Joe Rogan did a podcast with Zach Bitter, who ran 100 miles at 7 min and 1 sec per mile. That pace was amazing, of course, but I really liked to try his fat-rich diet. Scott Jurek, the seven-time Western States 100 Miles winner and author of "Eat And Run," and Rich Roll, the tri-athloner and author of "Finding Ultra," were both vegans. I tried to immitate Jurek's diet during my 2nd running wave (between age 40 and 42). But I was cooking for Tim, too, and he didn't share my taste for chili with no meat. In the end, I felt going vegan or even vegetarian was too much. Later, I stopped both running and trying his diet. Recently, I have been cutting carbs and eating more beef for muscle growth. My weight-lifting program, Simple and Sinister, improves general physical condition, but is not a body-building protocol. I am more concerned about losing muscle as I age. Bitter gave one more reason to try a fat-based diet. The theory (he worked with scientists, too) simply was that fat beat carbs as the better fuel (easier to metabolize or oxidize, they said). Better for Bitter and running, that was. The science was promising, but I wouldn't know whether the diet will work for me and BJJ without trying. This podcast seemed to be a serendipity. My plantar fasciitas has greatly improved over the past three years and recent runs felt great. It might be time to start the 3rd wave. (Michael Pollan, famous for his "Eat Food, Not too Much, Mostly Plants" rules, might be disappointed. Nassim Taleb, however, would say "Metabolize, shmetabolize, oxidize, shmoxidize. Forget the scientific mumbo-jumbo. Go ahead and feel it.") |