For a long time I have been
ignoring an elephant in the room related to my running. I have been doing the
training, fighting the aging, but ignoring one aspect that was having a major
impact on my performance: nutrition. Actually the nutrition problem has two
parts, weight and fuel, and I had pretty much been in denial on both fronts.
Weight is a tricky issue with
runners. With all the scare over eating disorders and disordered eating in our
society, it is a risky thing to say that a key to improving running performance
is losing weight, but it is true. Weight is related to distance running
performance. From a physics perspective, speed boils down mostly to what it
does in all sports: a power to weight ratio. In fact, VO2max, a key
physiological variable related to running performance, is measured in
milligrams per kilogram of body weight. The easiest way to change the VO2 max
is to change the weight side of the equation.
The truth is that for maximal
performance in running, a person needs to be what is considered below average
in weight for our society. Studies of elite distance runners versus sub-elite
runners shows that the major factor separating them is not mileage or training,
but weight. An interesting article on this was printed in Peak Performance
a while back. There is also a book called Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance which explores this more
deeply (and includes 9 pages of references to scholarly publications to support
the discussion). The fact is that to perform optimally in race situations, one
needs to be at an optimal racing weight.
Anecdotally I have found this to
be true. When I was running my best and set PRs at all distances, I was about eight
pounds lighter than I am right now, and about eleven pounds lighter than I have
been for most of the past several years.
As I was contemplating this idea
and realizing that instead of training more (and risking injury), perhaps I
should take a look at the losing weight side of the equation. About this time, I
read the preview chapter from Scott Jurek's book Eat and Run that had been
printed in Trail Runner magazine.
That article pushed me over the
edge. It made me realize that not only did I need to get this weight thing
under control, but that I also needed to stop trying to get my body to perform like
a race car on poor quality fuel. As I read Scott's information and then started
to do some research on vegetarian/vegan athletes, I was intrigued. I was surprised at what a "hot-button" issue this is in the athletic and nutrition community, with very strong opinions on both sides.
One of the problems that I have
experienced for many years is extreme muscle soreness. I am not talking the
typical delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) that one gets the day or two after
a hard workout. I expect and gladly accept that. I am talking about muscle
soreness that would come on immediately after even an easy run and last most of
the day. I could do an easy three to
four mile run with friends, head home in the car, and be as sore as finishing a
marathon by the time I had to get out of the car to walk into the house. It was
ridiculous. I talked to a few doctors about it, but none of them had any idea
why this should be so. I just resigned myself to living with soreness.
What I read in the information
from Scott and other athletes, such as triathlete Brendan Brazier, was that most of the vegetarian/vegan
athletes mentioned improved recovery and reduced inflammation and soreness
as benefits of a diet change. That was the final straw. I was willing to give
anything a try that might help with the soreness. That a switch to a vegetarian
diet might also help move me to an ideal weight now became a secondary
consideration to the idea that I might not have to be sore all the time.
Thus, about six weeks ago I
started on the path toward becoming a vegetarian athlete. I am not quite ready
to go all out with the vegan thing, and I am also not ready to be what I call
one of those "crazy" vegetarians who goes into convulsions if meat is
in the same room that they are. Plus, I am practical and cheap (we still had a
few really good pork chops and steaks in the freezer). However, for the past six weeks I have been
on primarily a vegetarian diet. I can count the number of times I have had meat
on one hand. I have also started to
become much more conscious of the idea of food as fuel, which has changed the way I look at all types of food.
So," how is it going?"
you may ask. Are you getting any of the benefits you hoped for? Is it hard to do? Do you feel deprived? Well
to get those answers you will just have to wait for Part 2.
Related articles:
Book Review: Scott Jurek's Eat and Run
Related articles:
Book Review: Scott Jurek's Eat and Run
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