Date: 1/29/21
Training Day: 7
Miles: None
Strength Training: Upper and lower body

How It Felt: I did some yoga this morning before my workout to stretch things out, and my arms felt like noodles, but my legs felt strong. The upper body portion of my strength training made my arms feel even more noodley. The lower body portion worked my legs out for sure but not to the point of noodleness. This makes me feel good about my running but reminds me that I have a lot of upper body work to do before my Spartan Race.

Commentary: So this isn’t exactly related to today’s training, but it is training-related.

Monday night I watched a documentary, The Game Changers. The gist of it is that a plant-based diet is not only healthier for you and better for the planet, but it also helped numerous athletes perform better. About halfway through the movie I decided to give veganism a go for a few reasons.

I consider any ultra runner an athlete, whether it’s someone who races professionally or the mom of three down the road. Although I just started running again, I already consider myself an athlete because of my goals. If athletes perform better on a plant-based diet, and I want to perform better, then the transition makes sense.

This probably TMI, but I’ve had problems pooping my entire life. The few times I haven’t had much of a problem is when I’ve cut almost all animal products from my diet. Supposedly animal protein can inflame the gut, whereas plants help you build the good bacteria you need for a healthy gut. My guts need all the help they can get. And in the few days since I went all plants all the time I’ve pooped an insane amount.

There are many vegans out there who give up animal-based products because they don’t want animals getting killed. I have no problem with an animal life being taken to feed my face. What I do have a problem with is the way the animals are treated before they arrive in a neat package at the grocery store. Back in the day I only bought meat, dairy and eggs from “happy” animals. I’d research where the product was coming from before buying. One time I even visited the farm my turkey came from. But lately I haven’t been doing that, and honestly, I feel horrible about it. By eating only plants, I don’t have to feel bad about torturing animals.

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