Running for Pizza
Do I run to eat pizza or eat pizza so I can run?
Hi Pizza Fans!
How’s your life going? Enjoying some good pizza lately? I’d love to hear about it.
Last night I was feeling drained, exhausted, hot and bothered so I made the executive decision to grab a pie from Spak. It was the greasy, cheesy salve I needed to perk me back up. In the middle of a pseudo heat wave where we are being drained of our life’s essence by simply existing. A pizza provides more than enough nutrients to combat the extreme climate.
Pizza does have curative properties, I think we can all agree on that. When you’re at rock bottom, nowhere to go and seemingly trapped, a single pizza is an escape ladder to pick you up and help you climb up from the doldrums of life. Pizza is there for you at your worst and at your best. There’s nothing else in the world like that. Maybe ibuprofen? But that’s it.
I’m a big-time runner so this week has been heaven as the World Track and Field Championships are being held in Tracktown USA - that’s right, Eugene, Oregon. Probably the most inconvenient place to hold a World Championship as a town of that size can barely support the influx of people. Not to mention the pizza options: 15 shops in downtown from my research. The premier spot for pizza in Eugene, Oregon is Track Town Pizza. Located near University of Oregon’s campus, this has become a runner’s pizza haven. This is a place where pizzas are crafted to honor actual track events:
5000 Meters: Canadian Bacon, Salami, Pepperoni, Fresh Mushrooms, Red Onions, Linguica, Sausage
100 Yard Dash: Canadian Bacon, Pepperoni, Pineapple, Black Olives, Ground Beef, Italian Sausage
Track and Field Combo: Canadian Bacon, Pepperoni, Mushrooms, Green Bell Pepper, Black Olive, Ground Beef
Long Jump: Olive Oil Base, Breakfast Bacon, Pepperoni, Cooked Tomatoes, Red Onions, Green Peppers
There are very subtle differences if you dig into them, but surely that’s a commentary on how all the events look the same from a distance - people running in a circle - but there’s so much nuance and strategy below the surface. They are correct in that Canadian Bacon factors into a lot of success in running.
If you’ve met a distance runner there’s a good chance you’ve watched them eat a whole pizza by themselves. It’s one of the many skills runners develop over crushing long miles as they train for their next race. Each step and breath powered by a calorie that came from Italian’s delicacy. Powering those lungs sucking in cold atmosphere is a piece of mozzarella and fermented dough.
When I’m running 90% of the time I’m thinking about what food I’m going to put into my body after my run. On a hot day it’s an iced coffee from Constellation Coffee. Most other days it’s what kind of bread am I going to devour after the race. This is a theme in my running. Some days it’s bagels, but I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you that most of the time it’s pizza.
Pizza after a run is akin to an ice bath. It’s what the muscles crave. There’s nothing better than a slightly salty pizza paired with a huge glass of water or a cold one. It’s all the nourishment you need to start the recovery from the long intervals or pounding on the pavement.
So many of my early running memories are tied to pizza. There were the long (and annoying to the staff) hangs at Sir Pizza where we would eat our weight in tiny square pizzas. Visits to Luciano’s, the salty Fazio's pie that’s sloppy and greasy, what you need after a Sunday long run.
During a long training run as your body is deprived of energy and nutrients the mind turns thoughts to save the body - thoughts to make you stop running. “What if you took a break, or wouldn’t it be great if you accidentally twisted your ankle.” The dark thoughts drift into the mind like storm clouds signaling a storm. Much of endurance running is combating those thoughts. Smiling helps, thinking positive doesn’t hurt, but for me, it’s thinking of those comfort foods that makes the hurting bearable.
Is it healthy to tie food to happiness? Probably not. But deep into a long interval workout where each bend of the track is more painful than the last there’s really no other options.
And when you want to celebrate a great run, pizza is the answer. Which is why it was no surprise to me when Alison Dos Santos won the 400m Hurdles, beating out the two fastest men ever at that event, declared that he was going to celebrate by:
Eating pizza.
“Many people have recommended it to me,” dos Santos said. “Today I think I can drink soda.”
Wow thanks for letting me talk about pizza and running. Light pizza news this week, but I did see that Cinderlands now has pizza on the menu. Looks like you can choose from a Flatbread or Focaccia. Their bread is baked in-house, so I’m very interested in trying this out.
Okay, pizza ya later!
-Dan Tallarico, Pizza Journalist