My Vegan Fitness Journey!

March 26, 2010. I was 15 years old, a sophomore in high school, and it was chicken finger Friday. For two years leading up to that fateful day I told myself, I would go vegetarian, but buffalo chicken.... but alas, there I sat, eating my once beloved buffalo chicken wings, and I wasn't enjoying them. It was at that moment I knew I would never eat meat again. I considered myself an ethical vegetarian, inspired long term by my uncle and my own love of animals. At the time I was very ignorant about veganism and many animals rights issues in general. Nearly two years of vegetarianism did only a little to change that. Though I knew my omnivorous life was eternally behind me, I never imagined I could give up my one true love (cheese) or the only thing I knew how to cook (eggs) for the sake of what?? It didn't hurt the chickens to take their eggs and it didn't hurt the cows or goats or sheep to take their milk, right? (Wrong)

By mid-2011, I was struggling with my depression and anxiety more than ever, and these were battles I had been facing for half of my life. I began running in July of 2011 with an unlikely partner, and by September we were training for the New Jersey Marathon together. With this newfound goal and sense of accomplishment, I began to hope things might get better. Still, I didn't know how to make that happen, since unlike the marathon, there was no Google-able 30 week plan for how to get happy.

I discovered a vegan restaurant near where I lived that winter, and I fell in love. It made me excited about food again, and I started eating there extremely frequently. By January of 2012, I had started feeling different. The darkening fog of depression I had been living in for so long for once lightened. I felt physically and mentally better than I could remember feeling for so long. I looked at my habits and what had changed, and I realized I had been eating entirely vegan for a few weeks. I told myself I'd try to do that intentionally, but if I ever wanted something that wasn't vegan, then I could have it.

It's been six years, and that has never happened.

In the beginning, largely it was the health benefits I experienced that kept me from craving any animal products. That was a catalyst for me to begin educating myself about animal rights, environmentalism, and nutrition. I was teeming in new knowledge and foods. There was more variety in my life than ever. Veganism has only ever felt to me like adding new things into my diet; very rarely has it felt like a restrictive lifestyle.

I've never stopped running since I became a runner. I had long had an interest in triathlons, but having broken my knee in an embarrassing fight between me on a bike and a parked car in 2010, I hadn't been much of a cyclist. Once I moved to NYC, though, I realized how much I missed biking and how it's the fastest and most reliable way to get around, so I bought myself a bike and fell back in love. Despite growing up in a beach town, I could only doggy paddle. I had lots of excuses for not pursuing the triathlon.

But one day, I got an e-mail from a Farm Sanctuary that I donate to inviting their supporters to apply to be on their NYC Triathlon team. I applied, got accepted, raised $2,500 for the sanctuary, taught myself to swim, and placed third in my age group. The rest is history. This year I'll be competing at Nationals in Ohio, and though it's a longshot I'll make it to worlds in Switzerland in 2019, I'm pretty motivated to work my ass off and represent vegan athletes on a bigger and bigger stage.

Today, my struggles with mental illness are ongoing and I welcome those pieces of me like an old friend. On more difficult days, my veganism gives my life purpose. My active lifestyle gives me an outlet to express and release my negative energy. I used to say that I didn't choose to be vegan, I just discovered I was. When I ate animal products I was such a picky eater and my wellness was subpar and a constant afterthought. Once I found veganism, I felt like I found and made peace with myself.