"Sometimes you feel like a nut!"
That was me this week. Completely and totally nutty. And not in a good way. Let's just say it was that time AND there was a full moon out. I mean seriously, I felt like I was turning to a Werewolf. An emotional, distraught PMS werewolf.
But I woke up this morning, and resisting the urge to crawl back into bed, I downed a granola bar, grabbed my mp3 player and a book, and then I jumped on the Elliptical for an hour.
IT WAS AWESOME.
Awesome Workout - Elliptical, 1 Hour, Hills Setting.
Awesome Music - PowerGlove, Retro Video Game Music Hair Metal Style.
Awesome Book - Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
So yeh, I have to talk about this book. This book is changing something in me. It is changing that I detest even the thought of running. I didn't think reading could ever do this, but this book IS!
Here's the description from Amazon:
"Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.
Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons are custodians of a lost art. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it. Their superhuman talent is matched by uncanny health and serenity, leaving the Tarahumara immune to the diseases and strife that plague modern existence. With the help of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lives among the tribe, the author was able not only to uncover the secrets of the Tarahumara but also to find his own inner ultra-athlete, as he trained for the challenge of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of Americans, including a star ultramarathoner, a beautiful young surfer, and a barefoot wonder.
With a sharp wit and wild exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to the climactic race in the Copper Canyons. Born to Run is that rare book that will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that the secret to happiness is right at your feet, and that you, indeed all of us, were born to run."
I am not finished with this book, but I'm sure I will be by the end of this weekend. And so far it is one of the best books I have every read. Quickly becoming one of my favorites. It talks about the joy of the human spirit and that is what running IS. Have you ever been so happy getting out of work that you literally want to SPRINT to your car? I have, and I thought I was insane. But turns out, that is just happiness at its most basic form. After 60 minutes on the elliptical I was so pumped that I started racing the clock...really trying to get to 600 calories burned before it ran out. I got to 598 and I was laughing so hard. That poor elliptical just wasn't ready for me.Okay, I'm planning on doing a full review of this book when I'm finished, but for now I'll just leave you with a really cool quote;
"Beyond the extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction." - William James
I hope you have an awesome day! Thanks for reading :)
