Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World's Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself

by Rich Roll

By day three, the fog began to clear. My taste buds adapted and I actually began enjoying the regime. And despite so few calories, I began feeling a surge of energy, followed by a profound sense of renewal. I was sold. Day four was better, and by day five, I felt like an entirely new person. I was able to sleep well, and I awoke rested after only a few hours of shut-eye. My mind was clear and my body felt light, infused with a sense of vibrancy and exhilaration that I hadn’t known was possible.

I’m not a doctor. I’m not a nutritionist. I’m just a guy who started paying really close attention to what he was putting into his body. A guy who undertook some study to better understand which foods do what and why. And a guy who liked the results so much that he started taking on challenges that he’d never even dreamed of before.

I’m hardly alone in my advocacy of this so-called “alternative lifestyle.” In fact, plant-based nutrition has recently exploded into the mainstream. Avid plant-based athlete converts include tennis legend Serena Williams; NBA standout Kyrie Irving; world-record setting strongman Patrik Baboumian; World Freerunning Champion Timothy Shieff; and martial arts fighters such as Mac Danzig, Jake Shields, and Nate Diaz, who made global headlines when he bested Conor McGregor. Even the NFL is coming around due to the example of former defensive lineman David Carter (aka “the 300 Pound Vegan”), former Colts and Ravens wide receiver Griff Whalen, and offensive tackle Trent Williams of the Washington Redskins. Then there’s Tom Brady, the most celebrated athlete in the league, who adheres to a mostly vegan regimen. And it’s not just professional athletes who’ve caught the fever. Passionate plant-based advocates include politicians like Senator Cory Booker and former Vice President Al Gore; entrepreneurs like Whole Foods founder John Mackey, Twitter founder Biz Stone, and real estate magnate Mort Zuckerman. There’s even a cabal of high rolling venture capitalists dubbed the “vegan mafia” who understand that the future of food is plants and are investing accordingly. Let’s not even count the celebrities—there’s just too many to mention. The list is huge and growing daily.

But what’s a plan without a goal? A road to nowhere.

Chris and I began by building my training volume slowly to ensure against injury, no small possibility given my body’s previous dormant decades. At first, it was around ten hours a week. A couple one-hour swims. Two or three Z2 runs of only an hour to ninety minutes maximum. A longer bike ride on Saturday morning, anywhere from three to four steady hours. And a longer run on Sunday, generally about 90 to 110 minutes in length.

I am the farthest thing from a natural-born runner. In fact, I don’t really consider myself a runner at all. Any success I’ve achieved on foot is more a matter of fitness and discipline than innate ability.

But that’s like treating erectile dysfunction with Viagra. It may resolve the symptom, but it ignores the root cause.

I added apple cider vinegar to my water to quickly alkalize my system, and I also drank coconut water, which is high in electrolyte trace minerals lost in perspiration. To replenish glycogen, I made sure to eat plenty of complex carbohydrates in the form of sweet potatoes or brown rice. That seemed to work far better than nutrient-poor sources of carbohydrates such as pasta or bread. (Even the gluten-free varieties are processed and leave me feeling heavy and lethargic.) And to combat inflammation and repair free radical damage induced by exercise stress, I amped up my intake of nutrient dense foods high in anti-inflammatory antioxidants like blackberries, blueberries, moringa, and turmeric (the nutrient bioavailability of which is enhanced by adding black pepper), supplemented with adaptogens like reishi and chaga mushroom extracts.

It’s not about the bike, Lance Armstrong famously said.

Taking note of my distress, Julie leaned down, kissed my forehead, and presented me with a question. The question. “So if that was it, would you be satisfied with how you’d pursued your life?”

What’s the worst thing that can happen? she’d ask. We’re healthy. In love. Living life according to our own rules. And that’s all that matters. Everything else is just stuff.

And this was when I started to lose my mind. To say that I was cranky is an understatement. Ultra-endurance veterans always advise, “Never enlist friends or loved ones to crew for you.”