Kava. Long story short. I drank half an ounce of kava on a lazy afternoon where I wanted to take a nap but had to get a run in, and suddenly felt like running, and did 8 miles instead of my planned 5 or 6.
Long loved in the South Pacific for being an alternative to drugs and alcohol, Kava gives a sense of calmness, creativity, and euphoria without being addictive.
I confess that I had never heard of it until I listened to a podcast by Ben Greenfield with JW Ross. It sounded fascinating. A legal substance with noticeable effects but no morning hangover or addiction. Hmm.
https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/podcast/jw-ross-podcast/
I'm always looking for things that will make me run faster. Ben Greenfield said if he drank just 1/2 an ounce of this, he wouldn't want to stop lifting weights after his workout had finished. Intriguing.
I ordered some.
Turns out, theres a kava bar near my house. I've gotta go try it!
Check it out for yourself. If you do a cursory search of Kava on Google you will read horror stories of how Kava is bad for your liver. It's not true. In typical fashion, Big Pharma decided that they could take the above ground part of the Kava plant, super cheap because it's the waste product of the plant, and make a powdered product called Kava Kava. Kava Kava causes more harm than good, and yes it causes liver problems. Don't buy it.
True Kava uses just the root of the plant. It is also only available as a liquid, tincture, or tea. But it can't be powdered. Shake well, it settles out really fast. Slight temporary numbness in the mouth after drinking it. Not a bad taste, and not an unpleasant numbness.
Keep in mind that if you use Kava, try to avoid alcohol, tylenol, etc. Do your homework. (Also, I haven't tried this but read it on the Kava message boards), Kava and cannabis can have a synergistic effect. Meaning that both substances get amplified. If you live in a cannabis-legal state, start small.
https://botanictonics.com/products/feel-free-wellness-tonic?variant=32564947583012
If you get sticker shock, use the code BEN40 for a one-time 40% discount courtesy of Greenfield.
If you order again here's a 20% discount that the company gave me. DawnWestrum1-20
So Jim and I have a race this weekend in Moab, UT. In fact, as I write this, the race is tomorrow morning. Last Sunday afternoon, we both needed to get a longer-ish run in, but honestly we both wanted to take a nap instead. It was too late for me to drink some caffeine to pep me up, so we both tried Kava. 20 minutes laster, we headed out the door for a run in the rocky paths of Snow Canyon State Park near St. George, Utah. It was a decent climb for a mile or so and then nice undulations along a ridgetop. I blew through 2 miles, and then reached what I had planned to be my 3 mile turnaround. I didn't really want to stop so I went 4 and then turned around. Halfway home I met up with Jim, who was also feeling good but had gotten lost in the mess of trails. I turned around on the steep hill and went back up to an overlook with him. Once in our neighborhood again, I took the long way home to finish with 8.2 miles. I love to run, but I don't love tired afternoon runs, and this felt WAY more energetic than usual. I'm sure some of it could be a placebo effect (?) but I don't think even caffeine would have helped as much, and caffeine hits me like getting kicked by a mule.
So there might be something to Kava.
I'll try it again tomorrow during the race. It's a 50k in chilly temps so I'll need all the motivation I can get!
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Post-race note: Drinking Kava made my brain feel very creative the first couple of hours of my race. Definitely wish I would have carried the other half of the bottle and drank it halfway, just to see if it would have a noticeable effect when my body is tired. I'll try that on my next long race.
Here's the race report: https://hikerdawn.blogspot.com/2022/01/arches-50k-29-january-2022.html
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