After the usual first mile shake-out, runners generally track along the course in the same relative positions. I gradually reeled in two runners, passing one in the eighth mile and the other in the tenth mile. When I looked back at that time I saw a runner gaining on me. Somewhere in the 11th mile I looked back and saw that guy was getting closer, close enough to notice that he was probably in the masters division.
I fully expected him to overtake me within the next mile and started planning my race strategy. I would pace off him and rely on my speed to sprint past him in the last half mile. But, he never caught me. In fact, I increased my lead on him over the last few miles. At the final aid station I took a quick peek over my right shoulder and couldn’t see him. I took a longer look as I turned onto 8th Avenue and he hadn’t yet made it to the aid station. I didn’t fade like I had in past races. While my 12th mile was my slowest at 6:29, the 13th mile, which includes climbing the 8th Avenue viaduct, was 6:26. While I was running the race, I was at my limit physically, but a minute after the finish I felt great.
Again, the Kenyan breakfast of tea and ugali after a late meal the night before kept me in good stead. It occurred to me that corn meal is gluten free. Much has been made of Novak Djokovic’s gluten free diet and how it contributed to his recent success. Could this change in diet be helping me?
What happens when in the latter stages of a running race? The lactic acid builds up. Your muscles are screaming. Your body temperature sky-rockets. All of this leads to decreased performance. There is mounting evidence that gluten contributes to these problems and eliminating gluten from the diet could be the key to better performance.
Our diet has changed dramatically in the past century, especially in Western countries. It is a trend that's spreading around the world due to the globalization of commerce, and the food industry in particular. The problem is not just wheat, but also processed dairy and sugars, all of which we consume more regularly and in higher quantities than ever before. You might think bread and pasta are healthy foods, but essentially they break down into sugars like a chocolate bar does and this is not an energy source that human bodies evolved with.
To give up wheat-based foods would mean giving up my beloved pasta and pizza. But according to Pete McCraw tennis coach for some of the world’s top ranked players, cutting out wheat-based foods could be the best thing I could ever do.
I am reading Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World's Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself by Rich Roll.
Finding Ultra is Rich Roll’s incredible-but-true account of achieving one of the most awe-inspiring midlife physical transformations ever. In October 2006 Roll, a former Stanford swimmer, was nearly fifty pounds overweight and unable to climb the stairs without stopping. He lost that weight, competed in the elite Ultraman competition and completed the Epic5 - five Ironman-distance triathlons, each on a different Hawaiian island, all completed in less than a week.
One key to Roll’s success was changing his diet to one that was completely plant-based. Finding Ultra is a portrait of what willpower can accomplish. It challenges all of us to rethink what we’re capable of.
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Sunday was the second RMRR Spring Marathon Training Series race. I ran the 20 mile (double out-and-back) course in 2:16:57 averaging 6:51 / mile. It was cold and windy. The temperature at the start was just under 40 degrees and the wind was screaming at about 25 mph. The last few miles of each circuit were brutal. Give me a hill any day instead of wind. At least with a hill, you can see when the suffering will end.
Tomorrow is the Boston Marathon. I hope my mates rest easy today and the weather treats them well tomorrow.
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