AIDAN POLLARD
Sports Editor
Okay, well technically I’m a pescitarian which means I eat fish, so even among vegetarians and vegans I’m the odd one out.
But in a culture where eating as much protein as your body can handle is being pushed on anyone who even likes to work out recreationally, it can be hard to find things to eat that fulfill what your body needs to run 70+ miles per week while avoiding red meat and poultry.
Here are a few things I keep in my rotation to help keep me both healthy and able to succeed through intense workouts.
Protein bars and shakes:
While protein isn’t nearly as important to stay healthy as it’s been sensationalised to be (too much of it is actually what leads to kidney stones), it’s still something that’s easy to miss without meat.
I try my best to keep a protein shake or bar in my diet on days where I feel like I’ve been lacking in protein-heavy foods.
They may not be the best tasting foods in the world, but they’re effective and usually work really well as a quick snack.
Dietary supplements:
I take vitamin-C and dietary supplements to help keep my immune system up when I’m out practicing for sometimes upwards of an hour on cold days, and to make sure I have all the vitamins and minerals I need.
They’re painless to take, and keeping a healthy balance of vitamins and minerals that I may be missing can also be a strong mood-booster, especially in the cold and dark winters.
Lots of carbs:
Another health lie that has basically been taken as fact at this point is that carbs are the devil.
They’re not. They’re really not.
And neither is having a little bit of fat.
Especially as a runner, carbs are where the energy that gets me through long, 13+ mile runs and hard-effort workouts comes from.
Before any race I run I try to carbo-load with pasta or bread heavy meals, and sometimes just one beer the night or two before a race can help add to that necessary energy reserve.