Born to Run

Over the weekend, I finished reading “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall.  Since its publication five years ago, this has been one of the most talked about books on running.  I sometimes wondered if I was the only runner who hadn’t read it yet.  What finally piqued my interest was reading “Eat & Run” by Scott Jurek.  A chapter of that book described Scott Jurek’s experience racing against the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico’s Copper Canyons.  This book follows the author’s quest to learn about the Tarahumara and culminates with the author’s description of the same race.  Reading this book right after reading “Eat & Run” made it more interesting.

I enjoyed this book on three different levels.  First, I often find it inspirational to read about gifted or accomplished runners.  The Tarahumara have competed in numerous ultramarathons in the US, including the Leadville 100.  Their running ability is legendary.  This book describes what the author was able to learn about their culture, their history, their diet and their running technique.  The book also gives the backgrounds of several ultrarunners from the US who competed against them, either at Leadville or in the Copper Canyons.

Besides being a book about runners, this is a book about running.  It explores what makes the Tarahumara such great runners.  It goes on to explore the pros and cons of modern running shoes versus running barefoot.  In so doing, it ignited the growing movement toward running with minimalist shoes.  Finally, it explores how running may have played a major role in human evolution.  That’s where the title comes from – the conclusion that as a species we’re uniquely adapted for long distance running.

Where the author succeeds best is in his storytelling ability.  The book follows his quest to find and learn about the Tarahumara.  To find them, he first needed to Micah True, a.k.a. Caballo Blanco, the only American who knew much about them.  It culminates with the efforts of both to organize an improbable race in the Copper Canyons between the reclusive Tarahumara and several of America’s premier ultrarunners.  I was captivated by the author’s tale.  I found myself reading as many as 15 chapters in a day, because I couldn’t put the book down.

Some of the insights into diet and running technique made this book an excellent companion to “Eat & Run.”  I’m gradually making changes to my diet, and both books gave me ideas.  They also gave me some thoughts on improving my training.

While many have been inspired by this book to switch to minimalist shoes, I’m not planning to jump on that bandwagon.  I think the book makes a good case that running barefoot or with minimalist shoes encourages better technique and also strengthens the muscles and ligaments in the feet.  If I were new to the sport, I would seriously consider running with minimalist shoes to learn to run more like the Tarahumara.

Of course, I’m not new to the sport.  I’ve been a heal-striker for so many years that I would have difficulty changing my technique.  I might be able to do it over a period of years, but the transition would no doubt be bumpy.  I was quite injury prone when I was in my 20s and 30s, but I’ve gradually found a footwear solution that works for me.  It’s been 10 years since I’ve had an injury that forced me to take a full week off.  What I’m doing may not be perfect, but it’s awfully late in the game for me to try to reinvent myself.

Eat & Run

I just finished reading “Eat & Run” by Scott Jurek.  This book was published two years ago, so it may seem a bit surprising that I just got around to reading it.  I’ve never been an avid reader, so I don’t read as many books as some of my friends.  I mostly read when I’m traveling, so I’m more apt to read magazines.  I tend to read books when they’re timely for me.

I’ve been a fan of Scott Jurek since 1999.  That was the year he won the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run for the first time.  It was one year after my first ultra.  I had yet to do any trail ultras, but I had read enough about Western States to be intrigued.

I had no idea that Jurek would go on to win Western States six more times, nor did I have any idea he would later set course records in races like Badwater and Hardrock.  What got my attention was that a runner who grew up in Minnesota was able to win Western States, a race that had previously been dominated by runners from California.

I think the reason I admire Scott Jurek so much is because he excels at the same races that I find most difficult.  He owned the Western States course for seven years.  When I eventually attempted that race, it chewed me up and spit me out.  I dropped at the Michigan Bluff aid station after only 55.7 miles.

As the title implies, this book is about both eating and running.  Scott Jurek eats a plant-based diet and attributes his ultrarunning success not just to his training, but also to his diet.  I recently made my first steps in the direction of a plant-based diet, so I was interested in learning his perspective on nutrition.

There’s another reason this book was timely.  I recently started training for the Across the Years 48-Hour race.  When I’m training for an ultra, I draw inspiration from books about ultrarunning.  In particular, I like to read autobiographies of ultrarunners.

“Eat & Run” has a slightly unorthodox format.  At the end of each chapter, there’s a recipe.  Most of the chapters are also followed by training tips.  At first, this format seemed odd, but I quickly came to enjoy it.

I don’t read books in one sitting.  I usually read a chapter and then take a break.  The recipes and training tips gave my mind the diversion I needed.  Then I was ready to start the next chapter.  At first, I was only reading one chapter at a time, but I quickly found myself reading two, three or four chapters at once.

As for the chapters themselves, they tell two stories that are woven together.  The first story chronicles Jurek’s development as a runner.  It includes the events and relationships that led him to attempt his first ultramarathon.  It goes on to describe his training, his seven Western States victories, and his subsequent accomplishments as he conquered the world of ultrarunning.  It explains how his life shaped his running and how his running shaped the rest of his life.

Scott Jurek wasn’t always a vegan.  He grew up with meat and dairy products.  At the same time he was training and racing, he was also developing new ideas about nutrition and how it affected both his health and his running.  He didn’t change his diet overnight.  It was a gradual process.  This story gradually unfolds throughout the book.

I’ve been making incremental changes to my own diet for the past 13 years.  It was only about a month ago that I decided to see if I could remove meat from my diet.  I already wasn’t eating much meat, but dairy products make up a huge share of my diet.  At the time, I never seriously considered the possibility that I would ever give up dairy products.  I grew up drinking milk with every meal, and my favorite food is pizza!  After reading this book, I’m tempted to transition away from dairy products as well.  More importantly, reading this book actually makes me think I could do it.

I originally checked this book out of the library, but now I think I’ll buy a copy.  I’d like to be able to refer back to the training tips.  They’re practical and straightforward.  I’d also like to try the recipes.  I may want to re-read the book the next time I’m training for a 100 mile trail run.  Eventually, I plan to return to Western States.  I know I’ll want to re-read it then.

A Dietary Experiment Has Given Me Unexpected Results

Last week, I began a dietary experiment.  I temporarily gave up meat.  I wasn’t giving up eggs or dairy products, nor was I making a long-term commitment to a vegan diet.  I just wanted to see how easy it would be to eliminate meat from my diet.  I didn’t know if I was doing this for a few days or a week.  So far, it’s been nine days.

I tend to be incremental when it comes to changing my diet.  I’m more about moderation than absolutes.  When I was younger, my diet wasn’t very healthy.  I ate too much sugar and highly processed foods.  I ate too much saturated fat.  I didn’t eat enough whole grains, and I hardly ate any fruits or vegetables.

When I turned 40, I had my first cholesterol test.  While my cholesterol wasn’t considered high, both my total and LDL cholesterol were creeping into the borderline range.  Since then, I’ve been able to improve my cholesterol through a combination of diet and exercise.

Around that time, I read a review of a book called “Eat Drink and Be Healthy – The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating.”  I read the book and found it to be a good overall reference for making good nutritional choices.  It’s a book I still recommend.

Since then I’ve made several improvements to my diet.  I eat less saturated fat and more unsaturated fat.  I’ve all but eliminated trans fats from my diet.  I eat more fruits and vegetables.  This has been a gradual process.  I’ve made an effort to eat more whole grains, but I still eat too much processed food.  It’s a work in progress.

I can be an obsessive record keeper, and I try to use that to my advantage.  When I’m not traveling, I keep track of everything I eat.  I read food labels and look up nutritional info online.  I use a spreadsheet to keep track of total calories, saturated fat, trans fat, total fat, protein and servings of fruit and vegetables.  I’ve found that keeping records not only helps me quantify what I’m eating, but it also keeps me honest.  I might eat a cookie, but I’m less likely to eat that second or third cookie.

As I’ve made changes to my diet, I’ve set various nutritional goals.  One of my goals is to limit saturated fats.  Another is to get enough protein.  I expected a meatless diet to be leaner, but I was worried that I might have trouble getting enough protein.

I don’t remember when I first started tracking how much protein I eat, but I was probably dieting to lose weight.  The U.S. RDA for men 25 and older is 63 grams of protein per day.  That’s a guideline, but individual needs vary.  I weigh less than the average adult male, so I probably don’t need as much.  More importantly, I’m an endurance athlete.  The constant wear and tear of training means I need to get extra protein to repair the damage from training and racing.  Several years ago, I found some research on the protein needs of endurance athletes.  Regrettable, I can no longer remember my source, but I concluded that if I ate 70 grams of protein per day, I could be pretty confident that I was meeting my protein needs.

I expected it to be difficult to get that much protein without eating any meat, but it’s turned out to be surprisingly easy.  So far, I’ve averaged 83 grams.  That a lot!  It helps that I get a lot of protein from dairy products.  It also helps that I keep discovering plant-based sources of protein.

I also expected that without trying I would reduce my intake of saturated fat.  Surprisingly, I haven’t.  Excluding travel days and other days when I didn’t keep complete records, I was previously averaging 14 grams per day of saturated fat.  Since giving up meat, I’ve averaged 16 grams per day.  It’s worth noting that I didn’t eat very much red meat to begin with.  Mostly, I’ve given up chicken, which is fairly lean as meat goes.  It’s also worth noting that I’ve been eating more coconut and guacamole.  Coconuts and avocados are two of the few plants that are high in saturated fats.  I may find, with a larger sample size, that I don’t get as much saturated fat from plants.

While my results have been surprising, I’m encouraged that I’m not having trouble getting enough protein.  For now, the experiment will continue