Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe

This month will mark three years that I have enjoyed being a runner. I am a reliable runner,  meaning you can rely on me to run the very same pace regardless of the distance. I begin and end in the back of the pack and that is just perfect for me. I can rock a 5k and once ran an 8k with a fantastic amount of effort. I am fairly certain that the reason I finished was because it was a below freezing, winter’s night run and I would have frozen to death if I hadn’t kept moving.

Last year out of the blue I declared to Sandy that I wanted to run a half marathon before turning 40 (in February of next year). It felt like my gift to me. I have no idea where this came from except that it coincided with the vegan challenge. As I was becoming more aware of what I was feeding my body and how it affected my health, I started to befriend my body in a way I have never before. We have always had a pretty contentious relationship my body and I, fueled by a looping internal dialogue of negativity and damaging self-talk. As the days of the vegan challenge rolled into months, the internal dialogue became a bit softer and was sometimes even replaced by a kinder and gentler song that I could hum along to. I felt the shift and continue to feel it in tiny increments everyday.

In the April 14th post I brought up the interesting link between adopting the veg lifestyle and becoming an athlete or marathoner.  I find this very interesting but I also think it makes perfect sense. In my case, the journey to becoming vegan has created a profound restructuring of my feelings about food, weight and my body. Food has always been the enemy or the crutch…never a fuel, energy source or reason to write and rejoice. I have always used food as a source of guilt and a reason to berate, deny or the opposite, reward myself.  During the past year I have begun to unravel and release those feelings. That feels good, really, really good. I have been realizing that food makes me strong. For the first time I believe that I am strong and I love the way that feels.

So, I did the most exciting thing, I hired a running coach to help us train for our first half marathon. The run I chose is the Women’s- Only Half Marathon & 5k in my most fave Florida town, St Petersburg. I saw an ad for this run well over a year ago in Women’s Running magazine. I was sucked in by the photos of women with their friends and families gushing with pride and accomplishment. Admittedly, I was also sucked in by the finishers medal in the shape of a palm tree with a detachable, wearable pendant. I have always said that if I had been an Olympic medallist, I would wear that thing to the grocery store and everywhere but the shower. Evidently the marathon committee was cool enough to alleviate that level of weirdness and self promotion by attaching a removable pendant to the medal.  Brilliant.

So, after a week of thinking about it (silently obsessing over it), talking about it (sharing it with enough people to not back out) and emailing back and forth with my prospective online coach (trying to find a reason to not love her) I just did it. I hired a perfect stranger to help me achieve my own greatness. With the help of my new online coach Kelly, I am going to run a half marathon. I am a vegan marathoner and I really like the way that feels.

Thinking negatively about myself, my weight or my food choices has only successfully created great sadness and a penchant for high fat foods. It hasn’t been the catalyst for change, quite the opposite. You can easily become rooted in negative behaviors if you are accustomed to feeling negatively about yourself. Well, I am stepping off of this ride. I have decided to be willing to allow that positive, lasting change can be born out of believing in myself, giving myself the opportunity and safe space to grow. I will have the courage to live with authenticity and abandon. I want to take this body for a ride like a brand new car and see what she can do. I invite you to join me in this journey.  Literally, join us in Tampa in November for the half marathon or 5k. If running does not bring you joy then seek something that does and tell me all about it.  I will keep you posted on the progress of our training with a “Kale Trail” Update.  I decided this adventure warrants its own name, so follow us on the Kale Trail!

We deserve to feel alive, to move our bodies and to fuel them with things that grow in the sun and soil. We have the opportunity to be our own biggest fan and I want to take myself up on that starting today.

Have a delicious day.

Tags: compassionate eating, dairy free, going veg, raising self esteem, running vegan, Tampa womens half marathon, the Kale Trail, trying vegan, trying vegetarian, vegan, vegan challenge, vegan experience, vegan runner, vegan transition, vegan wannabe, vegetarian transition