While i was off running injured for 5 months i made a concious decision to watch what i was eating as i did not want a huge weight gain and i simply hate feeling and looking like a slob .A friend lent me a book called eat and run by scott jurek one of the best ultra runners of all time. This guy won the western states 100 mile trail race, one of the hardest and most prestigious races in the world ,not once but seven times in a row and has a host of other huge accomplishments to his name .What grabbed me the most was early in his career he used to pig out at mcdonalds and not pay much attention to his diet ,as he improved he did, he gradually became a vegetarian and then a vegan. General opion was he would not get enough calories to sustain his huge training and racing regime but guess what he found he had more energy than ever and recovered from fatigue and injuries so much quicker than normal .This intrigued me so i started making some changes to my own diet .This wasn't that hard as i have never used sugar, butter ,salt or processed crap and have mainly been a white meat eater ,what i did do was to start eating a lot more raw foods mainly in salad type meals ,stir fries meant only warming the veggies as not to kill all the enzymes and i also started using a lot of grated raw ginger and garlic to most meals as these have excellant anti inflammatory qualities .Even though i have always used good wholemeal or grain bread i cut back on this also instead eating more fruit early in the mornings instead of toast ,I even cut back on my coffee intake which is very hard when you live and work in bondi, the coffee capital of australia ! I also made a effort to drink more fluids during the day as i work outside in the sun all day .
THE RESULT
After 5 months off injured barely able to walk i only gained 3 kilos ,now im back in serious training im finding I'm recovering much quicker and generally have much more energy during the day.After consulting with guru coach john hill I'm drinking and fuelling up more during and after long runs and am really noticing a difference.
It hasn't really been that hard just a bit of adjustment here and there and putting a bit of thought into shopping and cooking .I get strange looks off my co -workers at morning tea time when im having a tuna salad with fruit and there hoeing into hungry jacks !
The hardest part was giving up my beloved coopers pale ale beer which isn't nicknamed lunatic soap for nothing!
My tendon is holding up nicely and my marathon plan for may in nz is coming along nicely with 3 races planned in the lead up .Is nice to be back in action again .
If you are reading this i thank you for your time and interest .
PS if you can get hold of scott jureks book eat and run do so as its a great read !
