I made that determination this past weekend. It was the annual "Taste of Buffalo" a huge festival where hundreds of restaurants roll out their best dishes for the city to try.
Any food you can imagine is there and I tried it. I spent both Saturday AND Sunday at the festival. I was without rules or limits-- I went nutz.
I easily consumed 3,000+ calories per day! I ate Chimichangas, Lamb Lollies, Chicken Curry, BBQ pork sandwiches, beef tenderloin "Sliders", Italian Burritos, peanut butter pie, ice cream, and this thing called an "Elephant Sub"- basically ground beef, onions in a cheesy, greasy sauce put in a hot dog bun. It sounds gross but was awesome. I washed it all down with beers-- several beers-- and "Sangria Slushies". Take a look at my eyes in the following photo. I am with several co-workers (our TV station was a sponsor) at the VIP tent where there was all the beer you could drink!
ANYWAYS, to make a long story... longer.... Lets get to my point, finally. My run Sunday, after the first day of pure gluttony, was incredible. 10 miles in 1hr 27 minutes. I really would've kept going-- I only stopped so I could meet my friends for day 2 of All You Can Eat madness... My run today-- again, amazing... Compare that to last week-- when I felt a bit sluggish.
So what gives??? It could mean 1 of two things, either I don't consume enough calories during the week or Junk food is the secret to my running success.
I am going with the former. As much fun as it is to eat without limits-- I remain committed to being healthy. Eating like that once in a while is fun-- all the time is excessive and can only lead to bad things. So, today it's back to lean meats and veggies-- I'll just pile more of them on the plate to increase caloric intake.
How about you?? Similar success after a binge?
I'd certainly say more calories are better. Junk is okay once in a while, but eventually that will catch up with you (especially if you start doing speed stuff). I do have a friend who ran sub 32 minute 10K's on beer, though. He'd get sloshed on beer the night before the race, drink plenty of water before bed and all day the next day, then race in the afternoon.
ReplyDeleteJunk food can work in a very temporary fashion. It really depends on what you are training for, in essence. For instance, when I was training for the Buffalo Half-Marathon, my coaches told me that as long as I kept to a certain amount of calories, protein and fats in relation to my training and age, I could eat just about anything I wanted (obviously, eating french fries EVERY DAY is not a good idea, but within reason, it was okay). Those of us native to the area understand that events like the Taste of Buffalo are anomalies of a sort, so have fun at those events and don't worry about it. Unless you are ingesting 3000+ calories a day, with more being purely fat content, and without any exertion, I wouldn't worry about it. Train well, run hard, and don't pass on the french fries every once in awhile. Sometimes adding appropriate fats to your diet is not a bad thing! And I will be running the Subaru on Friday. I think my track club will have a tent up there, so feel free to stop by before or after the race to say hello and help yourself to our goodies (fruit, grilled items, beer...hell, it's a Buffalo race, right?).
ReplyDeleteThat festival sounds like so much fun! I'd be in trouble with all that food around.
ReplyDeleteHmm, maybe you need to be eating more... although I wouldn't recommend eating those elephant subs regularly!
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ReplyDeleteFuel baby! Your body is probably thanking you for eating and drnking right for a change (ha ha!)! Enough of that cardboard diety stuf. Real man food! Deep fried solid stuff and liquified carbs!
ReplyDeleteThe only running I'll be doing in El Paso is from air conditioned building to air conditioned building. It's going to be HOT!
I LOVE junk food...but it has to be the right kind. Too much deep fried? No. Loads of sugar...a la Swedish Fish, Jujubees, Jolly Ranchers? Yup.
ReplyDeletesadly never had success with that. my stomach won't allow it. although if it works for you i say go for it! (kidding of course, but glad you had some great runs!)
ReplyDeleteYou sounded like you had great fun! its good to savor happy moments where your are with the people you desire and also you are with the junk foods you crave ! ; )
ReplyDeleteWow you sure can eat! Isn't sangria great? I tried it for the first time on a recent trip. :)
ReplyDeleteNope can't eat bad and run. Ate Mexican Sat night (along with 2 slushy drinks and 2 beers) and felt like I was going puke on Sunday's 4 miler (which was suppose to be 6).
ReplyDeleteLucky duck is what I call you!
I completely agree! I have had my all time greatest races post junk food binges! (Taste of Buffalo...ahhhhhh, I miss home!)
ReplyDeleteI am still to this day the worst eater, but I have 2 more years till I reach 35 and the love handles start to kick in!
Eat up! See you on the road... run hard