Book Review: Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall

Hi Everyone!

It's Jen, Angela's Mom. I just finished reading a wonderful book that I highly recommend. It's called Born To Run, A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall. I LOVED this book. It starts out with the authors own quest to answer the question: "Why does my foot hurt?" This question takes him deep into the Copper Canyons in Mexico where the reclusive Tarahumara Indians live. Their hobby? To run hundreds of miles in nothing more than handmade sandals for the sheer joy of it. This superhuman tribe possess uncanny health and serenity and are immune to the diseases and strife that plague our modern existence.

The book portrays a true story but it reads like an Indiana Jones novel, full of wild characters and cliffhanging action. The story climaxes with a 50 mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting Star American ultra marathon runner Scott Jurek against the top Tarahumara runner, Arnulfo Quimare. Who will win? Read and find out!

Not only did I devour this book for the quirky characters and action, but I also loved the scientific aspect. If you are a runner, do you ever get tired of well meaning folks telling you how bad running is for you? Well this book answers, once and for all, why the human body was designed, from a scientific/anthropologic aspect, to run. And not just run, but run lots of miles safely.

The book also makes a strong case for barefoot running. By the way, I am doing great on week two of my barefoot and Vibram Five Fingers hiking. My post surgery knee is progressing quite nicely and I feel my feet getting stronger due to all the stimulation they are getting!

At first I thought that I loved this book so much because I am an ultra marathon runner myself. But then I found out that it has spent many weeks on the New York Times

Best Seller List. When I went into my local bookstore to buy a copy for my running buddy Rico, the clerk told me that everyone was coming in and asking for it!

If you are looking for a great read and some inspiration to get out there and get your body in shape, Born To Run is for you. I give it five stars!

Barefoot Running & Vibram Five Fingers

Hi Everyone!

As I was discussing in my last post, it's time to reinvent myself as an ultra runner. Recovering from knee surgery has been interesting. One conclusion that I've come to is that patience is highly overrated! I am so eager to start running again but so far all I can do is walk. Much better than where I was a couple of months ago. On crutches. Back to the drawing board!

I have started doing research on running, injury prevention, anatomy etc. and here's some of what I've discovered:

The soles of your feet have millions of nerve endings which sense the pounding and stress of running and walking. Your brain and body work together to adapt to this stress by constantly adjusting your gait. This normal protective mechanism keeps you from being injured. When you cover your foot with a shoe, you interfere with this adaptive mechanism. The result is a diminished ability by the foot to adapt, with potential damage to the ligaments, fascia, cartilage or bone in not only the foot, but the leg, thigh, pelvis, knee, low back and many other areas.

Conclusion: Barefoot running is best because there is no interference with the nerves that sense your contact with the ground.

Wow! I have been running in protective trail shoes and orthotics for many years now. The only time I go barefoot is around the house because I like pretty feet. Boy, was this ever going to require a lot of pedicures. Yes, I like to get dirty on the trail, but my idea of roughing it is when room service answers on the second ring!

This week I decided to conduct an experiment of one. I started out by walking my dog, Rusty, around the neighborhood barefoot. The first thing I noticed was the feeling of excitement as my bare feet touched the warm earth. I felt like a kid again. Luckily, we live close to the beach. The beach sand feels like velvet against my feet. The second thing I noticed at the end of day one is that my feet are wimpy, wimpy, wimpy! Boy, were they sore.

But I wanted to get back on the trail and was not sure if Ms. Wimpy's feet could tolerate all the rocks and dirt. That's when I discovered the shoes I'm wearing in the picture. They are called Vibram Five Fingers. They were originally designed to keep from slipping while working on the deck of a boat and have evolved for sporting uses. The model I purchased called the KSO's (keep stuff out) are designed for trail running.

Yesterday, I met Rico at our favorite trail running spot to give them a test. We did five tough trail miles and I loved it. My toes were able to grip the rocks and trail. I could feel my posture improving. I could feel muscles, like my calves and gluteus, (we all want cute butts) working in ways they have been unaccustomed to working. By the end of the workout I was sore. So what did I do? Headed over to the 9 am Bikram Yoga class to loosen up.

I am here to tell you that I think I'm on to something. This is a great workout! I woke up this morning refreshed and yes, sore. In a good way. My legs are talking to me. I think they are saying "thank you, we've been waiting for that!"

Eventually, I would like to give the trails a try completely barefoot. Again with that patience thing! If you want to give it a try, I would recommend easing into it. Relax and have fun with it. Our feet have been so de-conditioned from wearing shoes all the time that it's going to take some time to re-condition them. I, for one, am willing to go for the ride. How about you?

(Also see my upcoming review of Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall.)

Bikram Yoga, Surfing and Ultra Running

Hey There Everyone! I'm Angela's Mom, Jen. I just celebrated my 51st birthday. Entering the half century mark is exciting for me. Why? Because I love to work out. Angela and I will be sharing with you our two generations worth of adventures, so come along for the ride!

Some of the things that I love include, Bikram Yoga, often called hot yoga, surfing (started at age 45 folks, so it's never too late) and my main love, is ultra running. What's an ultra run? It's any distance over a standard marathon which is 26.2 miles. Our shortest run is 50K, 50 miles, and yes, I have completed a 100 mile race as well. Oh, and Angela and I just tried stand up paddle boarding.

I love to run on trails for the breathtaking beauty and meditation. Your mind slows down from all the chatter and you hit this amazing zone. Plus, you get some pretty nice looking legs in the bargain!

So, there I was two and a half months ago on the trail with my favorite running partner, Rico, when disaster struck. I came home that night from a 20 mile run and was limping. Turns out I had a torn meniscus and torn ACL. All those miles and I had never had a twinge of knee problems. Until I did. The doctors recommended surgery. Ouch! What self respecting ultra runner would allow themselves to be cut into? Me.

But I firmly believe that our bodies are magnificent healing machines. It's been two and a half months and a lot of ice. I am biking, doing yoga, surfing (finally) and am determined to reinvent myself into an even better ultra runner than ever. I have to keep up with Angela don't I? I've got some ideas on how I am going to accomplish this, so stay tuned.