Thoughts on the Run

I definitely have not been very consistent with this blog and I realized today I haven’t updated since Leadville. I think one of the reasons is I’ve just been spending too much time on Facebook. That is definitely coming to a halt. So with all the politics of late and with the presidential elections, I got to thinking on my run the other day about the state of our nation. I am not an evangelist by any means; be it politics, religion, exercise, environment, health, nutrition, etc. There are far more than enough evangelists in every one of these areas. I tend to think that living by example is the best way of making a statement and if anyone asks my opinion or advice I’ll give it. Preaching tends to turn people off.

Recently I was on a business trip in Midwest U.S. and there was a Wal-Mart with a Subway restaurant next to my hotel. I got in late so I went over to have a sandwich. Without exception every one of the kids behind the counter was overweight to obese. When I asked if they had the Veggie Patty the kid behind the counter looked at me like I was from another planet. Do they only have these in Colorado? So I ordered a Veggie Delight and sat down by the entrance watching people walk in and out. First, I can honestly say that in the 30 or so minutes I sat there, I saw an amazing amount of potential “People of Wal-Mart” photos. But the sad thing is that approximately 7 out of 10 the people were overweight, and of those seven at least three were obese! What has happened to us? Is this typical Americans? (This was heartland America). Or is this just the typical Wal-Mart crowd? Or did I just happen to be there at a bad time?

 

 

 This got me thinking about health and nutrition. Oh oh,  here comes the preaching... I truly believe that a plant based diet is the cure to this madness. In my personal experience, it is when I eliminated meat and dairy from my diet (went vegan) almost 20 years ago, that I made the jump from mid-pack expert/category 1 mountain biker to consistent top five and 1^st place finishes. And I’ve been able to keep my weight consistent without even trying ever since. At 55 years old I still weigh the same as I did in High School. I hope I’m not coming off as arrogant or preachy, these were just some thoughts I had on a run recently. That 30 minutes in Wal-Mart was such a sad eye opening experience I thought I should share what I sincerely believe to be true. I recently read a very well researched (with links to real scientific studies) at Zen Habits, called A Guide to Eating a Plant-Based Diet . He says it a lot better than I  can.

So Saturday I’ll be running the Xterra Cheyenne Mountain Trail Marathon. A very tough hilly course. And to  add to the  adventure, its suppose to snow! Oh Yea!