My first post!
Well, here we go, my first official blog post.
What’s with the name? Well, first of all, the first three or
four really great blog names that I came up with were already used in some way.
“OBG Running” (Oldie-But-a—Goodie). “Vegan Velocity.” “MOVEgan.” So, here I am
as my alter-ego, the Plant-Based Plodder.
Why “Plant-Based?” I’ve not eaten any meat or animal
products for quite some time now. Long enough that when people ask, it’s hard
to remember. It was a process; eggs and cheese were the last thing to go. But
the term “vegan” has a negative vibe to many people. To some, vegans are frail,
tattooed, long-haired hippies who live in a commune growing their own
vegetables (when they’re not chasing whaling ships with GreenPeace). Not that
there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not my thing. Also – I must confess
– I still have some leather shoes, because I haven’t worn them out yet. So I am
going with “plant-based”. It’s the modern, socially-acceptable term.
Why “plodder?” Fact: I love to run! I love everything about
it. I love running on a beautiful spring day. I love running in the cool autumn
breeze. I love running in the heat of summer. I love running in a winter
blizzard. Well, I don’t really “love” that last one, but I would go out to run in
the winter cold – even if it’s snowing – before I would stay inside on a treadmill.
(You just gotta have the right equipment!) I love sprinting. I love the
endurance challenge of running marathons. I love running so much that I took an
RRCA Coach’s certification course last year. Still, why “plodder?”
verb (used without object), plodded, plodding.
1.
to walk heavily or move laboriously; trudge:
to plod under the weight of a burden.
2.
to proceed in a tediously slow manner:
The play just plodded along in the second act.
3.
to work with constant and monotonous perseverance; drudge.
That’s the dictionary definition. It doesn't sound like fun. And none of that would
seem appropriate for someone who loves running as much as I do. Well, I’m
“slow.” It’s all relative, really – I am slower than some and faster than
others. I guess if you count every single person that runs, I’m faster than
about 75% of them. Perhaps I’m a little better than that if you compare me only
to people my own age. But to be realistic, I’m not going to be winning any
local road races, unless there is a brand new race in town that very few people
have heard about. Another problem: people my age who are still running are
pretty darn good at it!
So, there you have it. The “Plant-Based Plodder” I am. Let
me tell you, though, I am really happy about both parts of that phrase. I’m
happy to be living a plant-based lifestyle. I don’t feel deprived in the least,
and no, I really, truly don’t miss eating steak or bacon. And, before you ask
The Question That Must Be Asked of Every Vegan (that would be, “Where do you
get your protein?”), I have a two-part answer: 1) Protein is way over-hyped in
the modern American society; 2) LOTS of veggies have protein! Every grain is a
seed, and all seeds, nuts, beans, etc. have tons of protein. Even broccoli and
spinach have a good part of their calories coming from protein. Seriously… I’m
54 years old, and every race I’ve run in the past year has resulted in a PR – a
few 5Ks, a few 10ks, two half-marathons and one full marathon. At my age, my
performance is supposed to be declining, not improving. I think my protein
intake is just fine, thank you very much.
So there’s my intro. I think it’s time to wrap up this first
post so you don’t lose interest, and still have a reason to come back. I’ll end
with a bit about “why this blog, why now?” I’ve been thinking about doing this
for a while now. When a coworker learned last year that I was vegan, he was so
surprised! He told me that if I wrote a blog, I would collect a following. So
what recently pushed me over the edge to take that leap of faith into
bloggerdom?
I ran a local half marathon two weeks ago. That was the ninth time
in a row I ran that race. The thing that was different was that after finishing
I went out to about the seven-mile point of this two-lap marathon course (I
only ran the HALF, stay with me here) and helped staff a water station with
other members of my running club. So there I am shouting “Water! Gatorade!” to
strangers who are about 20 miles into a marathon after about 4 hours. I was
impressed by the number of people I saw who could really use some advice. For
example:
·
No, really, take the water! You need it!
·
The race started cloudy in the 40’s but the sun
is out and it’s in the 70’s now – you can take off the garbage bag (Remember
this is about mile 20 of a marathon, after four hours.)
·
No, turn right, TURN RIGHT! Go the way those
arrows on those signs are pointing instead of trying to squeeze between those
traffic barrels.
·
Cotton is NOT your friend during a marathon!
·
Dude, I can SEE your thigh muscles cramping up,
are you sure you want to keep going?
·
Other Dude, wait, you’re actually JUGGLING –
with 5 balls - while running a marathon? “I’m not worthy!”
Don’t get me wrong – I am not in any way criticizing people
who are taking more than 5 hours to complete a marathon. In fact, I am totally
impressed that they are out there “gittin’ ‘er done.” They have my utmost I
have a 4:45:00 marathon in my own record books. I think doing it slower is
HARDER than doing it faster. It’s my own personal opinion that the FIVE HOURS
gets to you more than the 26.2188 miles does. That’s one reason I’ve been
training to get generally faster since running my first marathon. I’ve been
there. I know. The thing is, many of these people looked like they were
ENDURING the race rather than enjoying the experience. I just ran my third
marathon a month ago, and totally enjoyed it! That was not the case with the
last six miles of each of the first two marathons! I am also an RRCA Certified Running Coach.
And I love giving advice. Especially when I can back it up with my own
empirical evidence.
Look for lots of advice in future blogs. Also, I am always
reading and Googling, looking for new research and other facts, ready to try
new things to see what works. I’ll let you know!
Until next time,
The Plant-Based Plodder
