Carnivorous Cravings: The Breaking Point?

One month from today, I will have run my marathon. I feel ready for it, even though I have another 20 mile race standing between me and tapering (for you non-competitors out there, tapering is resting before the race).  I have come so far, yet there's still another whole month to go, and who knows what other monkey wrenches will be thrown my way. So close, yet so far!

One title I thought about for this post was "20 miles: the aftermath," because a lot of what I have been struggling with over the past couple weeks was in the wake of my 20 mile race.  There seemed to be a huge difference between how I felt after the 17 mile training run and the 20 mile race (granted, I also  kept a faster pace in the 20 than Flash, Speedy and I ran the 17).  I had a very hard time recovering in the week following that run in comparison with most other training runs- my legs were sore, and my joints ached. But what else was different? I noticed that, for the first time, I was really craving some chicken or turkey.

The day of the 20 mile race, I felt fine- I made sure I ate at pretty consistent intervals to fuel my recovery, but as I mentioned earlier, I probably should have rested more (instead, I went out that night and hiked the next day).  But the real problem came after the hike.  I have noticed a couple of times that the day after a really long run, I sometimes get really ravenously hungry without warning (blood sugar drop? protein or iron deficiency?) and if I'm not able to eat sustaining food pretty quickly, my body goes into panic mode.  That's what happened the day after the 20 mile race: I had eaten a piece or two of toast that morning, but nothing else until 4 pm after the short hike.  We stopped at a sports bar to get some food, but of course, what is mostly on the menu at a sports bar? MEAT, MEAT and MORE MEAT. One thing I can say for sure is that America loves its football, beer and meat. Oh, and frying everything.

So, what can you do in this type of situation? During my training I have run into this problem all the time, because vegetarian options are not necessarily that healthy.  It may seem counter-intuitive, but trying to find a meatless salad in America is much harder than you'd think, and so you are often left with some kind of fried vegetable sandwich on white bread (not ideal). Your body is raging for food, and you are not really able to get to your normal, vegetarian and healthy options (such as veggie protein-rich foods like lentils).  You ran 20 miles the day before, and you are really craving something filling. Your options are:

a) Eat something vegetarian, but unhealthy, such as fries or creamy white pasta (which isn't even really that filling OR good for you)
b) Eat something vegetarian and healthy, but also not very filling (cup of soup and meatless salad)
c) Eat something healthier but not vegetarian (i.e., a turkey burger or grilled chicken sandwich on a whole wheat bun)

What would you do? Now my friends, I have to admit, I really was craving a turkey burger. It was a very difficult decision to make, because I knew my body wanted it. But I wasn't sure if it was just a craving that could be satisfied later by some other food. To tell the truth, I almost got it, until my friend said "WHAT? will you feel like a fraud as the meatless marathoner??" At that moment, I faltered, wondering if it was really what I needed. I couldn't decide, so I ended up getting a small soup and salad, which isn't what my body wanted, and I was still very hungry later. But what really stopped me from eating it? Because I have been touting to all of you that being a no-meat athlete (even for a marathon) is doable. I have been running an experiment to see whether that is true, and up until that point it was never really difficult; I haven't been sitting around for the past six months and dreaming about greasy chicken wings or bacon double cheeseburgers.

But here's the thing: as I have thought about it more, I have realized that eating that turkey burger would not have been fraudulent, since I have told all of you time and again that the most important thing about eating lifestyles is listening to your body. When it tells you that you need vegetables, eat vegetables! If you really feel like some popcorn at the movies, get some popcorn. If you deny yourself what you need or want, you'll just end up unbalancing your body and possibly overeating later.  I wouldn't say that you should go indulge in 20 cheeseburgers and a whole chocolate cake every day because you "feel" like it. But fighting against your body's natural cravings (especially if they are healthy ones) is not good either. Yes, a plant-based diet (or mostly so) is much better for you and for the environment. But at what point do you have to cut your losses and give your body what it's screaming for?