I’ve never considered myself an athlete. I mean, in high school I took “walking class,” and later landed the position of softball team “manager” (read: sit on a bench). But by all the irony in the universe, around the time I turned 18 I discovered that I absolutely loved distance running. I began doing it everyday, as much as I could, stubbornly racking up mile after mile after mile. There was just one small catch: I was pretty damn bad at it.
My first half marathon I ran close to 12 minute miles. Speed walkers were able to pass me, and I finished it mostly with folks who were 3 times my age. Over several years I managed to whittle my times down 10 minute miles, which is still far from anything to write home about — especially for a fit person in their twenties. Yet I never really cared, as for me the fun was always in just getting outside and feeling my blood circulate. I think of it like an active meditation.
As time passes, I inevitably get a little better just from the practice. Yet in the last couple years, my running has suddenly improved dramatically. A far cry from my previous times, I averaged an 8:23 pace for the 7.46 mile Bloomsday course last year (the largest road race in the US). A few months later I ran my first full marathon. And then last weekend at the 2009 Bloomsday, I shocked myself with average per mile pace of 7:48. Ha! – Say what?!? As I said, I’m NOT an athlete – I just like working out — and though this isn’t even close to “winning” or even competitive (which I’m still unconcerned with), I’m suddenly on the verge of fairly decent times.
So what happened? New killer running workouts? A drill sergeant for a personal trainer? Hardly. Very little in my training has changed, but there is one thing that has certainly transformed: my diet. Though I’ve followed a plant-based diet for the entirety of my ten year running “career,” I’ve made one substantial change over past few years – saying goodbye to processed food, and replacing it with high amounts of fresh, living, nutrient-dense whole foods. What a difference it’s made: I feel better, I sleep better, I look better, and clearly, I run better. Man, is there anything that a good diet doesn’t help?
