"you wouldnt put 87 octane in your ferrari? " - etc.

"you wouldnt put 87 octane in your ferrari? "

I heard this zinger the other day from a vegetarian and a running enthusiast---- 

He's partially right    -- but I don't have a Ferrari  (it would be cool though )

Truth be told, Mr Veggie-matic running enthusiast has never seen a 40 minute 10-k time either, so he is also not a "Ferrari"

I'm taking a bit of artistic license with these analogies, so if you are a serious auto enthusiast, you may groan and shake your head,  but that's not what this is about

     The real "Ferraris" in the world can operate on junk gas ---- did any of you see that story about Michael Phelps' diet before the 08 Olympics?  -- He's winning gold medals on what a lot of armchair quarterbacks would consider a sub par diet -- but he needed massive amounts of calories daily to support his workouts, and its hard to get 7 or 8k of calories a day on celery and hummus

      Another example is a popular NFL running back once remarked to an ESPN commentator off handedly that his post workout meal was a Muscle Milk and a big order of chicken nuggets .
       

Personally, I'm not a Ferrari, --- right now, if I had to make an automotive comparison, I would probably be closer to an F-150 (which is what I drive anyway)

Mr VEggie 10k man I would equate to a V-6 Camaro .   Snappy and good performing , sure, but far below an elite category

Here is where all this automotive speak starts coming into play  --- but its flip flopped

The real Ferrari needs good fuel -- its compression ratio demands it , - plus, if your paying 200k for a car, who cares what the gas cost
  --- But the Ferrari's of the athletic world seemingly do just fine on 85 octane Pemex (that's Mexican gas) and lots of it .    They occupy the rarefied air of performers that measure improvement in fractions of a percentage point.   Eating like my running friend wont make them 5% better, or even 2% better and in fact may have detrimental effects in the short run

In the auto world , Camaros and F-150's don't need pump premium gas --- if its designed to run on 87, filling it with 92 wont do  a thing for it ----
   ---- but the Camaro's and F-150's and Accords of the athletic world , on the other hand, will benefit much more from "race gas" -  a regimented  nutrition ---- My amateur running friend is on the mark there --

          If  Mr Superstar is over-served the night before a big game , he may not perform as well as he should -- but he's 26 or 27 years old, has amazing genetic recuperative ability, and can run a 4.3 forty yard dash ----- and 4.5 if he's hung over
  
    If a 45 year old factory worker or office manager is over served Friday night , he may not be able to even make the gate for a 9AM start time at his event

"Race gas" is a regulated and regimented system of eating that will ensure you are getting a consistent flow of nutrients through your body to avoid crashes, help you rest better, and , hopefully, jump start a sluggish metabolism
       There is a pretty good intangible benefit that is hard to measure but cant be ignored too, -- and that's the feeling of contentment you may have from treating yourself right

There are tons of  good diet strategies out there  (Paleo, South Beach, and 40-30-30 are some that come the closest to getting it right)  But even within a good diet plan , attention has to be paid to meal frequency and if your busy, its hard to eat  5 or 6 meals a day of solid food,  so snacks and supplementation with meal replacements is sometimes a good way to go
  
          People can argue day and night about which plan is best -- but really, the best plan is the one that you attack with conviction, dedication and with no hesitancy

   That applies to a lot of things ------  and its tough ,  doubly tough if you're on the road,   but the road to greatness can be long, narrow and winding -- its not a 50 foot wide highway for everyone --- if you mess up one day, go ahead and kick yourself in the gonads for acting silly, but get right back on the program the next day

As for me, if given a choice, I'll take the Race Gas,  but since its December 23rd , I'm probably going to supplement the high test stuff with a piece of cherry pie sometime today too   :)


Merry Christmas