Excerpt from "Born to Run"

"Humans are among the most communal and cooperative of all primates; our sole defense in a fang-filled world was our solidarity, and there's no reason to think we suddenly disbanded during our most crucial challenge, the hunt for food...

"'But there's a problem,' Dr. Bramble said. He tapped his forehead. 'And it's right up here.' Our greatest talent, he explained, also created the monster that could destroy us. 'Unlike any other organism in history, humans have a mind-body conflict: we have a body built for performance, but a brain that's always looking for efficiency.' We live or die by our endurance, but remember: endurance is all about conserving energy, and that's the brain's department. 'The reason some people use their genetic gift for running and others don't is because the brain is a bargain shopper.'"

"For millions of years, we lived in a world without cops, cabs, or Domino's Pizza; we relied on our legs for safety, food, and transportation, and it wasn't as if you could count on one job ending before the next one began. Look at []Nate's wild hunt with Louis; []Nate sure wasn't planning on a fast 10k immediately after a half-day hike and a high-speed hunt, but he still found the reserve energy to save Louis's life. Nor could his ancestors ever be sure that they wouldn't become food right after catching some; the antelope they'd chased since dawn could attract fiercer animals, forcing the hunters to drop lunch and run for their lives. The only way to survive was to leave something in the tank--and that's where the brain comes in."

"'The brain is always scheming to reduce costs, get more for less, store energy and have it ready for an emergency,' Bramble explained. 'You've got this fancy machine, and it's controlled by a pilot who's thinking, "Okay, how can I run this baby without using any fuel?" You and I know how good running feels because we've made a habit of it.' But lose the habit, and the loudest voice in your ear is your ancient survival instinct urging you to relax. And there's the bitter irony: our fantastic endurance gave our brain the food it needed to grow, and now our brain is undermining our endurance."

"'We live in a culture that sees extreme exercise as crazy,' Dr. Bramble says, 'because that's what our brain tells us: why fire up the machine if you don't' have to?'"

"To be fair, our brain knew what it was talking about for 99 percent of our history; sitting around was a luxury, so when you had the chance to rest and recover, you grabbed it. Only recently have we come up with the technology to turn lazing around into a way of life; we've taken our sinewy, durable, hunter-gatherer bodies and plunked them into an artificial world of leisure. And what happens when you drop a life-form into an alien environment? NASA scientists wondered the same thing before the first space flights. The human body had been built to thrive under the pressure of gravity, so maybe taking away that pressure would act as an escape-trajectory Fountain of Youth, leaving the astronauts feeling stronger, smarter, and healthier. After all, every calorie they ate would now go toward feeding their brains and bodies, instead of pushing up against that relentless downward pull--right?"

"Not by a long shot; by the time the astronauts returned to earth, they'd aged decades in a matter of days. Their bones were weaker and their muscles had atrophied; they had insomnia, depression, acute fatigue, and listlessness. Even their taste buds had decayed. If you've ever spent a long weekend watching TV on the sofa, you know the feeling, because down here on earth, we've created our own zero-gravity bubble; we've taken away the jobs our bodies were meant to do, and we're paying for it. Nearly every top killer in the Western world--heart disease, stroke, diabetes, depression, hypertension, and a dozen forms of cancer--was unknown to our ancestors. They didn't have medicine, but they did have a magic bullet--or maybe two, judging by the number of digits Dr. Bramble was holding up."

"'You could literally halt epidemics in their tracks with this one remedy' he said. He flashed two fingers up in a peace sign, then slowly rotated them downward till they were scissoring through space. The Running Man."

"'So simple,' he said. 'Just move your legs. Because if you don't think you were born to run, you're not only denying history. You're denying who you are.'"

New Haven running

The night I ran into a branch and nearly poked my eye out. Yyyouch.

Route

Barefooting around an indoor track

It was wayyy too cold on Saturday morning to run, so Jessica and I went to an indoor track in North Haven. 1 lap = 1/13 of a mile. I ran a couple of miles in socks only. My feet and lower legs are still pretty sore, especially the bottoms of my feet from the friction. I never get this soreness running in Nike Frees. Hmmm. False advertisement?

Damn, it's cold and windy out there

I went running in the dark, cold, windy night last night in Guilford. Tonight will be a repeat of last night, only the run will be in New Haven. The wind wasn't too bad around the green, but once I got to the fairgrounds, the wind was brutal. I still don't have any reflective running apparel/gear, even after a "train" friend told me that her husband told her to tell me that he almost hit me running up the yellow stripes on Whitfield.

Compelling research and interesting feedback on barefoot running

Research

Feedback

More on the Missoula Marathon

On my way out to Seattle last summer, I stopped at a Starbucks in Missoula, MT, for breakfast and coffee. I ate peanut butter and banana sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I was really there for only the coffee. It was early, and it was cold--really cold for July. Anyway, ironically, the marathon begins at Higgins and Front Streets, only a few blocks away from the aforementioned Starbucks. That downtown area is beautiful. Most striking about the city were the surrounding mountains and the preferred mode of transportation--bicycle! As I recall, it was a workday, and everyone--I mean everyone--was commuting by bike--like nothing you've ever seen before. I didn't want to leave, and that's why I'm going back!

Black bean burgers and guacamole

Jessica and I took a road trip to South Salem, NY, to buy a bottle of wine yesterday. Success! We also stumbled upon a cool produce store that was sampling about a gazillion obscure fruits. We wound up buying some assorted olives, a ginger dressing, soap, and a candle.

After running a few miles in the rain last night, we made from scratch black bean burgers and guacamole. Both came out great. The black bean burger recipe called for eight patties, but we only made four. They turned out to be too thick, but they stayed between the bread nice nice.

I've been eating like a pig lately (quality food but a ton of it). Over the last few months of 2009, I lost about six pounds, as I was under a ton of stress, etc. My running really suffered. I'm now slowly but surely gaining back the weight. I hope to be back to an optimal weight soon so that I can begin ramping up my running.

Missoula Marathon

The plan is to attempt a second marathon in Missoula, Montana, in July. Jessica is on board, too. After only three runnings of the Missoula Marathon, Runner's World ranked it the best marathon in the United States. And if you register on or before May 31st, the registration fee is only $60! Danny Britton, take note. The 4th running of the marathon will be held on July 11th, so I plan to begin marathon-specific training in late March. For the time being, though, I've got to get myself back into decent shape, running at least 20 miles per week. I took a few weeks off over the holidays and have over the past month or so slowly gotten back into it. I've been having some issues, but that's nothing a bit of non-running activity can't cure. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Jessica and I ran a few miles tonight in New Haven. I stepped in dog poop multiple times and didn't realize it until I had already done circles around Jessica's apartment. She noticed the "crap foot" and promptly removed my shoe. Damn dog owners. Pick up your dog's poop next time. (She also confessed that she thinks my favorite veggie burger in town is gross. Hard night.) I felt decent tonight. I've come to love running at night in the cold. I'm not one to take summer running for granted, so I remember dreading during that time the idea of winter running. I thought for sure that I would bite the bullet and join a gym. It didn't happen, though. Thank God.

On a final note, if you haven't read "Born to Run" yet, you should. It's by far the most fascinating and well-written book about running I've read to date. The author makes a strong case for our predisposition to run long distances at a slow pace--in little if any footwear at that. Take a look. You won't be sorry.

Till next time.

Treadmill running: a post from another runner

Since there are 11 of us that are authors on this blog, you would think that we could manage to have a daily post, right? That would be only 3 posts/month each. Sadly, Ryan is the only one it seems who is posting 3 times per month (sometimes). I thought I would give him a little back-up. :-)

(And on a side note, anyone interested in maybe taking 3 days/month, so we can up the activity on this blog?)

I do most of my runs outside. I will avoid running on treadmill even in freezing temperatures and blinding snow. I typically just can't get over the monotony of running "in place." It drives me insane! GAH! Well, recently, I did two runs on the treadmill. The first was one of our first cold days after some really nice mild weather, and it was dark outside, and I just wasn't feeling running in the cold and dark. So I thought I would give the ol' 'mill a try. The second was during some really steady, freezing-cold rain. Blah. My least favorite running condition (well, in the same category with hail or sleet, probably). It is just so miserable to run in cold rain. I'd rather it be 10 degrees colder and snowing.

Both times, I managed 6 miles on the treadmill, but I think that I've determined that's my limit (or very near to it) before I die of boredom! Okay, yes, I'm being a little dramatic here, and I suppose if I had no other choice, I could probably run further on the treadmill, but I wouldn't like it. (Then there's my friend, Krit, who does almost all her running on the treadmill, including a 21-miler. Yikes!) Anyway, a few things I've learned:

1. If someone is running on the treadmill next to me, I find it easier to keep running. Must be something about the other person's running chi or something. It motivates me.
2. Good music helps tremendously. I tried listening to my ipod, but I got too sweaty and the earbuds slipping out (gross, right?). I need to get some of those headphones that hook over the ear if I want to do treadmill running.
3. Body Glide!
4. The best way for me to make it through multiple miles on the treadmill is to keep changing things: speed up, slow down, change the incline. It's much easier to say, "I'm going to run for 5 minutes at this pace" than to think of 45 minutes of "blah" ahead of me.

People's State Forest Long-Run

Yesterday was a great day to do a long-run. It was cool and dry. I last ran this 11-miler in July. I had run it twice before then in May and June. Back in May, I ran it at 8:43; June 8:55; July 8:50; yesterday 9:01. I haven't been doing long runs, so I attribute the slower pace to this. It certainly couldn't have been the weather. I need to start running long on a regular basis if ever plan to run another long race. Also worth mentioning is that it was nice to run this with someone. If it wasn't for Jessica, I would have run this in like 9:30. You know?

Nike Free 3.0

I've put almost 370 miles on my Nike Free 3.0.1. I could put more miles on them, but I'd like to buy a new pair soon, as the old pair feels flat and is worn-out. The only trouble is that I can't find the first generation Nike Free anymore. Out now is the second generation Nike Free 3.0.2, and I don't like the feel. The design has been completely revamped. Why? The reviews for the first generation were great--mostly 5 stars. The reviews for the second generation, and I think they're accurate based on my trying on the second generation shoe, have been 50/50. It seems that the folks who gave the second generation shoe a poor review are folks who wear the first generation shoe and love it. The bottom line is that if you compare the two shoes, the second generation share pales in comparison to the first generation shoe. According to Nike, folks complained about the toe ripping in the first generation shoe, so Nike decided to add a thicker, more durable, piece of material to the toe. I hate it and all other updates.

Northampton trails

I did some kayaking and ran some trails in Northampton last weekend. The trails were great, wide and mostly flat--not much in the way of rocks, roots, etc. This I like. The last time I ran trails with rocks and roots (Bigelow Hollow State Park), I twisted my ankle three times and could barely walk a few hours after finishing the run. I like running trails, so perhaps I should slow down to decrease my injury risk. However, running in general is more important to me than running trails. Are Northampton trails the balance?