The Hunger Games: A Runner's Perspective

So I'm a second semester college senior. You'll see why that's relevant to this post in a minute. But to start, lets just go over my running history really quick.

Prior to high school I was a runner simply to train for other sports (mostly soccer). When I hit high school I made the switch to competitive running and my distance training and frequency of running went up drastically. Then, college came. And while I held on to the term "competitive runner" as long as I could, entering road races and university-sanctioned 5Ks as often as frequently as possible, I eventually had to let go of the title "competitive runner" around my junior year of college. Why you ask? Well, I was running more infrequently and, to no surprise, I had adopted a nutrition that was at odds with even the most lenient running diets.

Running, whether competitively or just for exercise, depends a lot upon the health of the runner. Running for sport is only successful at the highest level if a very stringent and appropriate diet is followed by the runner, as expressed by this runner's diet plan supported by Livestrong.

In high school I was strongly committed to a diet plan. I ate a balanced diet of fruits, whole grains, lean meats and healthy snacks. I tried to eat multiple small meals a day rather than two or three large ones and always replenished after distance runs. My diet for most of my high school career consisted of foods like this:

Image: foodandcookingrecipes.blogspot.com

Image: Fitness.com

Image: Stlucia.gov.lc

But slowly, over the course of college, the ease of "fast food" the introduction of alcoholic beverages into my diet and the lack of time spent running began to deteriorate whatever type of "competitive runner" I had become. When I began to realize this was happening I was a little saddened, but not much. Competitive running in high school was fun because I am an extremely competitive person. Beating myself (through times) and other runners from rival schools fueled me to keep getting better. When those aspects were taken out of my running routine, in came this type of diet:

Image: chow.com

Image: Bronxalehouse.com

Image: Querty.com

This diet has resulted in an addition of pounds, a more sloth-like pace to my runs and a less-competitve, more I-need-to-run-so-I-don't-get-fat strategy to running. Part of me is ok with this evolution, while the other wonders what my running habits would be like had I kept up a balanced diet and cut down on the highly caloric, yet extremely tasty, intake of beer on a consistent basis. I do, however, have no regrets. I am of the belief that a runner is always a runner and I will never lose that part of me. Whether running becomes more frequent in my post college years or it continues to be a once or twice a week occurrence done mostly to offset my unbalanced diet, I will always be a runner with hunger. What I do about that hunger will always be a game and it will always impact the type of runner I am.