Running Out Of Excuses

I have a big announcement to make. I'm going to run the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon in September! Yes really. And I'm going to run it vegan. Duh! I've never run farther than to the end of my driveway - which is a long driveway, but really doesn't count for much - so this is a very big deal for me. I'm doing it with my daughter, who encouraged, urged, and sort of double-dog-dared me to do it. I didn't have a good reason to say no, and to be honest, I've been well aware for a long, long time that a healthy vegan diet alone is not enough to keep me alive and well for the long haul. Regular exercise has never been one of my strong points, but I know I need to do it. So after very little consideration I said yes, and signed up right away, before I could rationalize myself out of it. That was several days ago, and I'm still feeling good about my snap decision, so here I go!

Lauren and I are going to blog about it as we train "together" from different parts of the country. She's in Seattle, and I'm in Taos. I've already posted one entry on TakingTheLongWayHome, talking about my reasons for deciding to do this crazy thing, and that's where you'll find all the mother/daughter updates as we go along. On this blog though, I'll be concentrating on the fuel that will help me train for and run (and finish!) my first 1/2 marathon.

With the help of No Meat Athlete, and at least one of Brendan Brazier's books, I'm off to a really good start in getting everything my body needs to be a super healthy vegan, uh... athlete. What a funny word for me, athlete, but it's what I'll have to be if I want to run that race, and I really really do. There's a lot of growing research telling us that a vegan or vegetarian diet is the best thing ever for athletes of all kinds. I know I'm going to bump into a lot resistance from people who still think protein means meat, but I can deal with them. 

And because good food is one of the main reasons for this blog, I'll share what I learn here, along with the new power-building recipes I try as I go. So if you want to read along on both blogs, I'd love that. This one will be about the food, and LongWayHome will be about the training and emotional impact all this has on me, and on Lauren. Our hope is that we'll inspire someone else to take on a big goal of their own. By sharing our experience, maybe we can make what you want to do seem more possible than you ever thought. No matter what, I want to keep us all well fed! I'll be back with something good to eat soon!