Food

Food –> 8000 calories a day. That’s about how much I consume. How do you eat so much and not get fat? I hear this question far to often to wonder why myself. The answer: I burn off all the calories. Being a track athlete as I have learned, is one of the toughest and most demanding of endeavors. One of my favorite quotes about track, especially because it pertains to my event, was by a professional football coach, which one I forget but he said something along the lines of “the most difficult thing I’ve ever seen someone do, was sprint 400m all the way around the track.” In track we push ourselves to the limit everyday, and work every part of our bodies. The result: an appetite equal to that of a grizzly bear. But with this ferocious appetite and highly demanding training, making the choice to eat that burger or piece of cake becomes much more than just deciding you’re in the mood for something tasty. It becomes the decision of increasing the possibility of injury. Due to the high level of strain, and constant trauma we put into our bodies, as track athletes we have to by more aware of our eating habits. I used to believe that because of my increased metabolism I could eat anything and it wouldn’t affect me. This is only partially correct. Sure I may not put on any weight, but an unhealthy diet can have devastating results. A poor diet can increase the chance of injuring oneself. Pulling, tearing, bruising, breaking, and straining a muscle can be the end of an athlete’s career. Earlier this year I witnessed two of our athletes pull their hamstrings before our indoor season had even started, and a third athlete during our first indoor track meet. The first two were unable to fully recover over the 7 month season, and the third was able to return for the beginning of the outdoor season, only to re-injure himself the first day. He was out for the whole season.