Books! Read Them!

I'm taking a quick break from catching up on life (yes, I realize it's almost the end of August and I'm still recounting the first half of July...) to fill you in on some books I've read recently that you should definitely check out!

(I used to sit and read on my fire escape!)

1) To Be a Runner: How Racing Up Mountains, Running with the Bulls, or Just Taking On a 5-K Makes You a Better Person (and the World a Better Place) by Martin Dugard 
This book is a bunch of essays that relate the way you live life to running. And it's great. 

“To be a runner is to learn continual life lessons. To be a coach is not just to teach these lessons but also to feel them in the core of your marrow. The very act of surpassing personal limits in training and racing will bend the mind and body toward a higher purpose for the rest of my runners' lives. Settling for mediocrity-settling instead of pushing-those who learn to be the best version of themselves know the secret to a full life.”

2)The Long Run: One Man's Attempt to Regain His Athletic Career-And His Life-by Running the New York City Marathon by Matt Long

This book is super inspirational and I especially enjoyed it because the author is from the Upper East Side and I can relate to a ton of the things he talks about in the book! Loops of Central Park, training on Randall's Island - not to mention he's the owner of 3 popular NYC bars. This book also has this little voice in the back of my head whispering "Iron Man" a lot these days. 

“What did I discover during my solo—besides learning to unwrap my energy bar ahead of time? That you ask yourself a lot of questions when you're alone on a bike for that long. One question more than others: Why the heck am I doing this? When I was done, I think I had found the answer: For the satisfaction that comes with pushing your body to the breaking point and conquering the unknown.” 

3) Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
I'm sure most people have already heard about this book, but it's about the Tarahumara Indians who can run FAR and FAST. I love the way it's written like a cross between an investigative journalism piece and also a story. “There's something so universal about that sensation, the way running unites our two most primal impulses: fear and pleasure. We run when we're scared, we run when we're ecstatic, we run away from our problems and run around for a good time.” 

4) Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World's Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself by Rich Roll 
“The prize never goes to the fastest guy,” Chris replied. “It goes to the guy who slows down the least.” True in endurance sports. And possibly even truer in life.” 

5) Running on Empty: An Ultramarathoner’s Story of Love, Loss, and a Record-Setting Run Across America
I'm not quite done with this yet, but it's incredible and I still can't wrap my head around the mileage Marshall Ulrich covered. Or the fact that he's not the only one to have done it. Love the historical pieces of this book as well. 

“Keep going, one foot in front of the other, millions of times. Face forward and take the next step. Don’t flinch when the road or gets rough, you fall down, you miss a turn, or the bridge you planned to cross has collapsed. Do what you say you’ll do, and don’t let anything or anyone stop you. Deal with the obstacles as they come. Move on. Keep going, no matter what, one foot in front of the other, millions of times.” 

Is it a prerequisite to be a book about running/fitness you must use a colon in your title? 

I will say, after reading all 5 of these books it's shocking how similar the stories are. But yet they never get boring to me, because they're so relate-able. Sure they can get a little dramatic, a little cheesy.  But that's what running can do to you! It's certainly turned me into a weepy mess!

Since I'm not running at the moment (again, more on that some day...) this is apparently my coping mechanism - read as much about running as I possibly can.