Ultra Food for Thought

Ultrarunners love to talk food. And believe us, we all know the best and right way to eat.

(All of us!)

There’s one end of the spectrum, and they are the super healthy eating elite. In this category you’ll find: paleo peeps, uber organic yuppies, naturalists, vegans, non-processed, whole foods addicts, “the earth is greater green” runners.

Across the other side resides a whole different breed of runners: jellybean popping, gu sucking, coke drinking, beer guzzling, pizza scarfing (and OFTEN) fast freakin’ runnermothers.

Of course there are always people on the fence. A lot of us go back and forth between the opposite ends, or a lot of times stay somewhere smack dab in the middle. Race food is different than every day food, after all. Have your cake and eat it, too! Right?

No wonder the food topic fascinates us ultra geeks. So many options for our crazy little strong-willed minds to grasp hold of and run with.

So.. Which way of eating works best?

I know what works best for me..

anything
nothing
everything

You see, I stopped worrying about what I eat a long time ago.

Why?
Because I am acutely aware of the fact that it is an incredible blessing to have a meal on the table whenever I need one or want one. I view food as something that my body needs to sustain itself, and that’s pretty much it.

So which side of the spectrum would I like to be classified under?
D. ALL OF THE ABOVE!

I thoroughly enjoy [okay…prefer] to eat directly from the earth. HOWEVER, I am not a snob about eating that way, because it’s not always ideal. Heck, I’m a young married mother of two trying hard to keep my head above water- like so many other people these days. If someone brings or buys me food, I graciously accept it and eat it. If I don’t have money, and have to eat whatever I can find, then I’m happy to have it! If I’m on an insane training schedule, I’ll eat anything I can get my hands on.. anything.

Maybe it’s something along the lines of the poor girl running diet? Ha, sure, we can call it that, though I wouldn’t consider myself poor. [Even if I had no material possessions to my name, I’d still be the richest woman around!]

In my young and completely uneducated opinion, Americans are incredibly blessed to have the huge selection and access to foods that we have. No matter which eating worldview we stand strongly on, it’s good to be thankful to even have the opportunity to enjoy that worldview.

So to all you health nuts and fast food junkies- smile, be thankful, eat up, and RUN!
It’s ALL good in tha hood. :-]