It all started in the kitchen of Hacienda del Sol, Costa Rica, Christmas 2009. Susan, my great friend who is a very talented raw food chef, her boyfriend, Ben, and I began talking about what it would be like to train for an Iron man. Its something that I have always wanted to do, but never thought of it as a realistic goal...untill that day. As the conversation progressed, we came to the conclusion that should only train for an Ironman, but I should train for an Ironman running on purely raw, vegan foods.
After getting all hyped up about the nutritional super powers one would surely gain by only eating the most vibrant, nutritious foods on the planet, we came decided that if someone were to actually do it, they may just become " a super human!" encompassing all the qualities of Mr.Incredible, Flash, ElastiGirl, and much more! Who wouldn't want that!
I arrived back to Canada, and signed up for my first half Ironman. I would have exactly 5 months to train, and although I had been running, I would pretty much be starting from scratch. The 70.3 mile Ironman is on June 20th 2010.
I started training on January 1st and was eating only raw foods. It lasted about 6 weeks and I began to get hungry. Instead of re evaluating the kind of fuel I was putting in my body, I incorporated grains, and heavier foods to counteract the hunger. At first the denser starches helped, and I felt less hungry. I also felt heavier, more lethargic, less motivated and had lighter sleeps. Hummm, not good.
After a month of feeling like this I decided to get back on track to my original goals. I cut out bread. I felt a little better. I cut out yams, and felt a bit better. Now 3 months into training and I'm eating 70% Raw. Each day I look at my diet and evaluate how I feel. I investigate whether the food that I am consuming is contributting or detering me from reaching optimum health.
I added hemp protein, spirulina, flax seeds, flax oil, coconut oil, vitamin B, calcium, Glucosamine, and maca to my smoothie in the morning. The green smoothie seems to help me feel stable during the day.
Despite the fact that I have improved by endurance, and am able to train hard 17 hours a week, I am still not feeling energized or fast like "Flash". I don't have the muscle power that "Mr.Incredible" has, regardless of the many hours I spend lifting weights, and my body is not supple or flexible like "Elastigirl" (even with flax oil, coconut oil, yoga and stretching) So what"s up???
I bought the Vega Thrive in 30 days book yesterday and am going to try some recipes in there and see what happens. Ill be gearing up for a long ride in the morning, hopefully 5+ hours. Lets see what happens.
I want to be a believer!! I'm just not yet.
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