Learning to Fly

Well, it is official: I am registered for the 2011 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, and training is underway!  I had been wishy-washy about signing up for a second marathon (I ran the Detroit Marathon in October 2009, then took just a liiiiiittle too much time off afterwards ...), but with the encouragement of friends and family (here's looking at you, CW), I've pulled the trigger on embarking on a second round of punishment a challenging, yet rewarding journey.

Claire and me post-26.2 in Detroit, October 2009.  I was lucky I could even stand up to take this picture!

Lots of people ask me: "You've done it, you finished a marathon.  Why not cross it off your list and move on?  Why on earth would you want to do it again?!"  Trust me, I've asked myself that same thing.  In fact, that is part of the reason I put it off so long (I more or less took a year off from running post-Detroit).  There is no sugar-coating it: marathons are hard.  And training is a huge commitment - not only of time, but of mental and physical energy as well.  So wait a minute - why am I doing this again?

Because crossing that finish line is a rush like no other.  Months of preparation, miles upon miles of training runs, countless aches and pains, hours of weekend and evening "free time" devoted to a seemingly endless training program - it all culminates in that one moment when your weary legs carry you across the finish.

Crossing the finish line!

So here I go - after a year of excuses, I'm taking the plunge again.  But this time, some things will be different.

A few months ago, I became a vegetarian.  A huge part of a successful training program relies on a solid nutrition plan - including adequate (but not excessive) protein to feed hungry, overworked muscles.  Most Americans get their protein from meat - chicken, pork, beef, and fish.  I need to learn how to eat a balanced diet, including an appropriate amount of protein, in order to fuel a challenging running regimen.

I want to make another change this time, too.  Excluding the meat aspect, my diet while preparing for Detroit was filled with the wrong kind of carbs (pizza, anyone?) and too many "reward" foods.  These poor choices caught up with me very quickly post-marathon: I kept eating, but stopped running, and I gained back about 15 pounds that I had worked so hard to lose before starting training.  While marathon training is NOT the best way to lose weight (I'll post more on that some other day), I don't want to set myself up for a second round of weight gain.  (I would be lying if I didn't say that losing a few more pounds in the process wouldn't be a welcome side effect, though.)

So that is the challenge: train for and run the 2011 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, while maintaining a healthy, nutritious, meat-free diet.  Welcome to Meatless Marathoning!