Eggplant Chana Masala from Thrive Foods Direct (the official photo, not my own)

On the heels of last week’s post about eating vegetarian while traveling, it seems an opportune time to publish a review of a service that makes it easy to do that very thing.

During Brendan Brazier’s podcast appearance earlier this year, we talked briefly about Thrive Foods Direct, his new service that delivers healthy vegan meals (like those in Brendan’s book Thrive Foods) to your door, fully prepared and ready to heat and serve.

I had the chance to try Thrive Foods Direct several weeks ago. My four sample meals could not have arrived at a better time — just a few hours prior, Erin and our son had left on an overnight trip, and I was foodless. The arrival of TFD at my door at that time meant:

(a) I wouldn’t have to cook for myself; and

(b) I wouldn’t have to share any of it with the little table monster that steals food from people’s plates in our house. Or with my son, either.

Win win win. Here’s how it went down.

Question 1: Can it possibly taste good?

Since this was my first foray into mail-order eating — thus far, I consider myself fortunate to have avoided being seduced by Terry Bradshaw into ordering Nutrisystem  — my first concern was how the Thrive Foods Direct meals would taste.

Artificial preservatives obviously don’t jive with Brendan’s nutrition philosophy, so I was thinking these meals would be shipped frozen. And since a lot of Brendan’s food (especially in Thrive) is high-raw, I was half expecting that, rather than heat-and-eat, it would be defrost-and-eat-at-room-temperature.

As it turns out, this could not have been further from reality.

My four meals arrived in individual containers in a refrigerated (but not frozen) box. Each meal came with instructions for reheating, most of which gave the option of heating on the stovetop or in the microwave. No defrosting necessary, since nothing was frozen.

The four meals were Eggplant Chana Masala, Vegetable Ragout with Quinoa Masta, Lentil Soup, and Quinoa with Mixed Vegetables (it might have been the Moroccan Quinoa Salad; I can’t remember the exact name).

What struck me right away was the ingredient lists: literally every ingredient was organic and fresh. Without much salt, and without oil, either — Brendan later told me that although he’s not in the no-oil camp, he left it out so that people could choose to add it on their own if they desired, depending on their diet preferences. Same with salt.

Every meal was delicious. The one that sticks out in my mind as the best was the quinoa pasta with vegetable ragout, but any of the meals I tried would easily have passed for homemade. I added a good bit of salt to all of them — I am, after all, a devoted salt fiend — but other than that, the spices and flavors were perfect. And fresh.

The portions, unfortunately, weren’t huge. The more substantial meals were enough to fill me up, but others, like the quinoa with vegetables, left me needing a little something else to make a full meal of it.

Question 2: Can it possibly be affordable?

Okay, so Thrive Foods Direct exceeded expectations when it came the food itself. But there is a drawback, and you probably saw it coming. Price.

To buy and cook this kind of food for yourself isn’t exactly cheap. The few times I’ve bought quinoa pasta, for example, it has cost me three bucks for a half-pound box, when a normal box of pasta, at 12 ounces or a whole pound, costs half that much.

Add to that the cost of having your meal expertly prepared and shipped, refrigerated, to your doorstep, and of course you expect to pay a premium.

So it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that Thrive Foods Direct is expensive, at $45 a day for the cheapest plan. (Check out the other options here.) But here’s what’s pretty awesome.

As Brendan said in our podcast, and as he writes on the menu page:

As we grow, our goal is to actually lower the price to the point that the Thrive Foods Direct system (meal planning, nutritional balancing, ingredient shopping, preparation, and delivery) is actually the same price or even lower than if you were to make the meal yourself.

Now that would be incredible, and it would open up this way of eating to the zillions (I looked that up) of people who want to eat better but have neither the time to cook healthy food nor the budget to pay extra for its preparation.

When I’d order Thrive Foods Direct

Thrive Foods Direct is a little out of my price range. But my life and wallet swoll-ness are far different from a busy executive’s, and I can see how the convenience of having such great food delivered could be worth it for some people.

Where I can imagine myself using Thrive Foods Direct is when I’m traveling — they’ll deliver right to your hotel, and this is what they do for several pro NFL and NHL athletes who use Thrive Foods Direct.

But it’s not just for pros with make-it-rain-kinda-cash to spend. If you usually eat out for every meal while you travel, Thrive Foods Direct might not cost you any more than what you already pay for three meals at restaurants. And it’s likely a much healthier and tastier option.

So next time you have to go somewhere,  say, on a business trip, that’s not known for its vegan-friendliness, it might be worth it to get a week’s worth of Thrive Foods Direct instead of Happy Cow’ing it.

Oh yeah, and one more thing to help with the price, if you’d like to give Thrive Foods Direct a try: Brendan gave us the discount code BB1, which you can use to get 20% off when you order.

Question 3: Where are your pictures, Matt?

What do I look like, a food blogger? Okay, so I should have taken pictures, but I didn’t. Sorry about that. My pictures never make food look good anyway, and besides, I was too busy doing nothing for the first time in many months with the fam out of town.

But check out my friend Gena’s Thrive Foods Direct review, which she just posted this very same day. She’s got pictures aplenty. And actual good writing, too!

So there you have my take on Thrive Foods Direct. It’s a high-quality service, nothing less than we should expect from Brendan Brazier when it comes to plant-based food, just like his Vega supplement line. And also like with Vega, you pay for what you get. It’s certainly not cheap — not yet, anyway — but for the right person, it could be worth every penny.

If you’ve tried Thrive Foods Direct, feel free to chime in and let us know what you thought!

And how do you do it healthily, especially if you’re an athlete?

These are almost as common as the protein question, only they’re usually asked by newish vegetarians and vegans, rather than the veg-curious.

And so I set out to write a post to answer the questions. But in the process, I started to understand that any one person’s approach to eating while traveling is unique to them, and might not work for everyone.

What’s more, I haven’t traveled all that much. Last year I had the pleasure of visiting Portland, Austin, San Francisco, San Diego, and Boston, but you’ll notice that these are among the most vegan-friendly cities in the country. So I didn’t exactly have to rack my brain — it was easier to eat in these places than it was at home (before I moved to Asheville)!

That’s when it dawned on me to reach out to some friends — vegetarian and vegan athletes, authors, and bloggers, all of whom travel quite a bit — to assemble a massive collection of healthy, plant-based travel tips from the people who know how to do it better than anyone else in the world.

Here’s what they submitted. I hope you enjoy the advice and, if you’re in the veg-curious camp, find reason to cross yet another common objection off the list.

Plant-based travel tips from athletes, authors, and bloggers

Scott Jurek, ultrarunner, author of the upcoming book Eat & Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness:

1. Look up natural food stores and grocery stores in the area you will be traveling to that carry the foods you will need. Do this before you leave so you have a smooth transition when you arrive to your destination. Do the same for vegetarian restaurants if you plan to eat out or will need to do so occasionally for business and entertainment.  If vegan options are not available search out ethnic eateries and those that are plant-based friendly.

2. For longer stays a kitchen or even a hot plate with pots and pans will enable you to prepare homemade meals.  Search for studios, kitchenette suites or VRBO rental options.

3. Pack a meal or two and snacks for the plane or car ride. Don’t rely on the food served on airplanes, as most of the time they are not plant-based or healthy options.

4. For the rest of the trip, pack protein powders and other essentials that may be hard to find once you arrive to your destination. Plant-based protein might be the hardest item to find, so having portable protein can be key to supplement the carbohydrate and fat that is readily available.

5. If you’re stuck in an airport and needing to eat airport concession food, usually the best plant-based options are Mexican, Asian, Mediterranean or Middle Eastern.  I have even found plant protein at the worst of airports. You can usually find plant-based protein even in rural areas and restaurants. Many times kidney or garbanzo beans are served in salad bars. Ask your server if they have any beans or legumes on hand, even if they are not listed on the menu or in a dish.

6. When you arrive to your hotel, request a mini fridge if your hotel room does not come with one. I have even emptied the mini bar items in a pinch.

Leo Babauta, blogger at Zen Habits and author of several books on productivity and simplicity:

When I travel I usually will look up good vegetarian and veg-friendly restaurants in the city I’m going to, on Happy Cow and vegan blogs based in that city. Then I’ll create a Google Map for the city with good options marked on the map, so wherever I go in the city I’ll have spots to choose from. I like to eat from supermarkets, farmer’s markets and health food stores, where you can usually find cheap and healthy vegetarian food to prepare or eat as is. That said, I always allow myself to indulge a bit while traveling — that’s part of the fun! I just make sure to get lots of veggies in before I indulge, so I don’t overdo it.

Courtney Carver, blogger at Be More with Less:

1. Most restaurants have vegetarian options, but if you don’t see something on the menu, ask. Check to see if the chef has a vegetarian recommendation or find an item on the menu you like and ask for a meat free version.
2. Pack a small collapsible cooler and after checking into your hotel, visit a local grocery store and keep fruits, veggies and other healthy snacks on hand.

Brendan Brazier, Ironman triathlete, author of Thrive, formulator of Vega:

Graze: get used to eating small amounts throughout the day. Fruit, nuts, seeds, vegetables.

You don’t have to eat meals…grazing is easy when traveling. Of course Vega One and Vega bars car help. Or can make the bars yourself and pack with you.

Of course, one of the reasons I developed Thrive Foods Direct was to make eating on the road easier. Especially for those who do enjoy complete meals…or for those transitioning to plant-based.

Gena Hamshaw, blogger at Choosing Raw and frequent VegNews contributor:

1. Whenever you’re near a health food store or Whole Foods, stock up on boxed almond milk, snack bars, nut butter, kale chips, and other vegan snacks. You never know when you’ll have another chance, so take advantage when opportunity calls! And if you’re staying with friends, ask if they wouldn’t mind giving you time to do a grocery run. It will make everyone’s life easier–yours and theirs alike.

2. Call restaurants ahead of time and ask (kindly) if vegan staples–like steamed or grilled veggie plates, simple rice, or beans (right out of the can is fine) can be added to a salad dish. If not, a baked potato with a side salad is a fine dinner, and remember: travel is about the experience, and food is only one part of that.

3. Use HappyCow.net to find vegan restaurants near you!

Rich Roll, Ultraman triathlete, author of the upcoming book Finding Ultra:

With today’s GPS-enabled smart phones it’s never been easier to be prepared to maintain healthy eating habits on the road.  With a modicum of forethought, it’s snap to locate the closest health food market and vegan-friendly eateries in the vicinity of your out-of-town whereabouts.  For in-between meals, pack some healthy snacks for the road or flight to stave off cravings that could lead to a sudden unhealthy choice.  My favorites are dried fruit and nuts, a large thermos of green smoothie, and/or a tupperware container of brown rice, lentils and/or black beans with some avocado and hot sauce.

Julie Morris, author of Superfood Cuisine:

I always bring insurance when I travel — aka superfoods (extra nutrient-dense foods). Since you never know what kind of accessibility you’ll have to a good, healthy meal, I find it really helpful to pack a small collection of superfoods and have on standby… just in case a baked potato really is the only vegetable a restaurant has in the kitchen. If you think about it, carrying around dried mixes of superfoods is how many ancient cultures stayed strong during their nomadic travels … so it’s not such a stretch for us to look to do the same! A few favorites include:

Dried greens powder – I use wheatgrass powder, chlorella, or a blend of greens, and mix them into water or juice when fresh veggies or a big salad isn’t an option. Plus, it’s a light ingredient to bring.

Chia seeds – They’re easy to sprinkle on anything, including restaurant food, and provide healthy fats and fiber.

Hemp seeds – Premium veggie protein on the go! Can also be sprinkled or mixed into just about anything.

Dried goji berries – With a high concentration of over 20 vitamins and minerals, goji berries have got many basic micronutrient needs covered. Plus, they support the immune system – always a plus while traveling.

Robert Cheeke, author of Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness — The Complete Guide to Building Your Body on a Plant-Based Diet:

1. The best thing you can do when you travel is be prepared. That is what great athletes do. Prepare bulk quantities of food such as brown rice, potatoes, yams, lots of whole fruits, nuts and so on, and transport them in resealable containers in a travel cooler. When you’re prepared with sufficient quality whole foods, you’ll be able to maintain your meal frequency necessary to sustain energy and muscle mass no matter how hectic your travel plans are.

2. Whether you’re traveling by plane, boat, car, bike or other mode of transportation, always take food with you. Since food is our fuel, our sources of recovery after exercise (along with rest and sleep), and what nourishes us and sustains us, it behooves us to travel with sufficient quantities of prepared foods. Travel with a diversity of whole foods including fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and of course a water bottle to stay hydrated.

3. When people ask me how I maintain my vegan diet when I travel to remote places that don’t seem exceptionally vegan-friendly such as Alabama and Mississippi, or France or Poland, I am quick to remind people that every small and large town I have ever been to anywhere in the world, has grocery stores and some have farmers markets. One doesn’t  have to find a vegetarian restaurant to find vegetarian food. Grocery stores are stocked full of produce. Go eat it.

Terry Walters, author of CLEAN Food and CLEAN Start:

Once I reach my destination, I can always find locally sourced, creative and delicious clean food. But it’s the travel itself that’s the greatest challenge, not only because airport options are so limited, but because sitting for an extended period can make even the healthiest meal feel heavy and one’s digestion feel compromised. I eat light when I travel and always bring a selection of raw snacks and pouches of powdered green drink! My favorites are Rachel Jean’s Empowered Herbals and Green Vibrance (I keep their individual serving packs in my bag at all times!).

Benny Lewis, blogger at Fluent In 3 Months, currently traveling somewhere in the middle of China:

No matter where you go, there are always plenty of options! Just remember that printed on a piece of paper does not mean written in stone. I generally simply ask when eating out (if I don’t see something immediately) if they can prepare an otherwise nice looking dish, but instead of chicken etc. to use vegetables I see on other dishes. Almost everywhere has been flexible with me!

Just keep in mind that a translation of ‘vegetarian’ is not so useful and may include chicken or even ‘thin’ slices of other meat, so I generally like to emphasise no-meat-no-fish in a way that’s clear.
happycow.net, the online database of veggie restaurants, is a great resource for when you get to choose the restaurant.

When stuck, you can always order several starters, but to be honest I’ve rarely (in 10 years and dozens of countries) had to sacrifice having a nice filling meal. It’s easier than you think!

Caitlin Boyle, blogger at Healthy Tipping Point:

I travel fairly frequently for work, making about 20 flights a year.  The key to finding a healthy vegetarian meal at the airport is definitely walking the entire concourse or food court.  I usually do a complete walk-through, looking over the menus and noting healthier choices (and prices).  I consider things like whether the buffet has brown rice, if the bread, wrap, or pasta is whole wheat, and if I can find a non-dairy vegetarian protein source.  Here are all my tips on eating healthy in an airport, if you’re interested in more!

Karol Gajda, blogger at Truth. No Consequences. and author of one of my favorite posts on vegan travel:

1. Check HappyCow.net.
2. Check if there’s a national dish (something available mostly everywhere) that happens to be vegan. (e.g. Costa Rica has gallo pinto, vegan if you get it just as rice/beans)
3. Learn how to say ‘no beef, pork, chicken, eggs, or cheese.’

Danielle Elliot, director of the documentary Pushing PB:

At this point I’ve traveled as a vegan through Japan, Southeast Asia, Central America, Europe and South Africa. I’ve got a ton of tricks up my sleeve!

Whenever I’m heading out of town I pack a few instant oatmeal packets (the good ones, with flax or hemp seed), green juice powder, dried mango and raw almonds. Even if you can’t find healthy foods, there is always hot water somewhere nearby.

Mention your lifestyle to the cook. While backpacking through Greece, I thought I should keep it to myself, but my sister kept telling the restaurant owners in these tiny island cafes. Much to my surprise, a few of them were excited to prepare something vegan – and they said it wasn’t too difficult, as they always cook with vegetables and healthy oils when cooking for their families.

And this one comes from Anthony [Baugh, subject of Pushing PB], as we just spent a week in Europe: Don’t expect the label to say vegan. Just be aware of what ingredients make up a vegan food – abroad, the label might say ‘suitable for vegetarians’ but it definitely won’t say anything about being vegan.

Great stuff, huh? Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to this list (and on pretty short notice, too). And, folks at Happy Cow — you can just send the check directly to me and I’ll divide it up among everyone.

As for me? Score another one for Happy Cow. (I swear they didn’t really pay us.) And whenever possible, I bring a blender, even if it’s just an immersion one with a plastic cup. Usually I’ll mix together all the dry ingredients for several days’ worth of smoothies and bring that in one container, and buy a few frozen items at the store once I get where I’m going.

How about you?

You can help make this list even better by adding your own favorite tips in the comments. How do you plan to keep eating healthy (and vegetarian or vegan) on vacation this summer?

The hamster’s hell.

The death belt.

Geez. The way people talk about the treadmill, you’d think it was a medieval torture device. Mention a treadmill to a group of runners, and you’ll be met with a symphony of groans, accompanied by a list of why the treadmill sucks.

Because, really – the treadmill effin’ sucks. You don’t go anywhere cool, commune with flora and fauna, or feel the sun on your face. Nope. You get on the belt, turn it on, and run (and run, and run…for what feels like forEVER). The treadmill, essentially, has no benefit to anyone who wants to enjoy running.

Or does it?

If the treadmill sucks so much, why do so many exist?

If they were so horrible, people wouldn’t use them. Yet there are rows upon rows of treadmills at most gyms, so there must be something good about them. Actually, there are a bunch of a reasons why a perfectly sane runner might opt to stay inside for a spin on the old ‘mill:

Comfort – When it’s negative 30 degrees in Milwaukee or 115 in Phoenix, the treadmill can offer a welcome respite from harsh conditions.

Convenience – If your workout is a mixed bag (say, a swim, a run, and a weightlifting session), sometimes it just makes sense to do it all at the gym.

Safety – If you have an odd schedule, a run may just have to happen at 4 AM or 11 PM. Running outside in the dark poses a lot of safety hazards, many of which can be eliminated by running indoors on a treadmill.

Multitasking – A lot of us use running as our escape, our chance to do one thing and nothing else. But for some, it’s an opportunity to multitask. On the treadmill, people can watch the news or read work briefs. One couple I know, whose running speeds are vastly different, use treadmill workouts as a way to be there to motivate each other!

Injury Prevention – If you are prone to injury when running on the sidewalk, a treadmill, which absorbs more shock, can reduce pain and discomfort.

Speed – During speed or tempo workouts, it’s easy to drop your effort without realizing it. You may estimate you’re running an 8 minute per mile pace, then look down at your watch and realize that’s not the case at all. The treadmill eliminates that guesswork – if you can’t keep up with the treadmill, you’ll get tossed. Simple as that.

3 workouts to help you maximize your treadmill time

I’ve been using the treadmill in my training for my first attempt at qualifying for Boston. My coach, Mario Fraioli, likes to torture challenge me, but thanks to his training (which includes treadmill workouts), I’ve gotten significantly faster.

Here are three treadmill workouts Mario wrote to share with No Meat Athlete readers:

1. Marathon-Paced Tempo Run

Success at longer races such as the half marathon and marathon is all about pacing and discipline. What better place to practice running goal race pace than on the speed-controlled contraption called the treadmill?

Warm up with 10 to 15 minutes of easy jogging followed by 20 to 50 minutes of running at your goal pace for your upcoming half marathon, followed by a 10 to 15 minute cooldown. For the marathoners, begin with 10 minutes of easy running before launching into goal marathon pace for 30 to 60 minutes. Finish up with 10-15 minutes of easy jogging to get your heart rate back down.

Take advantage of this opportunity to not only practice running goal race pace, but also to work on dialing in the demands of your body’s nutritional needs at race speed.

2. Break-the-Boredom Fartlek

Let’s face it: running on a treadmill isn’t the most exciting way to spend an hour — but it can be a very productive way to spend an hour if necessary. One way to make the time pass by quickly is to vary the speeds and intensities at which you’re running.

Start by warming up with 15 to 20 minutes of easy running, then run a pyramid of pickups in the following fashion: 1 minute at 15 seconds per mile faster than 5K race pace, 2 minutes at 5K race pace, 3 minutes at 5K race pace, 6 minutes at 10K race pace, 3 minutes at 5K race pace, 2 minutes at 15 seconds per mile faster than 5K race pace, 1 minute faster than 5K race pace. Take 1 minute of easy jogging after the 1, 2 and 3 minute pickups and 3 minutes after the 6-minute pickup. Cool down with 15 to 20 minutes of easy jogging. Before you know it, an hour is up!

3. Progression Session

If you set the treadmill at 9 minutes per mile and leave it there as you plod along for 45 minutes both your body and your mind are likely to get stale. The Progression Session is a workout designed to stave off that staleness.

Here’s how to do it: Say your goal pace for an upcoming marathon is 8:30 per mile. Start your run a minute per mile slower than that, so a comfortable 9:30 pace. Stay there for 10 minutes till your body begins to warm up and your legs get used to the rhythm of the belt underneath your feet. For the next 5 minutes drop the speed down 30 seconds per mile to 9:00 pace. At the 15-minute mark of the workout progress to goal marathon pace, 8:30 per mile, for the next 20 minutes. After spending 20 minutes at goal marathon pace, chop another 30 seconds per mile off the pace, so 8:00 per mile, for 5 minutes. This will be challenging, but maintainable, for a short period of time. Finish up with 5 minutes of easy jogging and walk away with a solid 45-minute progression session under your belt.

Wait! Not so fast!

Before you designate your treadmill as your primary training tool, know that it’s not a magic speed machine. As with sugar-free desserts, Beatles cover bands, and wax figures of celebrities, the substitution is never as good as the real thing.

Treadmills are a smooth, constant surface with consistent environmental conditions. When we run on treadmills, we’re exercising a very specific set of muscles in a very specific set of ways. If you log the majority of your miles on the treadmill, then decide to race on more varied terrain, you’ll be at high risk for injury because your muscles will suddenly need to maneuver and land on your feet in ways they’re not used to. Additionally, because treadmills are so great at absorbing impact, taking to the streets may be a shock to your system (literally!).

Basic physics come into play, too. When you run on the treadmill, the “ground” moves under you, making it easier to move your weight. Some say because of the way the treadmill “grabs” your foot and moves it, running on a flat treadmill is actually the equivalent of running downhill! When you run on the road, the track, or the trail, you’re the one doing all the work. Race day may seem much harder if you’ve spent the majority of your training on the treadmill.

So What’s a Runner to Do?

• Use the treadmill for a very specific purpose (say, tempo runs); do all other workouts outside.
• To counteract the “downhill” effect of running on a treadmill, set the incline to at least 1 percent.
• Find a speed where you are actually pushing the belt backwards a little bit, instead of the belt pulling your feet along.
• Don’t hold on to the handrail or console. This should be an obvious tip, yet so many people still grab on to the treadmills instead of using their arms! If the speed of the belt is so much that you absolutely cannot keep up, then decrease the speed.
• Remember that treadmill speeds are not always exact. Calibration of treadmills doesn’t happen frequently (if at all), so don’t put too much stock into the speeds you hit on your treadmill. Do your time trials on a track flat stretch of road to gauge your true run speeds.

Just like weight machines or pull buoys in the pool, the treadmill is a tool to supplement your training. Use them correctly, and you’ll have a reason to smile when everybody else is whining.

Susan Lacke is No Meat Athlete’s resident triathlete and is currently training to qualify for the Boston Marathon. “Like” her on Facebook for links to her latest articles in random corners of the Internet.

No matter how good your intentions are in the beginning, sometimes training becomes a real drag. In any prolonged training cycle, what was once one of the most exciting things you ever started can feel more like that new friend that wants to hang out … every … single … day.

Sometimes you just need a break, and sometimes you just need a little reminder about why it is exactly that you still like that needy friend.

This recently happened to me (not the friend part, the training slump part). After a long winter of training for the No Meat Athlete group event for the Rock n Roll USA Marathon, I was beat up and burnt out.

I would have just taken a few months off, but my next big race, the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Miler, is just around the corner — and training to run 50 miles knows no long breaks. So what did I do?

I took off to the mountains.

With nothing but a car full of camping gear and a pair of running shoes, I found my retreat, rejuvenated my soul, and now feel better about my training than I ever thought I could.

Planning your perfect running getaway

Running camps and retreats are not a new thing.

If you ran cross country or track in high school, you might have gone with your team to summer training camps, where hundreds of pre-pubescent teens with pale legs in short shorts run around large fields. Or more recently, it seems like nearly every issue of Runner’s World highlights a runner’s dream getaway, where like-minded athletes jog pristine trails and eat food from the retreat center’s garden.

But chances are you aren’t in high school anymore. You don’t have the thousands of extra dollars lying around to pay for one of these retreats. And with a family and job, you don’t have more than a weekend to spare. So what do you do?

I’m here to help! With a little planning and a few bucks, you can plan your own running getaway to reenergize your training, challenge your legs, and reset your weary head.

Below I’ve highlighted three easy steps to get you out of your slump and off on the running getaway of your dreams.

Step 1: Find the perfect getaway location

If you’re hoping to reenergize the body, you have to first reenergize the soul. Everyone finds solace in different places. For me, being in the woods, with little more than a tent, some fresh food, and a few tasty brews will bring me to a place near total contentment that few places ever could.

For others, that holy grail of retreats is a white sandy beach with warm sunshine and seagulls as your company. So when planning your retreat, one of the most important steps is picking the right place works for you.

To find that place: first dream big.

Close your eyes and envision your perfect place to run. Only once you’ve got it should you come back to reality. Then it’s time to consider the basics, like how far you want to travel, how much you’re willing to spend, and for how long you wish to go.

Here’s how it went for me: My magic spot is deep within the Andes. Considering I live thousands of miles away from those snow capped mountains, in downtown Washington, D.C., I picked the closest major mountain range and national park (Shenandoah) and took off on the short drive out of the city. Just ninety minutes later, I had arrived.

Here are few important things to consider when choosing your location:

• Price.  Anyone could feel refreshed after a long weekend on a private island off the coast of Greece, but most of us can’t afford to go there for just a few nights. On the other hand, camping, where food is purchased ahead of time and fees are often minimal, is a great option for the budget retreat. If you are going with a group, renting a cabin or beach house which can be split amongst your running buddies is another great opportunity to lower the cost.
• Location. With all this talk about relaxing, let’s not forget about the running! After you have a destination in mind, do a little research about nearby parks or trails. Make sure that you aren’t going to be stuck on crowded sidewalks, but have access to open bike paths, long beach boardwalks, or endless single track to clock those hours.
• Distance from home. A good running getaway is an easy running getaway. Find a good spot that isn’t too far from home. A getaway that’s nearby can be the most rewarding of all, because you don’t have the added stress of long car or plane rides.

Step 2: Who should you bring?

After figuring out where you want to go, the next big thing is deciding who to bring with you on such an epic journey.

Training for a distance event is a very personal thing. In my most recent trip to the woods I decided it would be best to go out on my own, take that time to clear my head, and focus all my thoughts on running. If this is something you’re comfortable doing, going solo can be very rewarding.

But for many people, solo is a no-go because of safety concerns and other reasons. In that case, a few members of your local running club or running buddies can make the perfect addition to your escape. Don’t be afraid to take the family either: training can be just as difficult on the family as it is on the runner, and sometimes you all just need to get away together.

One big thing to make sure of when asking people to join you is that your escape is also their escape. If you’re going with a group of girlfriends and none of them likes camping, then you’re headed for trouble.

Also set expectations; make sure anyone you go with knows that your focus is running. While the trails outside a cabin in the woods might be the best place for your retreat, if your family wants Disney, you might need to find a middle ground that works for them and still allows for the trip’s purpose, from your perspective — your running.

Step 3: Oh yeah, the running…

The beauty of a well-planned running retreat is that you’ll have plenty of time relax and rejuvenate, but also time for more running than usual. What could be better?

Many people feel the need to strictly follow a training plan. But while this can be a great thing, especially for someone attacking a particular distance for the first time, it can also be limiting.

Don’t be afraid to add some extra miles during a running getaway. If the plan calls for a 15-mile long run that week, consider bumping it up with an 8-mile run one day and the 15-miler the next. Or go out for your 15-mile long run one day, and then a nice and easy 90 minute run with no set distance in mind the next day.

Push yourself — it’ll be a great way to boost up your confidence when you return home and back to your normal schedule.

At the same time, don’t forget about the “getaway” part! This is nearly as important as the running itself. If all you do is log miles, you’ll go home feeling tired and cranky because you just spent an entire vacation weekend running.

So be sure to throw in a little fun. Enjoy a sunset along the trail near your campsite, make an after-run visit to a vineyard in a nearby town, or soak those weary legs in a swimming hole or salty ocean.

What are you waiting for?

What distance runners don’t acknowledge enough is that training is often hard and takes up a lot of time. After pushing yourself for so long, a little getaway that reenergizes your training (and reminds you why you love running in the first place) can be an amazing experience. Treat yourself, you deserve it!

Have you ever designed a running getaway of your own? Where would be your dream location? What are your tips for a weekend of running and retreat?

Doug Hay is a conflicted man. He lives in the heart of the nation’s capitol, but as a mountain man he’s always running in search of dirt trails. You can hear his tales as he trains for his first 50-miler at his Washington, D.C. running blog, Rock Creek Runner.

Hi Matt! Love your site. First I should tell you that I’m not a vegetarian…

I can’t figure out why people need to get this off their chest right away … in the future, you can skip it!

I actually think many, many readers of this site are non-vegetarians who lean towards eating mostly plants, so you’re far from alone. No shame in just being curious; we all started out that way.

And so it occurred to me the other day when I was talking to someone who called himself “veg-curious” that I should write more posts for the veg-curious. (This occurred to me because he said, “You should write more posts for the veg-curious.”)

Today’s veg-curious-friendly topic: things you hear about vegetarianism that are just plain wrong.

Myth #1: You can’t get enough protein as a vegetarian.

Ah, the daddy of them all. To most people, meat = protein, so without one you can’t have the other.

This isn’t right. Meat is a rich source of protein, sure, but beans, grains, nuts, and green vegetables (and dairy, if you’re not vegan) provide plenty of protein to get what you need.

Rather than stress about protein, what has worked for me is to simply be mindful to include one of decent protein source in every meal or snack — just something with a little bit of protein to make sure you don’t fall into the trap of eating nothing but carbohydrates when you stop eating meat.

Protein powder in a smoothie, nuts on a salad, hummus on a bagel, lentils or white beans in a whole-grain pasta dish … you get the idea.

Myth #2: You can’t be a serious athlete and be vegetarian.

However you define serious, this one is seriously wrong.

For me, “serious” meant improving my marathon time and qualifying for Boston. And the belief that if I stopped eating meat, I’d get slower is what kept me from going vegetarian for the first few years that I felt the pull to do it.

The funny thing is that it wasn’t until I went vegetarian that I took the final 10 minutes off my time and qualified, just six months later.

There are great athletes who are vegetarian or vegan in every sport. Brendan Brazier, Scott Jurek, Mac Danzig, Robert Cheeke, Carl Lewis, Prince Fielder, Mike Zigomanis … the list goes on and on.

My point isn’t that being vegetarian is an advantage. Some say it is, others strongly disagree. Rather, my point is that if people can excel as vegetarians in the extremely competitive realm of competitive sports, where diet plays an enormous role in performance, then it’s ridiculous to let this myth hold you back if you’ve got the desire to stop eating meat.

Myth #3: Vegetarians mainly eat salads and tofu.

They say there’s a little truth in every stereotype, and yes, plenty of vegetarians do eat this way. But if tofu and salads were what it meant to be vegetarian, I’d have failed at this long ago.

A boring diet like this results from the combination of poor planning and unwillingness to cook your own food.

Make the effort to find healthy vegetarian recipes, shop for ingredients in advance, and be willing to spend some time preparing food that nourishes you. You’ll get that time back in the form of health and energy.

Myth #4: Being vegetarian will make you healthy and help you lose weight.

Plenty of people who preach vegetarianism will tell you that this is true. I will tell you it is not.

Being vegetarian can make you healthy. It can help you lose weight. But you can be healthy with a Paleo diet too, and with many other kinds of diets for that matter.

And on the flip side, you can be extremely unhealthy as vegetarian if you think any old thing that doesn’t have meat in it passes the “should I eat it?” test. There are plenty of vegetarians who do this and are fat as a result.

The primary health benefit I’ve noticed from being vegetarian, honestly, is that it limits my choices for eating out, so I end up making more of my food than I used to. Fast food is no longer an option for the occasional splurge when I’m in the car, so if I’ve got a long drive I need to bring some fruit or nuts to stay full. Same with going out to dinner or to a party where I know there won’t be much for me to eat.

Invariably, this causes you to make better choices, and shifts the focus of the evening from what you’re eating to whom you’re spending time with.

Myth #5: Going vegetarian involves “taking away” from your plate.

I remember when I used to envision what it would be like if I took the plunge and “gave up” meat: I saw my normal dinner plate, only with the side dishes expanded to fill the hole that meat left.

It turns out that nothing could be further from the truth. When you stop eating meat, you’re forced to be more adventuresome in your cooking and eating.

You discover Indian and Thai Food. You go to farmers markets and plan your meals around what’s in season. You check out the weird vegetables in the produce section that you used to breeze by in the grocery store without noticing. Instead of eating fewer foods, you eat more.

Myth #6: Vegetarian cooking involves a lot of fake meats and weird health foods.

Fake meats have their place — I like them for transitioning and for events one usually associates with eating meat, like cookouts. But for the most part, I don’t think about “replacing” meat, so I don’t eat these much.

And as for the “health foods” — I’m talking about things like wheatgrass, goji berries, chlorella, etc. — they’re fun to try, but they don’t make up a large part of a vegetarian diet any more than they do an omnivorous one.

You know how I eat, mostly? It’s described in Born to Run as “eating like a poor-person.” (And I don’t mean McDonald’s, although as Brendan Brazier points out in Thrive, that’s where you now get the most caloric bang for your buck.)

I’m talking about rice, lentils and beans, pasta, bulk nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Occasionally, more expensive things like quinoa, tempeh, and every once in a while the fake meats and the health foods.

But mostly it’s cheap, whole food. And I think that’s the healthiest kind.

Myth #7: As long as you’re getting enough protein, you don’t need to worry about anything else.

Global warming, financial crises, what to wear … all these concerns just melt away as long as you’re getting enough protein.

Seriously, as we said earlier, getting enough protein isn’t the hard part. (In fact, I’ve heard that there’s never been a case of protein deficiency that wasn’t a result of overall caloric deficiency — although maybe that in itself is a myth.)

But this isn’t to say you don’t need to think about any nutrients, vitamins or minerals.

Iron is a big one, and Vitamin B12 is another if you’re vegan. It’s easy to be deficient in these if you don’t take care to include good sources in your diet or supplement (and there’s some argument over whether any whole food, non-animal sources of B12 are sufficient — some say you need to supplement to get it).

It’s not hard … you just shouldn’t ignore these issues. Too many vegetarians are so gung-ho about not needing to worry about what they eat (probably in response to all the questions about protein) that they end up being poor examples of vegetarian health.

What other myths are out there? The ones here are based mostly on my own experience prior to being vegetarian, so I’m sure there are others. Add to this list with a comment!

PS — Half Marathon Roadmap “Quick Edition” is now available on Kindle (for dirt cheap!)

I’m doing a little experiment to see how Kindle publishing works (I’m working on a new ebook), so for the time being I’ve put a condensed version of the Half Marathon Roadmap in the Kindle store for only $2.99.

What’s funny is that the book did really well over the weekend, and hit #1 in the Kindle Sports -> Training category bestsellers list for a little while! (It’s #2 as I’m writing this post.) Thanks to everyone who has downloaded the book, left a review, and helped make that happen!

Anyway, this Quick Edition doesn’t come with the audio interviews, recipes, or some of the extras that make the full version more expensive, but I think it’s a pretty great value if you just want to get started quickly. Check it out here if you’re interested!

My medal from 2011, and the only one that will remain when I downsize my medal collection soon.

Two years ago, I was eligible to run, but I didn’t because my son was born just two days before the race.

(The silver lining is that a few weeks prior, I said I was going to skip his birth to run the race, in an April Fool’s joke that resulted in the loss of many friends and readers but was nonetheless an instant classic.)

And just two and a half years ago, I qualified.

Qualifying for Boston had been my goal since I signed up to run my very first marathon back in 2002, and brazenly wrote down “3:10:00″ — the time I would need in order to qualify — as my projected finish time.

Pretty good estimate … I was only off by an hour and 43 minutes. I should have known something was up when I lined up in the starting corral, just behind the elites, and surrounded by serious athletes with crazy calf muscles who were obviously in a different league than I was.

Anyway, I know how inspired I used to feel on Patriots’ Day when I would see all the coverage of the marathon and envision myself one day running it, even when I wasn’t yet close to being fast enough. So I figured I’d post a few links and tips today, just in case you’re in the same boat I was.

Where to start if you want to qualify for Boston

Qualifying for Boston: How I Did It — I wrote this post just a few days after I qualified in October 2009. Reading it again now, I still believe that all the advice is valid; it’s a good snapshot of the things I was focusing on in my training when I was at my very fastest.

But I also now see that this post was a little short-sighted. It focused on what I had done in the past few months, not over those seven years, which is the far more remarkable part of my story.

So what if you’re not yet close?

Looking back at the whole thing, with the perspective that comes from being a few years removed from it, I can boil the long-term, big-picture approach down to three main points.

1. Stop getting injured.

Easier said than done, I know.

But of the 100-plus minutes I took off my marathon time to qualify for Boston, learning to train injury-free was responsible for about an hour and 10 minutes. Only the final half hour (yeah I know, “only” ) came from advanced training, of which only the final 10 minutes was due to what I’d consider “intense” training.

For me, eliminating injuries came as the result of just a few, simple techniques:

• Learning to run at a rate of 180 steps per minute
• Foam rolling
• Slowing way down on my easy runs, and always giving myself an easy day in between hard workouts

2. Get your head in the right place.

Mainly, I mean learning to become comfortable a massive goal that sometimes feels impossible, and convincing yourself (beyond a shadow of a doubt) that you can will achieve it.

It’s a tricky thing to really convince yourself that you’re capable of something this tough when you’ve got no references to back it up. I learned to do it just by reading examples of how others had done it. (That, and I’m an unapologetic Tony Robbins fanboy.)

My hope is that I can be one such example for you.

Check out “You Have to Believe,” a letter I found which I had written as part of a grad-school application, in which I talked about how certain I was that I would qualify for Boston one day.

What’s cool, reading it now, is that I realize how far I still had to go — at the time, I was still 40 minutes away from qualifying! But it’s a good example of how being naive and not fully understanding how hard something is can play to your advantage if it helps you to believe you can do it.

Two other posts I wrote about the head game that I think are worth reading:

• The Belief that Will Take Your Training to the Next Level
•  What We Mortals Can Learn from the 4-Minute Mile

3. Just keep running.

Day to day, you don’t notice big changes in your fitness level.

But take two identical people and add an extra 200 calories a day to one person’s diet, keeping the other’s diet exactly the same. After a month or two the difference will scarcely be noticeable.

But how different will these two people look (and feel) in five years?

With running, it’s the same. I don’t mean in terms of calories burned, but instead the way that your body learns how to efficiently and effectively run.

It doesn’t seem like there’s a big difference between getting out for an easy 20-minute jog one day and just deciding to stay put on the couch. And it’s true, that one day doesn’t matter.

But when you multiply that decision three hundred times over the course of a year, you better believe it makes a difference.

With each step, your brain learns just a little bit better how best to recruit muscle fibers to push you forward. If you run just 20 miles per week (less than 3 per day), and each step you take is a yard long, that’s 35,200 steps of experience per week.

1,830,400 steps of experience per year.

This is why people who have run a marathon or half before can pick up, relatively easily, and run another one, even if they’re not in great shape. Their bodies have learned to run.

Viewed this way, and considering that as you gain fitness you can increase mileage to much more than 20 miles per week, it’s not all that shocking that I could get so much faster given seven whole years to do it.

You become a better runner, automatically, if you get out there and run. Sure, the types of workouts you choose and the intensity you can sustain matter a lot.

But they don’t matter nearly as much, in terms of change over time, as just getting out there to run.

Day after day, week after week.

Heads up: Run Your BQ is taking new members next week!

A few months ago, my friend Jason and I launched Run Your BQ, a comprehensive program aimed at helping our members qualify for Boston.

In the three days we were open, we had about 200 runners sign up to be a part of our inaugural group. Since then, we’ve helped a lot of people experience big results (including a few who have already qualified for Boston).

Here’s what one of our members, Karen, recently said about her experience with Run Your BQ:

Lo and behold!! Faster times, faster recovery, longer mileage…no injury (crossing my fingers)…a complete turnaround. I used to do my long runs with an 11:30/mi pace—now down to 10:40-11:05/mi even for my 20 milers. Slowly but surely!!

I particularly love that the Strength and Core workouts are running-specific and can be done at home. With all my days spent running, I’ve given up my gym membership. Jason, you saved me $135/month so thanks! I was really just using it these days for the treadmill (which I hated). I’d rather run in rain and snow than get on the TM. I live in Chicago and we’re blessed with a beautiful lakefront path—there’s nothing like being outside.

Your program has already helped me *immensely*. I love it that I can post a question and get support from my fellow RYBQ-ers plus get expert advice from you [Jason] and Matt. Thank you!!

And here’s what Vincent had to say:

I just wanted to thank you. I’ve been a loyal reader of no meat athlete for a while and signed up for Run Your BQ right at the beginning of the trial period in February. The site is awesome and I learned a ton from all the resources you have up there. You’re doing really great work.

Don’t know if it was the good zen of signing up for the site, but just a few days afterwards, I ran a 3:02 at the Austin marathon. I’d hit a wall in two previous attempts at a BQ around the 20 mile mark, and ended up running a 3:09 in those races. I really attribute a lot of that turnaround to the nutrition information and form recommendations on your site (I’m now eating vegan 4 days a week and vegetarian the rest of the time). I’m also running 70 miles a week now no problem and again I think that’s attributable in large part to your advice.

Sign up to be notified when we re-open

If you’d like to be notified when we re-open to new members sometime next week (again for just a few days), click here and enter your email address to sign up.

Jason and I will also be sending out special free reports we wrote about Boston-qualifying to anyone who signs up to this list — 22 pages of info to help you get to Boston. So if you missed those last time, join the list and we’ll send them to you as well.

Enjoy Boston Marathon day, and hope you’re as inspired as I always am by the race!

For weeks, I’ve been working on a one-year update for you. It’s been difficult to write — every time I sit down, I’m filled with tears, laughter, and pride for my best friend.

Recently, Carlos was asked to give a speech about his experience as a cancer fighter. As soon as I read it, I threw all of my drafts for this article away. No one can tell the story better than he can.

—

I am not here for pleasant conversation.

I write to you about things that happen to people — bad people and good people. Things that make some cry, and question life’s fairness and God’s existence. But it’s OK, because I know I am in good company. Many of you have likely gone through hell and back. I know, like you, how it feels being in pain, scared, hopeless, helpless, defeated, cheated, and alone.

But I also know we are made of some tough stuff. Every one of us is equipped to climb over obstacles. We are all made to fight and never give up.

One year ago

I was what people call “super-fit.” My sport makes regular people cry in pain just watching it on TV! Ironman consists of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and then running 26.2 miles, a full marathon, in less than 16 hours. I have done this 13 times in races across the United States and Europe.

I was in the midst of training for yet another Ironman last April when I suddenly got sick. It wasn’t a gradual, progressive illness. One day I rode my bike for 6 hours, and the next I had emergency surgery. In an instant, everything changed.

One year ago, I was told that I had Stage IV colon cancer, the most advanced stage of cancer.

The tumors in my colon had metastasized to the lymph nodes and to the liver. With luck and chemotherapy every oncologist said I could live another year, but the odds of survival beyond that were slim. Liver surgery is an option for some with my cancer, but I was not a candidate for it, as I had too many tumors.

The doctors didn’t say it outright, but I could tell what they were thinking: Start writing your will.

“Dad, are you going to die?”

I was in denial. I sought a second and a third and a fourth opinion. This type of thing shouldn’t happen to me. This is a disease that affects old people, the overweight, the sedentary, the smokers. There is no cancer in my family history. I am 20 years younger than the average colon cancer patient.

After being diagnosed with cancer, my main concern was how to break the news to my 10-year old son. The prospect was daunting: How do I tell my son that his father is going to die soon? I took him for a walk but it was difficult to even touch the subject.

“Dad, are you going to die?” he asked.

I tried to be philosophical: “We are all going to die, son.”

He replied, “Yeah, but you know what I mean.”

I couldn’t lie anymore. “I have a very, very serious, dangerous, mean, disease that kills many people.”

Without flinching, he looked at me. “Yeah, but you will fight it, right? You will beat it, I know you will.”

It broke my heart. “I promise you, I will fight this harder than anybody in the world has fought it, I will always fight, I will never give up, and I will never be afraid of it.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Dad, I think you are going to be the first person to beat cancer and finish an Ironman!”

And that was it. If he could believe and hope for the best so could I. I decided then that I was going to fight cancer with everything I had.

Goal: To cure

I asked my oncologist for the most toxic chemotherapy poison he had, and to double the dose. He smiled at me and said, “Look, I’m an aggressive oncologist but we want to kill the cancer, not you.”

We made an agreement: As a symbolic gesture to this fight I was going to start, he was going to change the goals of chemotherapy in the medical record. My file originally said, “Goal: palliative care, to extend life.”

He scratched that out and made a new entry: “Goal: To cure.”

Chemotherapy was a bitch. Sorry, but that’s the only one word I can use to describe it. During those 6 months I didn’t feel like I was getting better, I felt I was just dying faster. Fatigue, pain, nausea, insomnia, constipation, loss of motor function, permanent numbness of hands and feet, rashes; you name it, I had it.

A blood test in month 4 of chemotherapy revealed the worst: Chemotherapy was not working. I was going to die.

I drove to Mexico that night to say goodbye to my parents, my brothers and sisters … but halfway there, I turned around. I was ashamed of myself.

This was not fighting, this was giving up. And I made a promise to my son I wouldn’t do that.

Goliath, meet David

That night at home, I wrote in my journal and to my friends on Facebook:

The other day, I read an article picking apart the credibility of the David and Goliath biblical story. Could a teenage boy with a sling and stones really have killed a well-armored, trained-to-kill warrior?

It was a funny question, I thought. Davids have been slaying Goliaths for centuries! Every day all over the world, people like us, little Davids, get up in the morning and beat giants against all odds.

Tonight I have decided that I am David and cancer is my Goliath.

It’s a huge opponent; an experienced, mutant killer. This fight is being held in a coliseum and I don’t want to be here.

But Goliath is not well liked, you know? He doesn’t have a fan base. All the spectators in this coliseum have taken my side and that makes a difference. They seem to think I am special, stronger, tougher than I actually am. It gives me pride, and for them, I can’t quit. I am not fighting alone.

In spite of the bad news that the chemotherapy wasn’t working, I continued anyway, never missing a session even when I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore.

Five months into chemo, a new CT scan showed some tumors shrinking. By the end of my six-month chemo treatments, I had learned many tumors had shrunk in size, and many more were dormant.

Because I had fought, because I had stuck with it, the liver surgery that was impossible six months before was now possible. I had the first surgery on December 29th, the second on January 5th.

Then February 7^th, after a seven-and-a-half hour surgery, I was cancer-free.

The road ahead

It’s not over completely. I still have three months of chemotherapy left, beginning Thursday.

I have to tell you, I cannot wait to start. I am going to own these four rounds of chemo. I did over six months before, and three months pales in comparison. This is going to be cake!

There is a chance that cancer will come back: a 60% chance that it will come back in one year, and a 75% chance that it will come back in 5 years. If it happens, I guarantee you I will fight it again.

Cancer may destroy my body slowly, entirely, and definitely. But through it all, cancer will not touch who I am.

Why cancer can’t win

Cancer can take away my ability to run really hard in the mornings.

But it cannot take away my ability to enjoy the last few stars before sunrise while I slow-jog and walk.

It may one day take away my weekend bike rides with my friends up my favorite mountain and the breakfast after.

But it cannot take away the camaraderie and love we feel for each other.

Cancer has already taken away my ability to swim in the evenings, but the love of the sport doesn’t go away. I still dream of swimming, and in my head I am Michael Phelps.

Cancer has taken away, more than once, my enjoyment of a restaurant dinner with my family when I had to run to the bathroom to puke… but it cannot take away my love for them or their love for me.

Cancer can destroy my colon, take away my liver, clog my kidneys and choke my lungs, but through it all I refuse to let it grab hold of my heart or destroy my mind. Cancer won’t make me a bitter person before it kills me. Cancer can destroy me but it will not defeat me.

I may not be strong enough to put my son on my shoulders anymore, but cancer won’t ever take away the walks we already had together, when he held my hand and in his mind there was no one stronger than I, when he thought I was untouchable, indestructible.

Cancer cannot win. It will not win.

Whatever your fight is, when you are thrown in the coliseum to fight, you become a gladiator too. Half naked, with nothing but stones and a borrowed sword.

If cancer comes back, it will be more aggressive, meaner, mutated. Honestly, I am not worried anymore. I am little David, Cancer is my Goliath.

And we all know how the story ends.

Carlos Nunez, PhD, is a college professor, 13-time Ironman, and loving father of 3. When he isn’t fighting cancer, he can be found on his bike or in the comfy chairs at Starbucks. Though most call him “Carlos” or “Dr. Nunez,” he has also been known to respond to the name “Superman.”

Happy so far: The family outside our new home in Asheville.

It all feels a bit weird, but in an exciting kind of way, just as this entire move has felt.

When we told our friends and family that we were moving eight hours away, to a small city in the mountains of western North Carolina where we didn’t know anybody — and without one of the standard reasons, like a job, that generally causes a move — the responses varied pretty wildly.

Some people thought we were crazy. Some were sad (and of course, so were we to leave them).

But a few people told me how inspiring they thought it was that we would move so spontaneously, and not because we had to, but simple because we wanted to.

And that’s why I’m writing this post about our move, and about Asheville. Not just to explain our reasons for moving, but to (I hope) inspire others who feel stuck where they are but are afraid to make a change.

You’ll see that it’s not terribly far off topic for No Meat Athlete, either — as far as vegeterian- and vegan-friendliness goes, Asheville beats any other city I’ve ever visited.

From Baltimore to Asheville, via San Diego

2011 was the first year that I did any considerable traveling. I went to Austin, Portland, Cape Cod, Boston (twice), San Francisco, and San Diego, and discovered that the world — actually, the country — had a lot more to offer than did Bel Air, Maryland, the nice, suburban town outside of Baltimore where I grew up and had moved back to a few years after college.

And so we decided that we’d move. Maybe not permanently, but since running a business online affords us a lot of geographical freedom, it seemed a shame not to try living somewhere other than the default option before our son reached school age and we’d want to settle down.

The funny thing is that we were within one day of signing a lease on a place in San Diego, after several weeks of planning the move. But two things caused us to abort that plan at the very last minute:

1. The pain of moving our two-year-old son 3,000 miles away from his grandparents, and of being so very far away from our friends and family.
2. The cost — we discovered it would take $10,000 just to get out to California, before even considering the higher cost of living.

Why Asheville?

Just two months ago, I hadn’t heard of Asheville more than a couple of times. I knew it as a funky, hippie-ish city somewhere in North Carolina, and one that consistently showed up in those “Happiest Places to Live” lists that magazines and websites post every so often.

But the night we changed our minds about San Diego, Asheville was the first place I thought of as an alternative. (By this point, the idea of staying put after so much planning and anticipation wasn’t one we were willing to consider.)

Two days later, I was in the car driving to Asheville, on a dual mission to check out the city and find a place to rent if it felt right. This was immediately following a 20-mile run, so I can’t say it was the most enjoyable ride I’ve ever taken, but my mom came with me and helped out with the drive and finding a place. Thanks Mom!

It took a day for me to come to understand what it was about Asheville that made people so happy, but sure enough, I did.

The next day, I found a place to rent, and we signed a lease and made it official just two days later.

So far…

Here’s what we love about Asheville so far, in our first week of living here:

• The local food scene is amazing. Besides tons of farmers markets and a few co-ops, there are local producers of all sorts of things, even tempeh and kombucha. And lots of beer — Asheville has 11 breweries and has been named Beer City USA three years in a row.
• It’s extremely vegetarian- and vegan-friendly. I’m not exaggerating when I say I think it’s even more so than much larger cities like Portland, Austin, and San Francisco. Granted, I’ve only explored these cities for a few days each. But a major difference I’ve noticed is that here, although there are plenty of all-vegetarian restaurants, even in the restaurants that aren’t specifically vegetarian there are always several options for us on the menu. Some even have special vegan menus. And the servers have all been very helpful and have even reminded me when I ordered something that is non-vegan (caramelized onions on pizza, for example).
• We live in a quiet, woodsy neighborhood that’s very hilly and great for running, with a park right behind our backyard. And we’re only a mile from downtown, a combination I never thought I’d find anywhere.
• There are street musicians all over the place. Not just playing guitars, but also violins, banjos, cellos, basses, harmonicas, drumsets, trumpets, accordions and even crazy stuff like saws. My son, who is obsessed with music, absolutely loves this. If only they would play Weezer covers for him…
• Everything is eco-friendly. Pretty much every restaurant recycles and composts, and any coffee I’ve gotten to-go has come in a special, compostable cup. (I won’t pretend to know why this is better than recycled paper, but I imagine it is.)
• Lots of dogs. They’re even allowed in some stores and restaurants, and there are tons of pet-centric businesses.
• There’s a thriving arts scene, and lots of nationally-known artists, bands, comedians, and authors come through this relatively small city (80,000 people or so). Chi Running author Danny Dreyer and well-known vegetarian cookbook author Deborah Madison will be in one of the bookstores this month. And if I knew more about art and read more fiction, I’d probably recognize a lot more of the names.
• We’re surrounded by some serious mountains! We went for a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway this weekend, and within 10 minutes we had some amazing views. And of course, there are lots of trails for running and mountain biking, but we have yet to explore any of them, other than a tiny one that’s a just quarter mile from our house.

Underlying all of this, there’s a friendliness and slowness to the city that we’re really enjoying. I’m one of the most  laid-back people I know, and yet in the coffee shops here, I feel like I’m the high-strung northerner who can’t relax. But there’s an acceptance of all different types of people (“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a businessman or a hippie,” as one person told me).

All in all, it feels like this is a place where one can be centered, be creative, and find time to focus on things that really matter.

The move itself

To finish up this post, I want to write just a little bit about the moving process that we went through (and, in some ways, are still going through).

Before this experience, I had never seriously thought about what goes into transplanting your family from one place to another. I imagine that this post will stir up the urge to move in some people who have the desire, but perhaps bring with it a feeling of overwhelm at the prospect. So my hope is that laying out our experience might make it all seem a little more feasible.

Here are the most significant things that went into our move.

• At first, it seemed like it would be impossible to line up three things, all of which had to happen around the same time: a place to rent in Asheville, renters for our house in Bel Air, and a job for my wife (she works part-time as a pediatric occupational therapist). But it turned out not to be so hard — we started all three processes at the same time, and had a little faith when we made each commitment that the next opportunity would present itself soon enough.
• My job is what you’re looking at, so that part was convenient and I recognize that our situation is different from most people’s. If we were more typical and had needed to find one or two full-time jobs here, we probably would have started with that and only lined up the other things once the jobs were taken care of.
• We made all of this happen in about a month’s time. But we had laid the groundwork with our San Diego false start, placing ads to rent our house and selling some of our stuff.
• We sold and donated a ton of stuff to become more mobile, and it feels great. I bet we got rid of about 25 percent of what we owned, and we fit everything into a 900 cubic-foot unit from PODS plus our two cars. The experience of reducing our possessions was liberating and wonderful, and I’m inspired to go further with it and own less and less. Karol Gajda, Adam Baker, and Leo Babauta were major inspirations for this start down the minimalist path, and I owe all three of them a huge thank-you.
• Once you account for the cost of the POD, the people who helped us unload it, the gas to get here, cleaning expenses at our old house, a pet deposit fee, the cost of restocking our fridge, and some basic home improvement stuff for the new place, I estimate the move cost us around $4500 to $5000. That sucked, but it’s better than $10,000, and think it’ll be more than worth it.
• What sucked even more than the cost, though, was saying goodbye to our closest friends and family in Bel Air and Baltimore. We’re eight hours away by car and it’s actually a nice drive through the mountains, so that’s way better than being across the country — but still, we won’t get to see the people we love nearly as much as we used to. There’s no getting around that. I’m holding out hope that the time we do get to spend with loved ones (in person or via Skype or by phone) will be more deliberate, savored, and enjoyable than ever.
• We know almost nobody here. Jason helped me get my bearings here when I first visited, and I believe that Adam from Man vs Debt, whom I met in both Austin and Portland when his family was touring the country in an R.V., also lives here now. But we don’t know anyone else in Asheville except our realtor! Fortunately, my wife is way more outgoing and less shy than I am, so I’m sure in time we’ll make friends, especially in a place with so many like-minded people.
• Nobody says it has to be permanent! We signed one-year leases, so if we decide after a year that we want to come back, it’s always an option.

Looking back, it was a ton of stress. I don’t know how moving a family can’t be. But we took it one step at a time, and now we’re here, in an exciting new place, with a renewed sense of enthusiasm.

Finally, I’m excited to be back to work, and to get into the swing of things again with this site. This was the first time No Meat Athlete has gone 10 days without a fresh post, and not having any time to write sure made me realize how fulfilling this work is and how much I need it!

I know this move will be a great thing for the site, and I hope that as I feel more inspired in our new location it will come through in my work. NMA has a lot to look forward to.

If you’ve got the flexibility to run any time of day you want, with no other commitments to worry about, you can safely stop reading.

Still here? I thought so.

As much as we’d all love to be able to run whenever we felt like it, life often has other plans.

But wouldn’t it be nice to find a time when you could run without the risk of having something else disrupt you?

I’m happy to report that such a time exists – it’s called the predawn.

While just being able to reliably create the time to run using these early hours of the day may be enough motivation, there are plenty of other reasons that running early is often the best choice.

Why run before dawn?

First, you get a big accomplishment done before most people even wake up. No matter what happens the rest of the day, no one can take this away from you, and you’ll enjoy a boost in confidence and satisfaction that lasts for several hours.

Second, getting an early start extends your day and allows you to get more done.  When you don’t have to deal with fitting in your workout later, you’ll find a lot more time on your hands to deal with your other responsibilities.

Sure, you may have to go to bed earlier, but for many, late night is the least productive time of day anyway, so what are you really losing?

Additionally, during the summer, conditions are much more favorable for good training in the predawn, when temperatures are cooler and the risk of storms is generally lower. Again, less disruption makes for greater consistency in your running.

Finally, you’ll find an inner peace and comfort running when all is quiet.  There is little to disrupt your flow and rhythm so early in the day, and you’ll find that not only can you get in a quality workout, but also some valuable time to think while you are out on the roads.

7 steps to help you get moving quickly

Okay, so you know the why – now the challenge is the how.

I can hear you thinking: That sounds awfully, well, early. If this is your fear, you’ll find the following tips helpful in moving quickly through the morning, so you can sleep as late as possible while still getting the workout done.

1. Lay out all your gear the night before.

Clothes, shoes, jacket, reflective vest, headlamp, watch, iPod, hydration belt, gels – everything. Have it ready to go so you don’t need to hunt through a dark room in a semi-awake state. Have the watch programmed for your workout if needed, and the iPod set to your playlist, if you use one.

2. If the weather is going to be iffy, leave your smartphone by your clothes to check the weather. 

If contingency clothes are needed, lay those out too. Again, don’t allow yourself to spend time hunting for clothes – or your phone, for that matter.

3. Only use the smartphone to check the weather!

No email, no Twitter, no Facebook. No one expects you to be awake anyway, so no one is expecting a response. They can wait until you are done.

4. Set things up to be efficient after your run too.

Need to pack a lunch? Get the kids’ stuff ready for school? Prepare dinner? Empty the dishwasher?

Do those things the night before.  Saving time after your run and before your other commitments also means you can start your workout later.

5. Know your routine, your route, and how long it should take.

Allow only the time needed to dress, warm-up, run, cool-down, shower and change. It will help keep you focused on moving along.

This means you can’t afford surprises like, “wow, that was a mile longer than expected,” so be meticulous in your planning. This may take some time to learn, but eventually you’ll get to the point where you set your alarm for, say, 4:36 AM because you know that’s as late as you can possibly sleep.

6. Keep your bedroom clock set 10 minutes fast.

Yes, you’ll know it’s a trick. But early in the morning, you just might convince yourself that you slept longer than you did. Plus you get a little buffer on that super-precise estimate you just made on how long your morning routine will take – you’ll appreciate this occasionally.

7. Don’t let the snooze button become a tool of your resistance.

There are several ways to beat the snooze button.

You can put the alarm out of reach so you have to get out of bed to turn it off. You can set the alarm loud so as to jar yourself awake (and, if you have a sleeping partner, no doubt they won’t want to hear that alarm a second time). Or, you can just be so motivated that the snooze button is never a temptation.

Gearing up

For most newcomers to predawn running, safety is the major consideration.

But contrary to what you might think, running this early can actually be safer than running in daylight, mainly because there is significantly less traffic on the streets. As stated in The Running Manifesto, busy streets aren’t busy at 4:00 AM.

You do need to be sensitive to the traffic you will encounter though, so you should invest in a few additional items that will keep you visible and safe:

• A reflective vest – because a reflective stripe on your clothing isn’t enough.
• A headlamp – for both visibility and seeing obstacles like rocks or nocturnal critters (yes, they do occasionally appear). Rechargeable LED-based models from Petzl or Black Diamond are ideal.
• Additional safety lights or reflective accessories – RoadID offers a range of items to enhance your visibility in the dark

If you’re looking for a way to get more stability in your training, more guarded time to get the workouts you want done, try moving to the predawn.  You may be amazed at the results.

What other barriers prevent you from running early?  If you’ve been successful in making the move, do you have other useful tips for those who want to become predawn runners?

About the Author: Greg Strosaker is the marathon-winning blogger behind Predawn Runner, a site dedicated to helping busy runners find the time and motivation to make running work in their life.

In the meantime, I want to share a few photos and a quick recap of last weekend’s events. Saturday was the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon and Half in DC, and the first race we’ve done with an official No Meat Athlete group! We had a blast, and a lot of first-time marathoners and half marathoners crossed the finish line sporting their NMA colors.

Here’s how it all went down.

Dinner at Cafe Green

About 35 NMA runners and their guests gathered at Cafe Green for a wonderful vegan pre-race dinner. It was nice that everyone already knew each other from posting in the forums and attending the Q&A sessions. Lack of lame awkwardness = win for everyone.

On the menu were entrees like mac and cheeze, raw zucchini pesto pasta, gnocchi di roso (my choice), and a housemade veggie patty on a mung bean pancake. We also had appetizers, salads, and some vegan fudge and cake for dessert.

The food was delicious, and looked really nice too. Apparently I’ve forgotten my food blogger roots though, because I didn’t even think of taking a picture of the food.

We also had a special surprise guest join us — Gene Baur, co-founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, who happened to be running his first marathon the next day. Gene was kind enough to say a few words before dinner, and it was an honor to get to hang out with someone who has done so much for our cause. (I actually ran with him and the 3:30 pace group during the race, but eventually Gene dusted me en route to a sub-3:30 first marathon.)

Next time you’re in DC, check out Cafe Green. I had never heard of it before this, but it came highly recommended by Doug, who was our man on the ground in DC and did most of the planning for our event. The food was wonderful and I’ll definitely eat there again when I’m in DC.

Race day morning

Not everyone stayed at the “official” hotel (Helix), so pre-race, we hung out in different groups. Luckily, we had handed out some fruit and the vegan bagels and muffins we got from Sticky Fingers Bakery the night before at dinner, so nobody went hungry.

A few of us met up briefly at the start area, but soon it was time to head to our different starting corrals. I actually saw several NMA shirts on people who weren’t in our group, so that was pretty cool. For as many stories as I hear of people who run into each other while wearing their NMA shirts, I hadn’t seen all that many on random people until this weekend. Score.

As for the race itself, by and large it was a big success for our runners. As I mentioned, we had several first timers in our group, and a few of us set PR’s.

Susan, who is training to qualify for Boston and treated this race as a training run, finished the half right at two hours, just as she planned. I finished the full in 3:39, which I was actually pretty happy with. Almost all of my training had been on hillier terrain at a slower pace, so I wasn’t really sure how fast to run. It turns out that I started too fast, and as a result I slowed down significantly during the last six miles. But trust me, I’ve crashed a lot worse than that before!

After the race

Post-race, it was time to relax and enjoy not just a beautiful day, but the fact that this group came together the way it did.

That, and Sticky Fingers cinnamon buns plus free Michelob Ultra in the beer garden. I mean, say what you will about our being a real presence at the race and introducing tons of runners and spectators to the idea that you can do awesome stuff and be vegetarian, but we all know we really did it for the pastries and a free 8-ounce can of beer.

Where do we go next?

Alright, back to packing for me. But first, I’ve got one more photo to share, this one completely unrelated except that it involves an NMA shirt.

Kayna, a longtime fan of the site, wore hers while she took first place in her age group in a half marathon. That half marathon, I should mention, was in Antarctica!

And so the carrot has officially reached all seven continents. What’s next?

Well, we are definitely going to do another group race, hopefully bigger and even better. We’re shooting for this fall, and we’re open to ideas about where to go next — preferably on this continent (for now). If there’s a race you think would be just perfect, we want to hear about it!

Thanks so much to the 25 members of our first-ever training group, and to all the people (and the two restaurants) that helped make it happen. And of course, thanks to Competitor.com for putting on a great race. The Rock ‘n’ Roll races are still my favorites.

Hope to see you in our next group!