Confessions of a 20-something social pariah.

Conforming to the status quo is boring, but forging one’s own path can be full of adversity and loneliness.

It can also be quite an adventurous trip.

Jogging in the Grand Canyon.

Thankfully, I don’t get lonely very easily. Here are 20 ways that being a vegan endurance junkie has made me a bit of a social outcast amongst my peers.

1. I love, love, LOVE to go to bed before 10p and wake up before 5a.
2. I’m not much into drinking (although a post-run “shower beer” is definitely one of life’s simple pleasures. It’s just carb replenishing, right?).
3. I’m not much into coffee or caffeine. Yeah, I’m that loser who orders a plain chamomile tea at Starbucks.
4. My idea of a romantic date or fun meetup involves several hours of cycling in the countryside. Restaurants bore me.
5. While my friends are making plans for marriage, I am making plans for upcoming races and globetrotting.
6. While my friends are talking about babies, I am dreaming about becoming a crazy dog lady and living in a cabin full of huskies.
7. I think brunch is stupid.
8. If it’s not made from plants, I won’t eat it.
9. I wear workout clothes everywhere. Even to work sometimes. I don’t understand fashion at all. Help.
10. I would almost always rather be going for a run.
11. I blend copious amounts of fruits and vegetables several times a day, and my neighbors have therefore come to assume I’m Jack LaLanne‘s weirdo protégé.
12. I can’t give rides to people because the backseat of my Subaru is full of smelly old running shoes, bike parts, and dog hair.
13. I spend inordinate amounts of time poring over nutrition journals on PubMed.
14. I have precisely zero opinions on the latest TV shows, movies, or pop culture gossip.
15. TV? What’s that?
16. TV is used for propping up my laptop at eye level so I can watch footage of simulated bike rides while pedaling on my bike trainer.
17. BodyGlide and Un-Petroleum Jelly. All over. Enough said.
18. The front desk folks at my apartment building can’t believe that my weekly medium-sized Boston Organics CSA box is for me, and me alone. Roughage power!
19. Endorphins. They make me do awkward things in social situations. Whatevs. Everyone else is just missing out.
20. People just don’t seem to understand when I say, “Sorry, I can’t hang out today, because I literally can’t walk.” I swear, I’m not lying!

So there it is–20 reasons my vegan endurance lifestyle has turned me into a “crazy person.” But you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Anyone up for a multi-hour cycle in the countryside?