My Raw Vegan Summer: Fruits, Greens, and Half-Marathons
Exploring the Power of a Raw Diet and Its Impact on Endurance and Recovery
I’ve had a really tough spring this year, one of the worst ever. To top it off, at the beginning of June, I had a minor operation scheduled, which I knew would put me in bed for a month.
To reset and recuperate, I decided to go raw vegan for the entire summer, from June 21st to September 21st, which also happened to be the day of the Bovec Half-Marathon — a test of my physical abilities and a symbolic end to this challenge.
I’ve been a plant-based vegan (meaning I focused on the health aspect of this lifestyle rather than the ethical side) for more than a decade now, always leaning toward raw foodism but never fully committing. I had always wondered what it would be like and how my body would respond. This year, the stars aligned, and I gave it a try.
At first, I thought, “I’ve got this,” and I naively started with the rather limited knowledge and experience I had gathered from other raw foodists. I made power bars from nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. I also bought a lot of cashews and mixed nuts, afraid I’d be hungry without bread, porridge, legumes, and other starchy staples.
