He did that eating what ? My Review of "Finding Ultra"

He did that eating plants?

This is my first book review although it feels more like a book report rather than a review. This is a book I am thrilled to review. I first heard of Rich Roll on the Joe Rogan Experience, as a counterpoint to a Paleo diet expert on a previous podcast. This was my first real exposure to a vegan athlete.  What drew me in was the unrestricted conversation between Rich and Joe Rogan. Discussing food and nutrition is an emotional topic for many people, it can be attached to their identity, it can also be a coping mechanism. He was promoting his book, Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the Worlds Fittest Men and Discovering Myself, which is about life, nutrition and endurance athletes. The interview was so compelling I bought “Finding Ultra” soon after hearing the podcast.  

It is an inspirational book on a couple of different levels.The book takes you on a journey through Rich's life; detailing his ups and downs ultimately leading to Rich finding himself. Truly "Finding Ultra" shows you how he came back each time from his struggles as a better person. He finds himself almost 40 and out of shape to the point  where he is out of breath going up 8 steps. Realizing his current state of fitness would not allow him to see his daughters graduate high school or get married and he will not have any quality of life if he continues on this path. He drew a line in the sand and changed his eating habits which ultimately changed his life and the lives of those he has touched.  He accomplished this with the help of his wife, starting out with a detox. Attempting to quit food, nicotine and caffeine all at the same time- talk about a rough week. He made it through becoming a vegetarian, noticing he did not feel the energy he did  right after the detox.  He took a hard look at how he was eating, asking himself if it could be better and where he was faltering; the type of self examination skills one learns in recovery. He found the way through veganism, the change to full vegan did not happen right away, it was a process. Once he did, Rich felt vibrant, more alive than he ever felt before. The watershed moment is when he went for a run on a Saturday, not paying attention he ran the better portion of a marathon and felt incredible. He truly was Plant Powered and has been ever since. Looking for a challenge he found ironman triathlons, he did one but did not finish. Then stumbled onto Ultraman. Ultraman is a 3 day, 320 mile double Ironman distance triathlon throughout  5 of the Hawaiian islands. Inspired by the story of David Goggins, a Navy SEAL, who was doing ten endurance events for his fallen brothers and the Wounded Warrior Foundation. He identified with Dave Googins  because his mantra is “I’m no one special” he was not a born runner or triathlete. Mr. Goggins had finished Badwater, a 135 mile Ultramarathon, before Ultraman.  The problem for Rich was Ultraman is an "invitation only" event. Rich had no invite, so he started to campaign for the woman who ran the Ultraman event so he can take part in the event. Taking up the gauntlet he trained his tail off and came in eleventh with the fastest American time. Rich's performance demonstrated that he was an " Ultraman". 

Themes in the book that I found to be significant were addiction, recovery, nutrition, endurance events, the importance of family and community. It is surprising to me how many recovering addicts and alcoholics end up involved in endurance events or in Crossfit. It has been said that some people find the alone time healing; working out problems while testing yourself physically. In that alone time there is a spiritual component of endurance events and training for them.  Any type of training has a spiritual component, you just have to dig beyond yourself, beyond the pain, the doubt, and sometimes beyond our own minds. Maybe the most important lesson is no one gets there alone, without the support of his wife and family Rich would not have made it.  It is his wife that makes a fitting statement for life, “Pursue whats in your heart, and the universe will conspire to support you". Since writing the book Rich has gone on to compete in many other events, becoming an advocate for a plant based lifestyle. 

This coming week we will have a few more blog posts. I am working on changing the format and posting more. Please join the mailing list and follow the blog for more information. In the coming week we will be discussing why women should lift weights, from Russia with love Kettlebells, and some new breakthroughs in spinal health and the athlete.