Giving Up My Food Innocence


T L Beverly

In high school I was once named "biggest eater" by the counselors of a summer camp for future engineers. I was the smallest kid--skinny as well as short. I was also running about 40 miles per week, getting up early to explore the streets around the university where the camp was held. Needless to say, I didn't gain any weight by putting down the most pizza and spaghetti that week.

This has largely been my relationship with food in the 35 years since. I eat what I want. People say, "You're lucky." I say, "I'm a runner."

Running has never been about losing or maintaining weight for me, but it has been a huge side effect. Being a runner has allowed me to remain blissfully ignorant of all the obsessive fascination with calorie counts and fat content, portion size and proportion of protein. I've gone my whole life able to think of food--pretty much every kind of food--as good.

I can also, however, decide to skip seconds, dessert--or even a meal--without much distress. People again say, "You're lucky." I say, "I'm a runner."

Running gives you the ability to listen to your body and say no to its messages when you need to. Ignoring the hunger pangs from a skipped lunch is considerably easier than disregarding signals to slow down during the final 4 miles of a marathon or the voice that says you can't complete the 10th 400m hill repeat.

This relationship with food is why I have been reluctant and fearful to present the article "Your Fastest Weight". Reluctant because I don't want to give up my food innocence. Fearful because, like a lot of runners, I tend to lack moderation. If I start focusing on weight, I could quickly track pounds lost as avidly as miles run and take as much delight in denying hunger as I do in blocking race pain. I don't know that I'd go overboard, but many runners do.

I tend to step on a scale only a few times a year, when I find one in a hotel room or have to visit the doctor. But when I do see my weight, I've noticed that I'm 10 or 15 pounds heavier than I was when setting PRs in my 30s. And, as the article reveals, a lot of runners faster than me have benefited by getting rid of those pounds, particularly runners near my age bracket, when the furnace begins to lose its roar. Even I have to acknowledge that weight is a factor that affects racing speed.

And yet, I confess that at this point in my life I'm not willing to start weighing myself and counting calories for faster times. As with other variables of training, you have to decide whether you're ready to take the journey. Just as working on your form requires your full attention and messes with the psychological pleasures of running, focusing on weight will change how you view every meal and require that you bid adieu to the joy of being free from such concerns as a runner. If you're willing to go there to run better, or are already there, our article will help you manage your weight intelligently and successfully.

What I will do, however--and you can, too, if you're like me--is give a nod to eating better, following rules like those presented in "Fueling Facts". No one can completely ignore the importance of nutrition, and Erin Strout's article presents broad principles to guide those of us who have gotten away with ignoring the details. We're lucky. We're runners. But a little attention to our food choices can make us healthier and faster.

Jonathan Beverly, Editor-in-Chief

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