Two Inspirations for Getting in Shape

I’ve found two exercise inspirations the past two weeks. The first, a gift from my brother-in-law and my sister-in-law, bestseller, and totally flip saw to the current running shoe conventions. The second, a video diary of getting in shape using time-lapse photography.

First, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (Vintage) by Christopher McDougall made me run barefoot last week on the track (Awesome!) and go online to buy five-finger running shoes.

My injury plagued legs over the past thirty-five years never felt so good. Why? I McDougall claims (see short training video here), and I agree, the injuries are due to the high heels of my expensive running shoes and their rigid, anti-pronation devices. For the past twenty years, I’d run ten miles and come home with what felt like bruises around my ankles. My Achilles tendons stop stretching. I’ve had my right calf ball up almost regularly until the past four years the pain keeps me from running regularly, thus all the swimming and biking. I’m impressed by McDougall’s thorough description of the ultra runner’s footgear (or none), the current scientific research by University prof’s, and the fascination he displays with physiology and anatomy. So, I ran three laps barefooted in 45 degree weather on the brand new Science Hill High School track last week, and lap three seemed effortless at an 8:00 min/mile pace.

McDougall chronicles the ecstasy of running for-the-love-of-it, and the training, diet, and race-day antics these runners pull without injury and with unbelievable joy. The Terahumara (tera-oo-mara) tribe of Northern Mexico plays a mystical role in his writing. I found the stories of the encounters with a tribe which runs for-the-love-of-it a spiritual experience. I read Carlos Castaneda’s Journey to Ixtlan: the Teachings of Don Juan in college who spoke of running effortlessly, spiritually, for a hundred miles, but his “spiritual experience” while running was drug-induced and motivated by “the lord of the dark realms.” I don’t recommend reading his work, but for the past thirty years his mystical experiences while running fascinated me.

With Born to Run I connected to the stories of runners feeling light and airy as they bounce from rock to ground. I believe McDougall is right. We are born to run. We get fat and fluffy, lazy and used to sitting, watching, and getting others to do our dirty work, when our feet and legs were created (McDougall’s word!) perfectly for running well into our old age. One of our good friends is my age and typically beats every woman in almost every race she’s in. Now, I am going to share “Born to Run” with her so she can extend the life of her legs even longer!

Secondly, I cruised into a video of a man’s 365 days of exercise. I think he must have had a trainer, or he is well-read on body building, diet, and exercise. Nonetheless, I have several friends who keep up the same form through almost daily exercise including lifting weights, ab workouts, and swimming. I see the video and I KNOW IT CAN BE DONE. Now, if only I can get Rhonda to pose with me in our own time-lapse video of our own 365 days of exercise!

Related articles

• Best of 2011: The Barefoot Running Trend (fitsugar.com)
• BORN TO RUN: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen by Christopher 
• I was Born To Run (smileacrossthefinish.wordpress.com)
• Born to Run? (christostriathlon1.wordpress.com)
• Barefoot! (netniewoo.wordpress.com)
• Next Meeting (readingisoptional.wordpress.com)
• The Once and Future Way to Run: NY Times Magazine Article by Christopher McDougall (runblogger.com)
• Run for your life (muddlemash.com)
• Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton / Born To Run (itsnicethat.com)
• For Health, Running is a Natural Part of Human Life (samcivy.wordpress.com)
• Podcast: On Shoes, Form, Injuries and More with the Geeks in Running Shoes (runblogger.com)
• Staff Pick: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (themillions.com)

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