My Experiment

Over the course of the past few weeks I have been experimenting with nutrition to see how it affects my personal sports performance.  The result of this experiment amazes me.  I’m simply reporting on my findings.  This experiment has nothing to do with environmental, political, religious, or personal views.  What you choose to eat is your business. 

I have compiled my runs and documented what I ate in the twelve hour period prior to each run.  I chose my runs instead of my rides since its a consistent and steady effort.  My rides have too many inconsistent variables such as stopping at traffic lights and things of that nature.  Here are my findings:

This is a 7×800 interval effort after eating meat and dairy for dinner followed by a vegan breakfast.  No running power data is available.

This is a 7×800 interval effort after eating fish with avocado, sweet potato, and cauliflower for dinner followed by a vegan breakfast.  The image shown on the right is the data from the running power meter. It shows that I had to stop during the recovery intervals due to muscle fatigue.  I actually felt victimized by my own planned workout.

This is a 7×800 interval effort after eating a plant based regimen for two days straight.  Not only did I surpass my targets but I still had more energy after my workout and did not feel at all depleted.  This surprised me because it was warm and very humid (98% humidity).

I have plenty of data from plenty of other runs but it all results in the same conclusion.  I chose these examples because they are the same exact intervals on the same exact course.  I have data that shows a faster run a week before a slower run and many inconsistencies due to nutrition.  It’s fascinating.  Eating a plant based regimen enhances my sports performance.  Not only do I perform better at cycling and running but I have more energy.  Over the course of my seven week stay at home order I reduced my caffeine intake.  I have more energy drinking less coffee.  I’m more alert, I solve puzzles seconds faster, and I rarely nod off at my desk (that was a somewhat regular occurrence prior to quarantine).  I feel less sore and my legs rarely feel heavy.  

When I first started this experiment I was eating animal products a few times per week.  Over the course of this experiment I reduced my intake of animal products.  I now eat no animal products.  My decision is based solely on how I feel.  I feel much better than I ever have before.  I’m not at all interested in consuming animal products.  I’m not saying that I’ll never tear into a juicy skirt steak ever again but I have no interest in feeling sore and sluggish on a regular basis.

I encourage you all to explore your own curiosities, whatever they may be.  This life is too short not to seek the answers to the questions in your minds.  If you do conduct your own experiment please share your results with me, I’d love to hear all about it.  I’m always ready and willing to learn something new.  I hope you are all staying healthy and safe.  Thank you all so much for reading!