Marathon training Food (get it?) for thought

Food might very well be represented simply as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats: the basic food categories that allow your body to function.

If we thought of food with as much passion and obsession as we do with, say, gasoline or nuclear fission, it would be much easier to treat cuisine with the same benign desire as we have for cardboard.

Of course, such a fantasy ride as this exists only in some make-believe, twisted Disney World of nutrition hell. After all, I am a Louisianan. Were my world to consist of anything less than grease, salt, and alcohol (our basic food categories), the world would hellish indeed.

We live in the real world, and few people I want to associate with think in such terms. But the valid point is this, especially with regard to marathon training: to achieve greatness – and your goal, whatever it might be, is greatness – you need to think differently AND rise to the occasion.

Because nutrition is such an important part of marathoning, and because it is indeed fuel, understanding the value of what you put into your body, and how it affects your body is a very relevant point.

In this marathon endeavor food is fuel. You might have to eat more. You might have to eat something that popular fad diets eschew. You will need to supply your body with the tools it needs to carry you to new heights, and this, friends and neighbors, begins with food. Well, a lot of prayer and cussing first, but certainly food.

Food is fuel

If you learn anything from this series of posts– Indeed, if you learn anything from this blog – one of the most important concepts to remember is this: Food is Fuel.

If you think of food as a mere energy source, and not as recreation, therapy, and a distraction from boredom, you might just change your life.

Think about how you eat, when you eat and what you eat. Do you eat mammoth portions at each sitting? I know I do. Lord help me, but I do. Do you eat lunch and dinner automatically at an appointed time or when you’re hungry? Do you frequent restaurants and take out joints? Do you stuff your face because you’re sad, lonely, or otherwise grumpy? Do you eat because you have nothing else to do? Do you stand in front of the fridge or in the pantry waiting to be served? Are you reading this right now with a napkin tied around your neck and a fork and knife in your fists?

Not to be confused with "food gives you gas"

What if you thought of food strictly as fuel, and as the energy needed to fire the engine and put your body in motion? Think about how that would change your attitude and vision of eating.

If food meant more to you as calories and good health than it did flavor and frequency, chances are you would be quite fit, trim, and in those jeans you saw in the store display, because food would be more or less a mere energy source, not recreation.

Again with the car metaphor: sure you may enjoy driving your car, going on long drives, driving fast… but you don’t get very excited about putting gas in it even though it is the necessary fuel to make the car fun and functional.

You can and will enjoy all the mystical things your body can do when it is fueled up. Just think of eating as stopping for gas.