Someone else I know does a running blog?

Apparently, this whole doing a running blog idea was not solely mine.  Apparently there are other runners out there who have something to say.  Go figure!

James Patterson, author of Running from Food

A past acquaintance of mine (a guy I knew from a previous ward) started a running blog.  He calls it, Running from Food.  Immediately my interest was sparked and I went over for a look.  So far, I give his blog high marks.  And we all know that I am the resident expert and therefore judge of all of other runner blogs, right?  Right.  Anyway, I've been reading it and it got me thinking about my own relationship to food.

In high school, my friends and I went to either McDonalds or Wendy's nearly every day for lunch.  This diet had exactly zero impact on my weight.  It probably made a huge dent in how long I'll live, but as far as what my body did, it really didn't effect it.  Oh the days of crazy metabolisms, why have you left me?

But then my twenties kicked in and I very quickly realized that my body was not made of metabolic steel anymore and food did start to matter.  Fast forward ten years and four kids later and food really mattered.  But something else that I realized about my body is that it responds really well and fairly quickly to exercise.  I would so rather run ten miles then give up cookies and hamburgers.  So when I began running, I felt like I got to control my body without really have to do much to change my eating habits.  Running kept the pounds at bay and so why change what I eat when what I eat is so freaking good?

But when I did turn thirty, I suddenly felt old.  I know, thirty isn't old.  But it is old.  I mean this is the oldest I've ever been, so yeah, I'm just going to stick with, "I feel old."  My body wasn't telling me I was old.  I felt physically fine, but that age, 30, it got me thinking about what I was putting in my body.  I think ill health is cumulative.  Even if I was physically fit through running, I wasn't feeding myself the kinds of things that encourage longevity or disease prevention. 

Slowly, I've started to change a few things in my diet.  I've taken down my sugar intake.  I've included more whole grains.  I've started to eat things that aid in proper digestion because I've heard over and over again that most disease starts in the gut.  I've also gone without soda now for more than a year or two.  Water is my drink of choice.  I've also started looking at foods that I've never tried before but are always on the lists that super healthy eaters put out there on the web, like kale or almond milk.  I'm a picky eater, so I'm slow at trying new things. 
After all of these changes, what have I found?  I've found that I'm a better runner.  The easiest one to notice was the soda deletion.  Once I gave up soda, I started breaking time records.  When I started paying attention to my fiber intake (you know to clean things out of "there") my ability to go distances of 8 or more miles was greatly enhanced. 

Food matters. 

I'm not overweight.  I don't run to lose weight and I'm happy with how my clothes fit me.  But regardless, food still matters. 

That is why I'm glad I found this new blog about the relationship one runner has with food.  It's a great resource and fun to read and encouraging to boot.  I encourage all of my eleven followers to go read this new blog I've found (you can also continue to read mine, you know, if you want).  And tell your friends.  Encourage them to follow us.  Followers help us write better, I promise. 

Happy Running!