2011 02 11 on being vegetarian

Susan Donnelly Ultramarathon Trail Runner. Motivational Speaker. http://www.susanruns100s.com

On Being Vegetarian Date : February 11, 2011

Eating a grilled cheeze sandwich at Peanut Island 24-Hr race. Yum!!!

I’m a vegetarian. An ovo-vegetarian, to be exact (read on). Over the years people have routinely asked me about it, so here are some answers to the most common questions.

What do you eat?

For some reason, this is the most common question. I get this a lot from people at work and there are two ways to take it.

The first is “what is there left to eat?” Well, a lot of things. Fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes…most of the food pyramid. In fact, most of the food in the world. The answer seems

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so obvious, that it’s hard to respond in a way that doesn’t sound condescending.

The second is “what don’t you eat?” Like a true vegetarian, I don’t eat red meat, poultry, or seafood. Think mammals, crustaceans, reptiles, amphibians and yes, even invertebrates – off the list. However, to complicate things, I also don’t eat dairy products like milk or cheese. I do still eat eggs.

For anyone unfamiliar with the terminology, that makes me an ovo-vegetarian (a vegetarian that eats eggs but not dairy). I’m not a big egg eater, so maybe one day it will hit me to give up eggs and I’ll be a vegan. Until then, it’s easier in restaurants if I just ask what’s vegan on the menu. As a bonus, that neatly simplifies the myriad of menu choices.

I stick to this religiously but must confess that on occasion, I accidentally swallow a bug while running, which is unfortunate for me AND the bug.

A yummy meal at The Greens restaurant in San Francisco.

What do you do for protein?

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Tofu, which I love and oddly, which I crave after a 100-miler. Beans, legumes like lentils, and it’s now easier to find options like seitan, tempeh, and Quorn brand stuff. Plenty of variety to choose from.

What do you eat in races?

There’s usually a ton of choices. Gels, of course, but there’s plenty of “real food” I can eat on ultra aid station tables: potato chips, pretzels, peanuts, almonds, dark chocolate (mmm…), boiled potatoes and salt, avocado slices (thank you Jen Pierce), dill pickles, PB&J… For some reason, I don’t like fruit in races. One of the aid stations at Massanutten 100 last year was making tater tots, which I over-indulged in and paid for in subsequent miles. Ooh, and occasionally someone like Mary Croft or Jen Pierce will bring something wonderful like quinoa salad just for the vegans in the race.

Thankfully, I was raised on health food in the 60s and 70s and have never really liked sweets but make an exception for gels and dark chocolate, and sometimes eat hard candy. In a race, fueling is one of your jobs.

The only downers for me in a race are having to bypass hot soup at night in a cold 100-mile race (unless it’s made with vegetable broth), and forgoing a grilled cheese sandwich. The concept of a grilled cheese sandwich is somehow so perfect after 60 miles or so.

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Banquet at one of the small aid stations at Javelina 100.

Do you take vitamins?

Yes, I started taking a multivitamin around the time I quit eating chicken and turkey. It seemed like the smart thing to do and I noticed an immediate boost in the way I felt. I’ve been taking it ever since.

Why?

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Long story, but it went in steps, with each step happening abruptly, like a lightning bolt out of the blue. I gave up red meat back in college (just a few years ago, of course…) because I was working at a local hamburger joint and eating that stuff one or two meals a day. I still remember the moment I walked outside the place into the sun and thought “I feel bad. I feel greasy, like a hamburger.” That was it. I quit it cold turkey (pardon the pun), immediately felt better and have never been tempted by it since.

A few years late, I lost interest in chicken and turkey and when I considered the moral side of it, decided one day to quit. I used to love seafood and thought I’d never want or be able to give that up but read one too many stories about what’s in the ocean, considered the moral side of that too (just because they’re not cute and fluffy…), and simply lost taste and interest in it. Then one day about ten years ago, I gave up cheese, another something I thought I’d never part with, for combined health, moral and weight loss reasons, and oddly, I can’t stand the smell of it anymore. I go through periods where I’m definitely not interested in eating eggs, so who knows?

With Mom, eating a veggie sandwich at Javelina 100.

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