The 5K run will be my friend for the next 12 months - along with 12 different diets.
I am crushingly curious how each dietary choice will impact my running ability. March is Vegetarian month, where I have eliminated all meat and fish. Will the lack of meat impact my performance?
I love to run.
Except when it's cold. Ha.
I live in Michigan, so there's that.
Typically I ramp up the running in the spring. My first few attempts at running, typically resemble a fast walk.
(14 minute mile pace, and it takes 2 weeks to get to be able to run and non-stop for 3 miles). My best pace is 9 minutes a mile, and that magic happens at the end of the summer.
I know, such a blazing pace! lol.
When fall ushers in the chilly temps, I end up on the treadmill and gradually just stop running. Spring arrives: repeat.
Unfortunately, last November, I was stripped of the ability to ambulate normally, due to an incident at a local dog park. (An overzealous German Shepherd was rough-housing with a group of dogs, and I was just in the way).
I mean, lifted-off-my-feet-and-thrown-in-the-air-like-a-rag-doll kind of incident. The landing must have been spectacular, but all I heard was my screaming right hip.
yah. I didn't run for a bit; I could barely walk across a room, much less use the stairs.
Fast forward to February. 3 months later and I am now walking without pain, so I decided to work on strength. Averaging 2 times a week, I went to the sports club and lifted the least amount of weight possible on the circuit. This gentle consistent movement was a good thing. But running? No.
Then this March, I started the 12 Diets in 12 Months, and decided that adding a 5K to the mix would be fun. The weatherman promised some balmy 50 degree weather, so I signed up for the local Shamrock 5K. Just show up, I told myself.
A couple dressed in shark costumes buoyed my spirits, along with a crowd adorned in as much Irish and Shamrocks as they could find.
I managed the following times, without shortness of breath! The veggies didn't slow me down a bit! In fact, I felt very good the whole time.
So, run on fellow vegetarians!
Lucky for the sharks that I gave up fish.