mandatory kit, pt2

ive been thinking about fruit lately.
yes, in terms of the colorful carbohydrate.
and also, the spiritual kind.

another key element going into my pack for a mountain endurance adventure - fuel. and for a long duration, tough effort - predominantly carbs. fruits work great - i love grabbing bananas, oranges, or watermelon from aid stations during races - kinda annoying on the carrying side of things, so it ends up being fruity flavored things…but you get where i’m going.

and you could say carbs are having a moment. high-carb fueling is all the rage on the trail running scene these days, with other hyper-professionalized endurance sports like cycling and ironman already normalizing this practice. it’s not uncommon for the elites, after a 100-mile race, to be asked in a post-race interview what their fueling strategy was and how best they were able to keep to it - with targets referenced as carbs per hour.

for a dirt-bag, back-of-the-pack, trail shuffler like myself, it’s fun to learn from the elites, but it’s been more of a n=1, self-experimenting game of what works best to keep my engine running, even if there’s not ferrari-level capacity on board. this involves gut-training and fuel-scheduling and regular inventories throughout the course to gauge how my body is feeling and what it needs, as well as how it reacts to certain intakes.

what am i craving?
how did that go down?
how is my body responding?
how long until the energy comes back?
do i need more? less?
fruity? salty?

so much to assess and so much to monitor but all key to optimizing what kind of day i have and if i have “one more mile” in me. and as they say, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

so how does this translate mentally and spiritually?

during this interim time between races/projects, alongside some body-mending, it has been a mental inventory and “repacking” season. as i have been writing about frequently - taking inventory of the stories, mindsets, postures, energy that i am carrying around during my time on trail and mountain efforts - and checking the fruit.

two AAR’s this season:

the fruit of consistent, patient preparation, grounded confidence, and properly rooted identity - an incredible experience [not necessarily the perfect day, but] with lots of gratitude, tangible win’s, and growing nuggets.

the fruit of comparison, frantic striving, and achievement-based worth - in short, a rough day on trail and injury - emotionally and physically.

so i guess i am saying the fruit i bring to life affects the fruit that comes out.
garbage in, garbage out.
love in, love out.

and if i’m promised a daily portion, an abundant life in the present tense, a “filling to the fullness” - then i guess i have all the access to the fruit i need right now.
the fridge is stocked.
the carbs per hour are dialed and sufficient.

so i can check-in:
what am i craving?
what do i have on hand?
what’s my experience right now?
what’s missing?

the seed of fruit grows more fruit.

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
if that’s not what this taste like right now, i may not be properly fueled.
i may be grabbing for the wrong fueling source.
which may mean i crash and burn.
or i remember i have access.
then we can turn this thing around.

see the fruit of the fruit.