Day 210 - Shit Happens

This is a blog post about when things go wrong.

You don't get to not give a kick at the end just because bad shit went down.

Because things went pretty wrong this weekend.

I signed up a while ago for A Midsummer Night's Run, which is an annual run in support of the Division of Rheumatology at Sickkids. Three distances are offered - 5k, 15k, and 30k. I signed up for 30k, thinking it was the perfect distance. It was long enough to be motivating, but not so long that I'd have to do any serious training to prepare. 

It sounded like fun.

Normally the run takes place at the Beach(es - I am not getting into the Beach vs. Beaches debate) neighbourhood in Toronto, and - as far as I knew - this summer's run would be no different. I was happy to be doing a run in Toronto, where I could hopefully get a few friends to come out and cheer me on, then maybe go out for a couple of drinks and some yummy food.

A couple of weeks prior to the race, the organisers sent out an announcement that the race had been relocated due to construction near Cherry Beach, and would now be taking place at Centre Island. Apparently a number of racers withdrew their entry at that point, and I realised belatedly that I probably should have as well. The move to the Island created a logistical nightmare when it came to having friends come over and spend some time before the race, especially because it was a beautiful, sunny weekend, and Figment was taking place on the Island on the same day as the race. Randi and I made it over to the Island in good time, but Katie made it right before I started running, and Cecelia and Sura didn't even get over to the Island until the race had already begun, both after standing in line for ages just to get a ticket and get on the ferry.

The race itself was an absolute disaster.

First, the course wasn't secured at all, and runners were dodging pedestrians, cyclists, and kids left and right. One runner couldn't stop fast enough to avoid knocking over a toddler, and was visibly shaken. I initially didn't find it too terrible, since I was running with a big group of runners in the 3:15 pace group, but once I pulled out on my way up to the 3h pace group, and I was a bit more alone, it got pretty bad - running without a big group meant fighting through the sea of oblivious non-runners alone. 

Second, the course was really poorly marked, meaning we had to rely on a bunch of uninterested high school volunteers to direct us around in between pushing each other, watching Justin Bieber videos, and trying to embarrass one another by yelling, "But I don't want to take my pants off!" Some of the volunteers were great, but the ones that weren't really made the course situation much worse. By the time it got late (the race started at 5:30 p.m.), the course was so dark that we were all picking carefully through the grass, and over steps and bridges, never sure we were still going in the right direction.

I look happy, but trust me - I'm not.

Third, the course itself was truly dangerous. The terrain was uneven, which would have been fine for a trail race, but this was meant to be a road race, and most of us were prepared for a road race. The worst part was the boardwalk, which 30k runners had to traverse three times.

This is where things started going really badly for me.

Around 19k, I was on my second pass over the boardwalk. I was on my way to a good time, probably well under 3h. I was a couple hundred metres behind the 3h pacer, but I know that I tend to run much faster during the last bit of a run, and I was quite sure I could pull ahead of the 3h group and finish somewhere near the 2:45 group. 

As I was starting to pull forward, someone hit one of the loose boards on the rickety boardwalk and the board pushed up just as I was coming to it. I caught my toe and went flying. One of the girls running behind me said it was truly a spectacular fall. All I know is that when I landed I had scraped up my knee, banged up my elbow, twisted my ankle, and somehow left a dirty footprint on my own thigh. The runners behind me (and those who had run over and past me in an attempt not to bail, themselves, stopped to see if I was okay, and I sent them on. 

I got up, dusted myself off, and decided not to continue. 

My arm. Ouch.

I realised I was pretty banged up, so I turned back to find a volunteer who could tell me how to get back to my friends. After walking about a kilometre, and finding neither a medical first responder nor a volunteer, I gave up and figured I would finish. I ended up mostly walking (limping?) the last third of the race, with some brief periods of running. I did end up sprinting in at the very end.

My leg. Ouch.

In the end, I was happy that I'd stuck with it and finished the race. Coming in at3h31, I was sadly way over the time I had projected for myself around the 19k mark, but I know I would have been disappointed in myself had I given up. Over the next few hours, my ankle underwent an impressive growth spurt, and I think I will need to take some time off running to let it heal. I suspect it is just sprained, but it's pretty tough to walk today, and I am feeling pretty sorry for myself.

I found out after the race that several runners had gone down on the boardwalk, and I heard that one was taken to hospital after her fall.

And then we had to wait in line for over an hour to catch the ferry home.

This isn't an inspirational post. There is no heartwarming message, and no punchline.

Here's a picture. I think it's my what the eff face:

Day 205 - No Meat Athlete

Today my dinner was a bowl of brown rice, lentils, and black beans cooked in a mix of coconut milk and water, and topped with steamed summer squash, zucchini, and carrots fresh from my CSA farm share (I belong to Root Radical, if you're interested; google 'community shared agriculture' for CSAs in your area).

No meat.

I've been vegetarian since starting high school (that's 16 years ago, for those of you counting), and I guess you could say I've become progressively more strict as I've learned more about food production and eating well without meat. Initially, I cut out red meats as a way of testing the waters. As time went on, I decided I would rather leave fish and other seafood to someone else as well. I currently avoid gelatin, cheeses made with real rennet, and beers that use animal products like isinglass in their production (okay, okay, I just don't like beer). I continue to eat eggs and cheese sparingly, usually replace cow milk with an alternate product derived from coconut or flax, and cannot really ever get enough yoghourt.

The second most common question I'm asked when people find out I'm vegetarian is how I manage to stay energetic and active, and build muscle, on a vegetarian diet.

(The first most common question is why I choose to eat a vegetarian diet, but that's a topic for another day and a different blog. Ditto for the third most common question: Why aren't I vegan? The fourth most common question is easy to answer: No, I don't miss meat. I don't even remember what it tastes like. Nope, not even bacon.).

I'm not sure that my answer to that question is totally satisfying. I adopted a vegetarian diet as I was entering a high level of competitiveness in synchronised swimming, so I never had the option of not being healthy and energetic, and I had excellent resources available to me in the form of coaches who cared for the well-being of their athletes and were well-versed in the dietary needs of adolescent girls. By the time I reached adulthood, eating well as an active vegetarian had become second nature.

Nevertheless, here are a few scientifically-unfounded tips from me to any burgeoning vegetarian athletes out there:

1. Do your research.

I took a nutrition course in college. It didn't make me a nutritionist, but I did learn a few surprising facts. For instance, vegetarians tend to eat more nutrient dense foods than omnivores, leading to a pattern more in step with current dietary recommendations than most modern omnivorous diets. I also remember calculating my protein requirements and being surprised to find that I far exceeded my needs on most days. There are a lot of myths out there about vegetarians lacking iron and B12, but the truth is that it's not hard to get what you need if you do your research and are smart about what you're eating and how you're eating it.

2. Speak to a nutritionist.

I thought I had a pretty good handle on being a healthy vegetarian by the time I started university, but I still took advantage of free access to a nutritionist through health services at my school. I actually benefited quite a lot from recording my dietary habits and having a professional analyse them. I learned about optimising aspects of my diet, including eating iron-rich and vitamin C rich food items together to increase iron uptake. A good nutritionist can offer you great evidence-based information that can help you tailor the foods you eat to the active lifestyle you pursue.

3. Be adventurous.

The nutritionist I met with in university also helped me diversify my diet. I've come to believe that this is a really important aspect of a being a vegetarian. I've found that many friends I've seen try vegetarian diets replace meats with foods they are already familiar with, making them likely to overeat on large portions of pasta, breads, and other grain products. I've been guilty of this myself. Thing is, there are lots of countries around the world that offer interesting vegetarian cultures and cuisines, and the opportunity to try new things - and bring different proportions of micro- and macro-nutrients into your diet - are pretty much endless. I've found a sense of adventure has helped me to be a healthier vegetarian athlete, and probably a happier (and less hungry!) person.

4. Check the label.

I am always surprised to find packaged foods (and stuff you order in restaurants!) with hidden animal products, like chicken broth or gelatin. Check the label and be sure about what you're getting.

It's also important to recognise that a product that's labelled "vegetarian" or "vegan" isn't necessarily any healthier than its meat-based counterpart. In fact, a lot of prepared and pre-packaged vegetarian foods are high in empty calories, sodium, and other stuff most of us, vegetarian and non-vegetarian alike, want to limit in our daily diets. Be smart and check the label. If you haven't had much experience in reading labels, Health Canada has some resources to help you find what you're looking for. 

5. Learn to cook.

Healthier, cheaper meals are a big benefit of learning to cook and packing your own breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. There are tonnes of great resources out there for learning to cook great vegetarian fare. I find most of my recipes in places like epicurious and foodgawker, but I've heard awesome stuff about the Rebar cookbook, which is much-loved by vegetarians and omnivores alike. Fresh also offers a great series of cookbooks.

6. Access resources.

There's no shortage of vegetarian resources out there. PubMed is a great place to start searching for information about the benefits and disadvantages of vegetarian diets, for those scientifically-minded would-be vegetarian athletes. Vegetarian friends are usually more than willing to offer friendly advice about being a healthy and active vegetarian (just choose a healthy, active vegetarian friend, because there are plenty of vegetarians out there who survive on french fries and veggie burgers). Blogs like Eat and Run (by ultramarathoner and vegan Scott Jurek) and No Meat Athlete, from which I shamelessly stole this entry's title, provide great first-hand accounts, plus tips and tricks for thriving as a vegetarian or vegan athlete.

I guess what I want to stress is that it's possible to be a happy and healthy vegetarian and not find your athletic development hindered. You just need to do a little homework.

I've run two half-marathons and a marathon, competed at FINA Masters Worlds and more national-level competitions than I'd care to count, dragonboated, climbed walls, paddled canoes and kayaks, and hiked to my heart's content on a vegetarian diet. 

I have certainly failed to meet my own athletic goals from time to time, but always been due to a failure to plan, train, or prepare myself, and never because I failed to eat meat.

(I think I need to bring some pictures back to this blog...stay tuned.)