Well it’s the weekend today. I’ve had a busy week in terms of training, pretty much the same as last week really but with a bit less swimming and a bit more cycling. Luckily my hip seems to have almost fully recovered now and so I went out at 6.20 am for a 1.5 hour run today (usually Saturday is a rest day). I ran my old favourite route round Lingfield (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingfield,_Surrey) for a change (as I’m visiting my Mum as it’s mothers day). It’s always nice going out seeing other runners as you go and saying hello. Since then I’ve been working on job applications and related paperwork. It’s a shame as it’s been such a nice day but these things have to get done I guess.
Not much more to report running wise this week really I’m afraid. Things seem to be going OK training wise and I haven’t had any real issues with the vegan diet. Mum has bought a load of vegan stuff but I’m eaten most of it already (I’ve been very hungry this week for some reason). Next week is the Reading half marathon which I am really looking forward to. It’s a good course and a fair few of my friends are running it so I will have company. I’ll have a race report up around this time next week for your perusal.
Until then…
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Saturday, 14 March 2009
Aching legs
Phew, I think I might have been overdoing it these last few weeks. Last Sunday was the Milton Keynes half marathon which took 1.5 hours. In the week I managed five 1.5 hour workouts, one hour long swim, two hour long bike rides and four 1 hour long runs. It would have been five runs and two swims but Friday was comic relief and everybody in the lab dressed up as pirates to raise money (see picture below – I'm in the red bandana, I even had to go to a staff meeting in that get up). We has a pirate pub lunch which I was keen not to miss (even though the only vegan thing on the menu was salad (minus the dressing), so I didn’t go running, and in the evening I was feeling really run down so decided to go home and veg out rather than going swimming. Still, all together, the week gave me 16 hours of training. In fact it was probably closer to 17. This is because my workout, runs swims, bike training etc tend to be 3-10 minutes over an hour. I usually just round these small points down but if you add them all up over the week it actually comes to around another hour of training, plus there is the daily commute to work and back by bike, so all in all I get my exercise fix I think.
I usually have Saturdays off and then do a long run on Sunday (if there is no race on) but this week I’m going to London on Sunday to meet some friends, so I decided to do the long run on Saturday instead. I managed three hours around Cambridge. It was hard going at first as I felt very tired but after an hour or so I seemed to perk up and it was easier. I half felt like I should keep going for a bit longer but I did have other stuff to get done today so decided to stick with the three hours.
I’m also a bit worried about my legs. They feel very heavy recently and in addition, last Tuesday I decided to do some bike training and cycled out towards Girton (a village north of Cambridge). At one point I had to go over a narrow road bridge, there was a bus coming the other way that didn’t see the point in letting me past so I had to swerve but in doing so I hit a pothole and was throw off the bike, rolling to a stop literally right in front of the bus. It was quite an experience and I bruised my left hip and knee and did some small damage to my bike (though amazingly my new phone was left unscratched). It’s been really painful and I’ve had trouble lying on my left hand side this week but I’ve still managed to keep running. Hopefully it will sort itself out soon.
I may try a hours cycle tomorrow as well. I will need to burn off as many calories as I can as I’m meeting my friends for a chocolate making experience day in London. Although I’m vegan I can have some of the dark chocolate and a few other bits and bobs so it should be fun. I would be good and make a few chocolates for Mothers Day next Sunday but Mum does not like chocolate so that one is out.
I usually have Saturdays off and then do a long run on Sunday (if there is no race on) but this week I’m going to London on Sunday to meet some friends, so I decided to do the long run on Saturday instead. I managed three hours around Cambridge. It was hard going at first as I felt very tired but after an hour or so I seemed to perk up and it was easier. I half felt like I should keep going for a bit longer but I did have other stuff to get done today so decided to stick with the three hours.
I’m also a bit worried about my legs. They feel very heavy recently and in addition, last Tuesday I decided to do some bike training and cycled out towards Girton (a village north of Cambridge). At one point I had to go over a narrow road bridge, there was a bus coming the other way that didn’t see the point in letting me past so I had to swerve but in doing so I hit a pothole and was throw off the bike, rolling to a stop literally right in front of the bus. It was quite an experience and I bruised my left hip and knee and did some small damage to my bike (though amazingly my new phone was left unscratched). It’s been really painful and I’ve had trouble lying on my left hand side this week but I’ve still managed to keep running. Hopefully it will sort itself out soon.
I may try a hours cycle tomorrow as well. I will need to burn off as many calories as I can as I’m meeting my friends for a chocolate making experience day in London. Although I’m vegan I can have some of the dark chocolate and a few other bits and bobs so it should be fun. I would be good and make a few chocolates for Mothers Day next Sunday but Mum does not like chocolate so that one is out.
Monday, 9 March 2009
Milton Keynes half marathon - new PB!!
Well the vegan diet must being going reasonable well as I got a new personal best time for a half marathon this weekend; 1:30:43. I had really wanted to break 1:30 and thought I may just have done it but as I’ve knocked 2 minutes off my previous best time and was 265th out of 3038 people I don’t think I can complain too much. I think part of the speed must be due to the fact I ate quite a lot on Saturday, including a vegan cheesecake (which was really nice).
The actual race was not the most well organised in the world. For a big event of about 4000 people and sponsorship from Nike I wasn’t that impressed. The baggage storage was just a big room in the race HQ where you just left your bag, nobody was really watching them and there were no labels with the race pack, I made my own but seeing as there was nobody checking them I suppose it was unnecessary. The race start was just one big queue in a narrow road with no time zones and the finish funnel, while OK when I went through, apparently got very crowded later on as it was too narrow to cope with the number of people coming along at about 2 hours. All things you would expect experienced race organisers to have foreseen. Still with a new PB I’m fairly happy.
The weather was good for the most part but very very windy. It also rained at one point but that was after I had finished and was safe and warm inside race HQ happily eating a banana.
The only very thing I did was that after the race I went for a shower, to keep them from getting wet. I hung my shorts over one of the pipes over the shower thinking
"must not forget those"
Of course I did forget them and so they may well still be hanging on one of the pipes over the showers in the men’s changing rooms in said pavilion. I shall have to see if I can get them back.
I ran the race with my friend Chris who despite not having as much time for training as he would like managed a very respectable 1:57. Much faster than I think I could on that amount of training. After the race he very kindly invited me back for a meal at his house and made an absolutely delicious, vegan friendly, Thai curry with vegetables and marinated tofu. We also had vegan friendly Swedish Glace ice cream (http://www.fayrefield.com/gallerySwedish.htm) and his wife Caille had also bought in Vegan friendly luxury dark chocolate from Morrisons (bless her) which were really nice. I also got to look after their 7 month old daughter Analena which I really enjoyed. Over all I had a really great day, good time, good food and good company. What more could I ask? I would still like to beat 1:30 for a half marathon but I have Reading coming up at the end of the month so maybe I can try again then?
The actual race was not the most well organised in the world. For a big event of about 4000 people and sponsorship from Nike I wasn’t that impressed. The baggage storage was just a big room in the race HQ where you just left your bag, nobody was really watching them and there were no labels with the race pack, I made my own but seeing as there was nobody checking them I suppose it was unnecessary. The race start was just one big queue in a narrow road with no time zones and the finish funnel, while OK when I went through, apparently got very crowded later on as it was too narrow to cope with the number of people coming along at about 2 hours. All things you would expect experienced race organisers to have foreseen. Still with a new PB I’m fairly happy.
The weather was good for the most part but very very windy. It also rained at one point but that was after I had finished and was safe and warm inside race HQ happily eating a banana.
The only very thing I did was that after the race I went for a shower, to keep them from getting wet. I hung my shorts over one of the pipes over the shower thinking
"must not forget those"
Of course I did forget them and so they may well still be hanging on one of the pipes over the showers in the men’s changing rooms in said pavilion. I shall have to see if I can get them back.
I ran the race with my friend Chris who despite not having as much time for training as he would like managed a very respectable 1:57. Much faster than I think I could on that amount of training. After the race he very kindly invited me back for a meal at his house and made an absolutely delicious, vegan friendly, Thai curry with vegetables and marinated tofu. We also had vegan friendly Swedish Glace ice cream (http://www.fayrefield.com/gallerySwedish.htm) and his wife Caille had also bought in Vegan friendly luxury dark chocolate from Morrisons (bless her) which were really nice. I also got to look after their 7 month old daughter Analena which I really enjoyed. Over all I had a really great day, good time, good food and good company. What more could I ask? I would still like to beat 1:30 for a half marathon but I have Reading coming up at the end of the month so maybe I can try again then?
Monday, 2 March 2009
Boundary Run Marathon
Yesterday was the Cambridge Boundary Run marathon (http://www.cuhh.org.uk/competition/boundaryrun/. I've been wanting to do this race for a few years now but it's always clashed with other races. This year it was fine though so I booked myself in a while back.
It was quite a nice day for it and Cambridge is pretty flat so the only thing I was worried about was getting lost. The route was quite well marked with paper signs and flour arrows though and the Cambridge Hare and Hounds Running Club (of which I am a member) had done a great job of organisation. There were also a lot of people up until the half marathon stage so it went OK up until mile 23 when the marker vanished and I followed another runner the wrong way (and managed to lose my map) I got back on course eventually but I messed up my time and probably ended up running further than we needed to. I'm just a bit upset I was so slow (it took me over 4 hours and the ultra last week was only 5). However, I was really feeling said ultra in my legs after the half way point. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to try again next year.
I also met a lady from the Vegan runners club (http://www.veganrunners.makessense.co.uk/index.html) who was also at Draycote last week who kindly gave me some tips on veganism. It seems like she does a lot of races so perhaps I'll bump into her again in the future?
I'd also like to thank the guy I ran the last 4 miles or so with who kept me going when we got lost and when my legs really started to hurt.
I think I might try and have an easy week this week and then really go for a good time at the Milton Keynes Half next week.
Going Vegan
Many might think I am mad (since I have only been a full veggie since the new year) but I've made the choice to go fully Vegan. It is partly for health but my reasons are mainly ethical.
I started eating more Quorn and less meat a while back now, for health reasons to start with. However, the more I thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion that I would never be able to actually hurt or kill an animal myself and so it was hypocritical of me to eat them. It is very easy to distance oneself from it when you shop in a supermarket but last year when I was training for the London marathon I kept running in the countryside here in Cambridge, past cows and sheep and pigs and thought more and more about how much I like animals and didn't want to be responsible for hurting them (how can I eat bacon and burger when I would never eat most other animals?) and so I started cutting down more and more on animal products but I was never able to completely stop altogether. I'd be eating a veggie diet for most of the week and then doing something like a bacon sandwich when I was out. I kept wanting to take the next step but the smell of a cooked burger or bacon always was too tempting. It was the same when I tried going veggie once before, back when I was about 12 or 13.
With the new year I decided it was time that I stop being hypocritical and just do it, so I committed to going fully veggie, or at least lacto-ovo veggie (I've still been eating milk and dairy recently). As I had already largely removed meat from my diet it has not been too hard so far and my training has not suffered at all. There are many vegetarian sportsmen and women from sprinters to weightlifters and I once met a veggie farrier who was built like a tank so you can clearly do very well on such a diet if you are careful.
At first I didn't really think about milk and eggs though, I thought they did not really cause animal suffering but I was curious as to why Vegans don't eat them so I looked it up and when you read about it, well it turns out they do. If you have a dairy cow and you want to milk it then it has to get pregnant but you don't want the calf taking the milk so you get the cow pregnant and then mostly kill the calf (especially if it's male) for veal as you have no other use for it (you don't raise dairy cows for meat and you only really need one male per herd (if that). So, the calf suffers and the cow may also suffer as you've taken her baby away (I'm not sure if you can prove that though). Dairy cows apparently spend a lot of their time pregnant or lactating, don't live as long as normal and are often killed once they stop producing milk. So even if you are as nice as possible to the cows while you do all this you still have to cause some suffering. I understand that it's a cruel world out there and that that is just how it is but I hope you can at least see where I am coming from?
With eggs (even free range), although the hen lays them (mostly un-fertilised) anyway, if you are a farmer you need to have some of the eggs fertilised so as to get more hens to maintain the flock. However, of those you let be fertilised, about half will be male and these are no use to you and so are killed off. In this way, eating milk and eggs does contribute to animal suffering. You also can't tell where the eggs in things in cakes and biscuits have come from many are just the cheapest you can get so are battery farmed, even Quorn used to use battery eggs and so was avoided by many vegetarians.
I've only been Vegan for a week but so far it is going well. The more I thought about the above the more I thought it was something I really wanted to do. It seems hypocritical of me to eat some animal products when I won't eat meat, if you see what I mean? So I've been experimenting with using soy, rice, oat and almond milk and cutting out eggs and honey etc. It has actually not been too hard so far (e.g all the big coffee chains will so Soy milk latte's etc) and I've actually been forced to be a lot more innovative in my cooking which has been great as I now have a much more varied diet. I also feel better since cutting down on the dairy. I have also tried vegan soy yoghurt (lots of this in Sainbury's) and vegan cheese and other non-quorn based meat substitutes like tofu, tempeh and bean curd (you can't eat Quorn as a vegan as it has eggs in it). Many of the supermarkets are very good about labelling things that are Vegan so I have been able to adjust my purchasing habits as well and reading the labels to double check everything has helped me balance the nutrient content out. There are also several excellent health food shops in Cambridge where I can buy lots of Vegan stuff. You can also get vegan chocolate quite easily, a lot of dark chocolate is OK anyway but even milk chocolate can be made with soy milk etc. (you can get this in Sainbury's in their "Free from" range)
I was also worried about running and getting enough iron etc but books like "Becoming Vegan" and websites like http://www.veganrunners.makessense.co.uk/index.html have shown me you can do it. While you do have to be careful to get enough iron and vitamin B12 you don't necessarily need to take supplements as long as you eat enough of the right foods. If you are sensible about it (and I plan to be) then it is perfectly OK.
Of course you could argue that all forms of life are equally valid and since plants are alive it can't be any better to eat them than to eat animals. Either way it is ending of a life that is not yours to control. However, having worked on and taught plant physiology and biochemistry I am convinced they cannot feel pain or suffering as some animals do. I am therefore happier eating them than I am eating animals.
I'm not trying to force my opinions on anybody else and I don't think meat eaters are evil or anything like that. What you eat is a personal choice for you and nobody should judge you for it. All I know is that this is something I want to do.
I also plan to buy things like vegan shoes (http://www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk/) as my old stuff runs out.
I almost came a cropper on the first morning when I discovered that Sainbury's own brand muesli is not vegan as it contains milk protein? and their own brand porridge is also not guaranteed vegan as there is a note on saying it's "not suitable for milk allergy sufferers due to the production process". Bit annoying as I had a half full box of muesli and an almost new box of porridge (both of which I quite like). Kellogg's all-Bran is also not vegan as the vitamin D comes from an animal source. At least Sainbury's are Vegan friendly and make an effort to label everything that is vegan and/or veggie friendly unless it is really obvious that it is (e.g. nuts) and at least it should not be hard to find vegan versions. I did find a very nice vegan cheese recently though it's called sheeze and is made in Scotland, it's much more like cheese than the other one I've been eating though it doesn't melt very well.
I started eating more Quorn and less meat a while back now, for health reasons to start with. However, the more I thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion that I would never be able to actually hurt or kill an animal myself and so it was hypocritical of me to eat them. It is very easy to distance oneself from it when you shop in a supermarket but last year when I was training for the London marathon I kept running in the countryside here in Cambridge, past cows and sheep and pigs and thought more and more about how much I like animals and didn't want to be responsible for hurting them (how can I eat bacon and burger when I would never eat most other animals?) and so I started cutting down more and more on animal products but I was never able to completely stop altogether. I'd be eating a veggie diet for most of the week and then doing something like a bacon sandwich when I was out. I kept wanting to take the next step but the smell of a cooked burger or bacon always was too tempting. It was the same when I tried going veggie once before, back when I was about 12 or 13.
With the new year I decided it was time that I stop being hypocritical and just do it, so I committed to going fully veggie, or at least lacto-ovo veggie (I've still been eating milk and dairy recently). As I had already largely removed meat from my diet it has not been too hard so far and my training has not suffered at all. There are many vegetarian sportsmen and women from sprinters to weightlifters and I once met a veggie farrier who was built like a tank so you can clearly do very well on such a diet if you are careful.
At first I didn't really think about milk and eggs though, I thought they did not really cause animal suffering but I was curious as to why Vegans don't eat them so I looked it up and when you read about it, well it turns out they do. If you have a dairy cow and you want to milk it then it has to get pregnant but you don't want the calf taking the milk so you get the cow pregnant and then mostly kill the calf (especially if it's male) for veal as you have no other use for it (you don't raise dairy cows for meat and you only really need one male per herd (if that). So, the calf suffers and the cow may also suffer as you've taken her baby away (I'm not sure if you can prove that though). Dairy cows apparently spend a lot of their time pregnant or lactating, don't live as long as normal and are often killed once they stop producing milk. So even if you are as nice as possible to the cows while you do all this you still have to cause some suffering. I understand that it's a cruel world out there and that that is just how it is but I hope you can at least see where I am coming from?
With eggs (even free range), although the hen lays them (mostly un-fertilised) anyway, if you are a farmer you need to have some of the eggs fertilised so as to get more hens to maintain the flock. However, of those you let be fertilised, about half will be male and these are no use to you and so are killed off. In this way, eating milk and eggs does contribute to animal suffering. You also can't tell where the eggs in things in cakes and biscuits have come from many are just the cheapest you can get so are battery farmed, even Quorn used to use battery eggs and so was avoided by many vegetarians.
I've only been Vegan for a week but so far it is going well. The more I thought about the above the more I thought it was something I really wanted to do. It seems hypocritical of me to eat some animal products when I won't eat meat, if you see what I mean? So I've been experimenting with using soy, rice, oat and almond milk and cutting out eggs and honey etc. It has actually not been too hard so far (e.g all the big coffee chains will so Soy milk latte's etc) and I've actually been forced to be a lot more innovative in my cooking which has been great as I now have a much more varied diet. I also feel better since cutting down on the dairy. I have also tried vegan soy yoghurt (lots of this in Sainbury's) and vegan cheese and other non-quorn based meat substitutes like tofu, tempeh and bean curd (you can't eat Quorn as a vegan as it has eggs in it). Many of the supermarkets are very good about labelling things that are Vegan so I have been able to adjust my purchasing habits as well and reading the labels to double check everything has helped me balance the nutrient content out. There are also several excellent health food shops in Cambridge where I can buy lots of Vegan stuff. You can also get vegan chocolate quite easily, a lot of dark chocolate is OK anyway but even milk chocolate can be made with soy milk etc. (you can get this in Sainbury's in their "Free from" range)
I was also worried about running and getting enough iron etc but books like "Becoming Vegan" and websites like http://www.veganrunners.makessense.co.uk/index.html have shown me you can do it. While you do have to be careful to get enough iron and vitamin B12 you don't necessarily need to take supplements as long as you eat enough of the right foods. If you are sensible about it (and I plan to be) then it is perfectly OK.
Of course you could argue that all forms of life are equally valid and since plants are alive it can't be any better to eat them than to eat animals. Either way it is ending of a life that is not yours to control. However, having worked on and taught plant physiology and biochemistry I am convinced they cannot feel pain or suffering as some animals do. I am therefore happier eating them than I am eating animals.
I'm not trying to force my opinions on anybody else and I don't think meat eaters are evil or anything like that. What you eat is a personal choice for you and nobody should judge you for it. All I know is that this is something I want to do.
I also plan to buy things like vegan shoes (http://www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk/) as my old stuff runs out.
I almost came a cropper on the first morning when I discovered that Sainbury's own brand muesli is not vegan as it contains milk protein? and their own brand porridge is also not guaranteed vegan as there is a note on saying it's "not suitable for milk allergy sufferers due to the production process". Bit annoying as I had a half full box of muesli and an almost new box of porridge (both of which I quite like). Kellogg's all-Bran is also not vegan as the vitamin D comes from an animal source. At least Sainbury's are Vegan friendly and make an effort to label everything that is vegan and/or veggie friendly unless it is really obvious that it is (e.g. nuts) and at least it should not be hard to find vegan versions. I did find a very nice vegan cheese recently though it's called sheeze and is made in Scotland, it's much more like cheese than the other one I've been eating though it doesn't melt very well.
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