About
This blog is my attempt to compile information for athletes (armchair to elite) on training and a clean, low allergen, gluten-free approach to diet. I believe in a holistic approach to nutrition… that all our systems are interconnected… that we should stop trying to simply treat symptoms, but instead look for the root cause. These posts are simply about my revelations, trials, frustrations, and obsessions as an endurance athlete, a coach, a recovering baker and a woman.
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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.
Outside of working for the state’s only academic health center, I spend my time and energy coaching track & cross country. I’ve been the assistant women’s coach at the University of Portland since 2003. My husband is the head coach for the Pilot women, so practice, meets and training-talk take up a good portion of our time.
After years of digestive issues, iron deficiency, eczema and a thyroid condition, gluten was finally pinpointed as a main cause of many of my health troubles. That was a few years ago and my intestines are still on the road to recovery.
