The following was a post I sent in last sunday, that did not make it out
before the race. After the post I add the results and some considerations.

G.B.

Since I've been very busy all week I'm only now getting around to sending
your post, after the race must be completed.

Rather than getting people involved in theoretical discussions about
overeating why don't you let us know what you tried and how it worked out.

Did you stick with an all raw regimen or did you bring processed foods
with you?  What and how much did you eat before and during the race?
Did you feel tired and hungry or did you have large amounts of energy?  Were
you able to complete the race and how did you do?  Have you done this
type of race before and, if so, what other regimens have you tried and
how do they compare?

I personally would find all this very interesting and suppose a lot of
other people on the list would too.

Thanks.

Michael.

On Mon, 19 Feb 1996 [log in to unmask] wrote:

> With the debate about overeating in full swing, I would like to ask
> all participants the following:

> next saturday I will be running a 52km cross country ski race. That is,
> I estimate, 4200 Kcal above substistence level. What should I be eating
> to prepare for it and to finish it successfully?

> Cheers, G.B.

I have to give you some background about me: my food habits have changed
continuously since 1987, when I first stopped buying red meat. I had my
first vegan summer in 1990, and in the last couple of years I have taken an
interest in raw foods. I have not bought non-vegan food for my household since
1991, however I have a job that involves lots of business meals where my
food choices would be an impediment. In the last four years I have considerably
simplified my diet (basically, the traditional vegan four groups, grains beans
greens and fruits, with all fruits raw, all greens raw or steamed, grains
and greens boiled). Last summer I moved to Detroit and in the last part of the
summer I was almost totally raw, with the exception of some grains and steamed
greens. In the winter it is much harder for me not to eat something heavier,
( cooked) and of course I am still very much experimenting.

I used to be a very good runner (top 20 nationally as a junior) and having
grown up in a rural area I have eaten two-six pounds of fruits a day
for as long as I can remember, so having a rawfood summer for me has been
much easier than for most. I went to this race with only one training
session one week before, but I do exercise and have an idea of what it
takes to go for long distances. my wife had not trained at all.

During the week ahead I experimented with soaked almonds, and I took quite
a bit with me (though they spoiled, as I say I am still experimenting).
I thought they could help me.
I took all kinds of citrus, bananas, carrots, apples, and also some granola
and sunflower seeds, plus wheat sprouts (they also went unpleasant, so I
ate them only the first two of four days) and a bag of dried cranberries.
Well, it turned out that the organizers had done a surprisingly good job
with the food: not only were fruits and (to a lesser extent) veggies
plentiful, they were also high quality, ripe bananas and oranges, much
better than the bananas and oranges I had brought with me.
So I ended eating all of my grapefruit, apples, and carrots, all of my
sunflower and cranberries, and got bananas, oranges, granola and
(surprise) good bread from the organizers. The last night I had a pasta
meal with a large salad (I hate these american salads, but that was
the choice).

The race was in beatiful weather with rotten snow (temperatures topped
50F in northern Wisconsin), and our waxless skis were even slower
than most others. We took it very easy, also considering that we had no
water bottles (we were really unprepared for these temps). We stopped at
every food stop (every 8km), where the food was exclusively oranges,
bananas, and whole wheat biscuits, plus in a couple of instances dried
cranberries (again, good job). We made sure we ate and drank lots,
(I figure, half a dozen of each item) stopped
for a total time of 75 mins, and made the 54km (remeasured) in less than
7h40m. I finished with a stiff back because of taking the wind for so many
hrs with only a thermal shirt, and I expected muscle pains the day after
as well as severe hunger. Surprise surprise! the day after both my wife and
I had neither any pain nor any particular hunger. In 1991, the first time
I biked 100k, and in my early 30s, it did not go nearly as well!

so, I guess you can make of it what you want, but clearly I had enough
food, though I did not go totally raw, and an unexpected lack of pain.
This despite losing both of my staples to spoilage (the motel room was
very warm). I do think that wheat sprouts could have helped, though things
went very well anyhow. I will keep experimenting with this stuff,
we plan to go to Pennsylvania next summer by bike for the vegetarian
wolrd conference, which is more than 700km each way.

G.B.