Race Report: Tofurky Trot 5k

I've always wanted to do a 5k on Thanksgiving morning.

I, however, grew up in a small town and am always in said small town for Thanksgiving. There are no Thanksgiving 5ks here.

I hear that made-up races are all the rage, so I decided that this was a good time for...

(Drumroll, please...)

The First Annual Tofurky Trot 5k

I'm a vegetarian. I won't be eating any turkey this year. Tofurky it is!

And I'd actually never tried Tofurky before...until the night before the "race." Thanksgiving: Round One was Wednesday night and my vegetarian sister-in-law and I decided that it would be the perfect time to bust out some faux-meat.



It was surprisingly delicious.


Ally and Vanessa...loving the Tofurky

Back to the race. I ran 3.1 miles. As I was turning the corner to head home, I saw a crazed woman running toward me. My mom. She wanted to cross the "finish line" with me.

I could see why when home was in sight.



Dudes, my mom is hilarious! She made me a finish line!!



I crossed the line and quite nearly set a personal worst...but I won the race and set a course record. One of the benefits of being the only participant.

And I finished just in time for Thanksgiving: Round Two. Bring on the Tofurky!

Non-Iron Woman

*I interrupt your regularly scheduled Relay-related post for an update on donating platelets*

I went in to donate platelets this week...and was denied.

Again.

Hematocrit: 37%

One measly percent away from being at an acceptable level.

At least it's on the upswing - last time was 33%.

If I get denied for low iron again, I'm going to start taking a supplement. I know that vegetarian runners are notorious for having low iron, and I'm just worried that it could be affecting my energy levels...or something. Although I don't feel like I have low energy...

Any doctors in the house?? What do you think?

*We now return to your regularly scheduled programming*

Good Mornings

Remember when I tore my ACL and all I could do was talk about my ACL? Inside, it drove me CRAZY. It was all I wanted to talk about but I was sick of hearing about it. I wanted to talk about something else but I COULDN'T. It was a catch-22 of sorts.

Well, the feeling is baaaaack. This time, the topic of choice is being a vegetarian. I am so completely enamored with the subject. Everything I read, sleep, breathe and eat (literally) is vegetarian. It affects every aspect of my life. I. Can't. Stop. Thinking. About. It.

So today's post? You guessed it. It's about Me! Being a vegetarian!

My latest discovery on why I love being meat-free: Every day I wake up before my alarm goes off.

Let's back this story up. I am not a morning person. I have never been a morning person. I am the type of person that hits snooze for a solid half hour before groggily rolling out of bed.

So you can imagine my surprise when last week, I started waking up early. The first day that it happened, I opened my eyes and realized that my alarm wasn't going off. Naturally, I panicked and thought that I'd overslept. I rolled over and looked at the clock to assess the damage...and was shocked and amazed to learn that my alarm wasn't scheduled to buzz for another 10 minutes. Score!! So I spent a few minutes chillin' in bed and relaxing. A lovely way to start the morning.

So yes, I am feeling fantastic with my new dietary choices. I haven't had any trouble finding things to eat. I'm getting plenty of protein. I am excited to try new recipes. And waking up early? It's like I'm getting a karmic high-five every morning. LOVE.

Things that made me smile

I got three Valentines today - all were chocolate.

One was a tube of Hershey's kisses. The packaging was so cute - it said "Sporty girl". Because I was non-sporty for approximately 24 years, it makes me smile to think that someone thinks of me and thinks "sporty".

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A few days ago, I told my mom that I was going to give Vegetarianism a try. Her response? "I'm not surprised". Which made me feel good. Like I wasn't crazy for doing this. Like she supported me. I haven't told many "real life" people because I fear the "Why the Heck would you want to do that??" question and I don't want to come across as preachy when giving an explanation. I'm doing this for me, my body, my cosmic karma, my beliefs. It doesn't need to be something that I share with the world.

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I ran at the gym tonight. Six miles. On the treadmill. Kinda made me feel hardcore. I am reluctant to admit that it was Miley Cyrus's "See You Again" that really got me going. I'm not sure what it is about that song but it just makes me want to shake what my momma gave me.

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I had a PBJ for dinner and it was DELICOUS. Note to self: PBJs are DELICOUS.

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(edited to add: Spoke with the parents today and they were all "Don't believe everything you read"..."All meat isn't bad"..."Not all slaughterhouses are cruel"... UGH. Note to Parents: Please don't try and talk me out of this. I'm not trying to talk you into eating vegetarian...so please don't try and talk me into eating meat!!)

A Big Change

My February goals are going great.

I've been working out. I've been eating right. I haven't been punishing my body by feeding it garbage (except for one day when I had Chinese food for lunch. But let’s be realistic - it's impossible to be 100% perfect 100% of the time).

So I was feeling really good about myself and my nutrition goals.

And then I read the book Skinny Bitch. (snap)

I thought it was going to be a lighthearted read - "Hey fat a$$ - put down the Cheetos and get off the couch!". I was so, so wrong.

The book is about becoming Vegan. It graphically describes slaughterhouses and the animal abuse that goes on. It tells you dirty secrets of the food industry. It made me never want to eat meat or consume dairy ever again.

Until I realized that it meant giving up ice cream, chocolate, marshmallows and jello shots. Which ruled out veganism pretty quickly.

But seriously. I attempted to eat cottage cheese with lunch the day after reading the book and couldn't finish it. I couldn't shake the images of what goes on in the dairy industry painted by the book.

I attempted to try some of a beef dish at the Chinese restaurant but couldn't shake the horrific images of animal abuse in my head.

I can still eat chicken and seafood without issue...but I am seriously rethinking my dietary lifestyle.

I am thinking about becoming a vegetarian.

I am a total softie when it comes to animals. I get sad when I see roadkill. I cried when I hit a possum with my car. I brake for squirrels. I love animals.

Ignorance is bliss. I have always said that I would be a vegetarian if I had to kill my meals myself. And I had no idea what went on behind the scenes in order to provide me with a juicy steak, so I had no problem eating them.

But now that I've had a glimpse of what goes on, I don't think I can turn a blind eye. It makes me sick to think of the fear and suffering that animals in slaughterhouses go through every day, just so I can enjoy a cheeseburger.

And I don't think it's worth it.

But I'm going to try and be rational. I don't want this to be a snap decision. So I'm going to try and ease into it. I think it will be fairly easy for me to forgo red meat and pork. I don't eat much anyway, and it seems to be the "meatiest" and the food I associate most with the cruelty. Chicken will be next. And finally seafood.

But I'm flummoxed as to what I'll do over the holidays. I won't lie - I like the taste of meat. I love Thanksgiving turkey. My family always eats steak and crab legs at Christmas. So many family traditions are based around food. What's a girl to do?

I know what I'll do. I'll just take it one day at a time. And who knows - maybe a vegetarian lifestyle isn't for me. Perhaps I'll go back to my meat-eating ways and life will go on. Maybe I'll waffle and be more of a "flexitarian". But perhaps I'll love the new way of eating...

Time will tell...