brief stint at the U of Oregon law school in Eugene. It was long enough to realize that being a lawyer was not going to be my road to happiness. It was an expensive lesson, but it brought me to Oregon and in 2003 I came to call Portland home. I simply couldn’t resist the allure of Forest Park’s trails, the culture, and the great emphasis on eating clean, local food. That fall I also started as an assistant cross country and track coach at the University of Portland.
After years of digestive issues, iron deficiency and eczema, gluten was pinpointed as a main cause of many of my health troubles. In the same year, (2006) I was also diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease and started on thyroid replacement hormone.
In 2007, I started Sift Bakery- producing gluten-free and vegan cookies for wholesale and retail consumption. Before selling the company in 2009, the cookies were available for purchase at Portland area Wholefoods markets, food coops and variety of smaller venues. I chose to sell Sift because my husband and I wanted to start a family. In those 2 years, I only rarely had a day off. I was working in my full-time job in fundraising, coaching and running the business.
The sale was finalized in May of 2009 and I was pregnant a month later! Our son was born in March of 2010. Being a mother has been the most rewarding adventure imaginable. In January of 2011, when my son was 10 months old, I quit my job and started pursuing a Master’s of Business Administration at the University of Portland.
With more time during the day (and without a second income), I have been more focused than ever on streamlining our household and refining my own version of minimalism. I find great joy in the act of simplifying.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Contact
reach me by email: djrunjoy at yahoo dot com
