Laurel's suggestion to go to the E/C part of the boards is a good one, especially because we had so many Princesses who really enjoyed their races.
Frank has offered quite a range of suggestions, all of which are good. (It's especially important to know what's your starting base.)
Marathoning for Mortals gets lots of people through, as
jessily notes--many Bingham fans on the boards.
In terms of nutrition, you can pretty easily/effectively train for the distance if you're an ova-lacto vegetarian. (I am, too.) A couple of books to look at. Get them from your local library, as they're written in different styles from highly informal to academic writing....
- Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes, Monique Ryan (easy reading, good for beginners)
- Endurance Sports Nutrition, 2nd Edition, Suzanne Girard Eberle (chapter on vegetarianism is useful)
- The Vegetarian Sports Nutrition Guide: Peak Performance for Everyone from Beginners to Gold Medalists, by Lisa Dorfman (uses a broad definition of vegetarianism, but useful)
- Vegetarian Sports Nutrition, D. Enette Larson-Meyer (an academic style, but I learned a lot about protein intake and the studies are well documented)
- Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guide (good recipes, good if you want to lose weight)
Here's one I want to check out and haven't yet:
Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life, by Brendan Brazier (the triathlete)
As far as what we eat, it might be easier to get responses if you list what your normal diet is? For instance, I eat a variety of protein sources--everything from legumes to tofu to soy products and dairy. My diet tends to be lower in fat than it should be, so I also eat good nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews). As a veggie, I try to eat more protein than what is recommended for endurance athletes who eat meat, poultry, fish because of the way my protein is processed. As an athlete I also eat more carbs, btw.
For other information on protein intake, check out the
Runner's World magazine for April or May 2008 (library again). From an old post on the Lean Meaners thread in the E/C forum:
So, now, I want to know who read the article on protein in this months Runners World? The article claims for proper recovery and muscle health, athletes need to consume 1.0 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of weight (multiply your weight by .45 and .72 to get the low and high range. I am supposed to be eating between 58.5 and 93.6 grams of protein a day!! I do not even come CLOSE to that amount. Debra, there is also a portion of the article that talks about vegetarian runners/athletes and how they should get the proper proteins which beans do not give you. Some of their examples were soybeans, oats and quinoa.
And a later post...information taken from
Vegetarian Sports Nutrition:
Vegetarian Sports Nutrition. I've been concerned about my intake of protein, among other things, and so I thought I'd see what happened with my energy levels if I switched things around.... The book recommends vegetarians consume between 1.3 & 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram (pounds divided by 2.2), which is different from omnivores.
I use SparkPeople to track such things, for what it's worth.
Good questions and concerns. While you're researching, though, don't be afraid to start training to train. And listen to your body--a lot of the time it will tell you what it needs. Unfortunately, mine often whispers "ice cream."
, and regular exercise workouts.
