My Cacao + Race Experiment
Cacao! Oh my great love that I didn’t know I needed until I found her late in this life:). What a dream ‘she’, this sacred plant known as Mama Cacao in ceremonial circles, has been. I had a ‘chance’ encounter to bring the spirit of this medicine into my world back in the spring of 2021, and she has been an important part of my life ever since. I use cacao most days of the week - both for reflecting, channelling through my meditations and as a plant ally that benefits every aspect in my health realm. I love cacao! And you can read along to find out just how WILD I have gotten in my use of this plant.
Back in 2021 I had no idea what cacao even was! And perhaps like you, assumed it was just ‘chocolate’. If this is you - feel free to read my overview post on the who what why and how of all things Cacao - All About Ceremonial Cacao.
Next up! A brand NEW adventure, in the spirit of experimentation, I used cacao to improve my endurance, overall health and well-being, which resulted, I do believe, in marked improvements in performance for my sport - trail and ultra running. Fast forward to now and you could say I am a cacao pusher of sorts ;) lol! Only because it has had SUCH a positive, subtle, yet so transformative power in my life. YOU might also see these changes if you feel called to experiment with this and other intuitive plants to support your training, racing, health and life!
Once I was utilizing the medicine of cacao for my rituals and daily meditations it was time to play with her in the trails. What I mean was, I understood this plant had been used by the ancient Mayan’s to travel great distances overland. So why wouldn’t it fuel my sport? I had been guided to fast, using the plant for morning mediations, then not eating until after my mid to afternoon day runs. In the end, after months of continuous use, it seemed my body had been forced to adapt to more fat oxidative performance. By inadvertently using the compounds of this near pure and quite high in vegetable fat plant, my body had switched to fat utilization vs sugar burning to fund it’s playground and maximize energy efficiency (carbohydrate sparing) during the long runs and day to day activities as well. I found I was much more capable of long sustained low to even moderate intense paced running without the need to replenish using gels or snacks. I was running 3 or 4 hours without needing a snack! Add to that my intense use of Pranayama to expand my lung volume and breathing capacity and voila! More adaptation without excessive training found me adept and adapt with much less training and effort than I had experienced in the past.
Add to this the slow release fuel source and you just don't need to supplement with too much above and beyond the basics. So, when I found myself preparing to pack for my last 100 mile run in the summer of 2022 I was pretty certain that cacao would be a part of that. I asked my good friend Kim Senechal to assist me as part of her ‘crewing duties’ and she obliged! Making cacao for me to drink at two separate stages in this 100 mile journey. I thought the cacao would just bring me pleasure, comfort, when the going got tough. But I felt great most of the day and although the thought of cacao did boost my mood, it was the steady stream of fluid endurance fat and my adaptation which seemed to come online to assist me in overcoming the ‘big one’ - and my ongoing ultra race nemesis - the “HB” or heart burn (if you’ve been following me, you know the one!!). Turns out stress reduction through Pranayama, self regulation, meditation AND … CACAO, I believe, can decrease your need to manipulate the bodies over adaptive response to manage the signs of heart burn - namely PAIN and severe burning in the chest. When heightened sensitivity responses decreases, so do the signs and symptoms that give heart burn it’s name. By dually alleviating the excessive stress activation through breath work, hypnosis and meditation, combined with a liquid only ++ Cacao at intervals diet in the race, I did not have a single sign, for the first time in over 10 years of racing ultras, of pain related to acid reflux / heart burn!! It was amazing! Everything came together - but it sure was nice to keep my system moving at light speed, without the need to digest packets of food or gels etc. Just some cacao, lot’s of water and tailwind for sugar and electrolytes. It was a blast!
If you would like to try your hand at experimenting with this and other plants here is what I suggest:
Start slowly - consider this a project, with variables and you don’t want to go overboard, and do too much too fast. Take the time you need and keep track of your variables and results.
Know your sourcing - NOT ALL Cacao is created equally! noooooooo! Be sure to check out my previous blog post to learn what makes true ceremonial level cacao different from the rest - with links to purchase your own cacao from my very favourite of brands.
Be curious and stay open minded! Using your intuition can lead you to places you never knew could exist! This requires open minded and explorative self ness:)
Have fun, keep a diary, know your sources, and trust your intuition for doses and plant sources that could take you to your next level experience and performance!
Sarah,
xo