Banana on the Run

Frequently I espouse the importance of exercise, nutrition and posture and the symbiotic relationship they have with each other. Each one enhances the value of the other. Yoga is a great example of exercise and posture in action. Eating an organic dinner at the table is a great example of posture and nutrition in action. What is a great example of exercise and nutrition in action? Running a marathon! Where is the nutrition in action while running? All the years I have ran, I have never thought about eating at all. However, I think about refreshing liquids, especially on a hot day of running. It wasn't until my first marathon where I realized the dynamic power of food on the run. In the New York Marathon a few years ago, I crossed the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan at mile 16. It is less than a mile long but it has an incline. While the incline is nearly imperceptible to the average car driver, it is enormous to a runner after 16 miles! It is a painful climb to the midway point, but the view of Manhattan is spectacular! There is the added advantage that you can stop anytime you want to take a picture. More importantly, the bridge is a crucial psychological power step toward the finish line because you know you are near Central Park, where the finish line is located. As I exited the ramp onto 1st Avenue and headed north, there were thousands of people cheering which was a great boost to morale. What I did not realize is how powerful food became at this moment. As I passed hundreds of supporters, many of them were holding out bananas and snack bars in addition to bottles of water. I ran off to the side and grabbed a banana and snack bar, and gobbled up both of them on the run. It was the first time I ever ate anything while simultaneously exercising. I never had the desire to. A marathon is different. It challenges your energy reserves to the point of total depletion, and begs you to eat, and you know what? It tasted soooo good that I had a second banana a mile further. One of the things that has always inspired me to run further and train harder is music. When I was a young child I was very interested in music. My big brother had a few Beatles albums (vinyl recordings) which I like to listen to. In 1973, Paul McCartney released a solo album titled Band on the Run. It would become the very first music I would ever purchase. I listened to that album over and over. I knew every lyric. Music has always helped me become more in tune with my thoughts and emotions. You can hear every instrument if you focus closely. When you run, you become very aware of your surroundings, distances, time and weather. You also become very in tune with your body, how it feels, and what it needs. Running has the same effect on your mind and body that music does. It clears out your mind and allows better thought, memory and emotion to surface. Perhaps that is why I started to crave bananas on the run. My body needed food, so my brain over rode the normal signal not to eat while running, and gave me the green light to eat out of necessity. Ever since that first banana on the run, all I can think about is the time I used to listen to Band on the Run with my head phones while sitting in a bean bag. It was a foreshadowing of what I would experience on the future streets of Manhattan. I can hear it over and over again in my head "And a bell was ringing in the village square/For the rabbits on the run/Banana on the Run...Banana on the Run...".