Born to Run

I just finished Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.  What an AMAZING book and story.  I'm not going to give a complete summary since it would give the story away...but there are some very interesting points in it.

The whole thing revolves around how we as humans were born to run and quote..."we don't get old because of running, we get old because we stop running."  That is awesome.  For someone doing endurance sports this book is a must read.  The science behind running and why as we get older our endurance improves is eye opening.  It should give hope to all who think they are too old to start.

At 32, I can't wait to see what I can do at 40 and then 50.  The book talks about individuals into their 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s who ran with the best.

What I especially liked was the talk around running efficiency and how we were untaught (is that a word) how to run starting in the 70s and how we have to relearn the ancient art of running correctly if we want to do this correctly and injury free.

I get lots of flack from friends and family who say that I'm going to blow my knees up and be hurting the older I get.  However, I disagree based on the principle of running better and more efficient.  Since about October of 2012 I changed my entire approach...shorter strides, quicker strides, straight back, land mid to for foot, and go more minimalistic in my shoe (I wear Newtons and love them!).  I feel as though this has made me stronger, faster, less injury prone, and enjoy running more!

So there you have it.  I do have to say though that doing and competing in ultramarathons is now something on my bucket list for the future.

One last thing...the book kept mentioning how the ancient Tahramura indians (the world's best ultra-distance runners) rely on iskiate and penole for much of their fueling.  As for me, I am always looking to try something new the best do.  So, I made some iskiate this week (water, chia seeds, and lime).  I felt great after it.  I'll keep experimenting with this drink as time goes on.

Tonight I made some penole.  Amazing how simple this is, but it is their energy food much in a way that we use gu's and bars.  It consists of corn meal (cheap and good for you), water, chia seeds for super power, and some cinnamon for flavoring and...YUMMY!  My kids love it too.  I made it into little cookies and so far love them.  I will be looking forward to trying this on longer runs, bikes, and workouts.  It's basically an organic homemade energy bar.

Here is a picture of one batch.