What I Talk About…

Murakaml, Haruki. What I Talk About When I Talk about Running: a Memoir. New York: Afred A. Knopf, 2008.

They say it’s common when something gets lost in the translation. But, what does it mean when something is found in it? Haruki’s What I Talk About… speaks to me on so many different levels, despite the fact that it is translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel. Whenever I review a book I like to pick one or two quotes – excerpts from the book that evoke a reaction in me. Ranging from “aha, I never thought of it that way!” to “EXACTLY! This person gets it!” and everything in between. With What I Talk About… I found seven different passages to quote in the first 17 pages. If I were to point out every sentence I loved I would end up quoting the whole book. That wouldn’t exactly encourage people to go out and buy it for themselves and I’m pretty sure Haruki (and his lawyers!) would have some copyright issues to discuss with me.

To say that I loved every page of this book is an understatement. It is better to say I connected with every word. I’m not the runner that Haruki is. I don’t run 2 miles a day let alone the 6 or 8 he does six days a week!And I don’t necessarily agree with his choice of music (I have no clue who Gorillaz is). But, how he feels about running gets me to the core. He talks about not being a competitive person – neither am I. He talks about not hating to be alone – me neither. He talks about running as a spiritual thing, something to hold sacred. How many times have I said the run is 75% emotional, 25% physical? Haruki even shares my opinion about a brand of running shoe (no bells, whistles or gimmicks but gets the job done). I found myself exclaiming, “yes, exactly!” on nearly every page. Which had me wondering…if Nancy Pearl became a runner and wrote another Book Lusty book, would What I Talk About… make it into a chapter? I bet it would. The only other thing I have to say is go read it for yourself. It’s that good.

Boat Pose & Other Killers

Seeing as how i’m still patting myself on the back for the 5.3 mile run i decided to walk on the treadmill for 45 minutes (this time using a program called mountain climb which IS all about incline), lift some free weights (arms only) and practice a yoga sequence just once.

Treadmill: I have a hard time just walking on the treadmill. I’m still in the mindset that i’m not really doing anything unless i break into a run sooner or later. Walking is impatience reincarnate. Plain and simple. So. I read a book. I’m currently reading Boy With Loaded Gun by Lewis Nordan (tragic, poignant & funny all at the same time) so i was pretty distracted from the real work of walking. I think between the humidity & the incline i worked up a decent sweat (only managed to walk 2 miles, though).

Weight Training: I am definitely not afraid of a little muscle. I’d like to think my arms are getting back into shape – somewhat. Tonight, that’s all i concentrated on. Bicep curls, hammer curls, tricep kickbacks, tricep overheads, something involving the resistance bands…For some reason i wasn’t all that motivated and soon i quit. Don’t get me wrong – i did all the necessary reps and sets (10/4) so it’s not like i shortchanged the exercise completely. Just wish i had put more into it. O! Did i mention i’m using whimpy 8 lb weights for everything (except the band exercises, obviously).

Yoga: Again, i sort of feel like i cheated a little. i only went thru this sequence once (left left then right): warrior I -> warrior II ->side angle -> triangle -> tree -> “skater” pose -> down dog -> cobbler -> seated bent leg stretch -> back twist -> boat -> table. 
My favorite poses are the warriors I and II. I like seeing my strong thighs supporting my weight in a perfect 90 degree angle. I don’t twitch or shake, but stand there, confident and well, warrior-like! My favorite pose to work on is what i call the skater pose (because at the moment i am forgetting the real name of it). Basically, it’s a balancing pose where you stand on one leg and reach the other leg out behind you. Slowly bending over with arms outstretched you end up forming a ‘T’ with the leg you are balancing on strong and grounded beneath you. Or, at least that’s the pose you are going for. I wobble a little and i’m never sure my back, legs and arms are in a straight line. My least favorite pose out of this whole sequence is boat. I think in pilates it’s just called a V post. Basically, you sit on your tail bone with your legs and torso forming a ‘v’ while you reach your arms beyond your trembling legs. My stomach isn’t strong enough to hold this pose for long. Everything quivers and i feel ridiculous. This is one pose i really have to work on!

So, all in all, it was a good workout – 45 minute walk, 20 minute strength training and 10 minutes of yoga.

Confused by Books

I wanted to announce that I am officially overloaded with books. First I have the crazy booklust challenge, then I have the running books I’m trying to read on the side, then I get the announcement that RandomHouse is offering me not one, but TWO books to review. This is great news but, at the same time, devastating because I have let the running books fall by the wayside.
When I trained for the LLS I inundated myself with running advice. I wouldn’t be training with my group so I needed all the information & help I could get. Here I was, a person who hates to run, trying to teach myself how to do it properly. It’s not as simple as one foot in front of the other, my friend. The books will tell you how you land on your foot is important. The book will tell you how far off the ground your stride should be. The book will tell you how to hold your hands, how to swing your arms, where to look. Oh yes, the book will tell you. And tell you.
So, here I am, back to reading the books. Books like “The Nonrunner’s Marathon Guide for Women” by Dawn Dais. Or not. See, I’m on a roll with the BL challenge , I have an obligation to this RH thing and if there are two of them….
I’m confused by the books.

4 Months to a 4-hour Marathon

Kuehls, David. 4 Hours to a 4-Month Marathon. New York: Penguin, 2006.

I could probably read this thing in an hour. It’s seriously just over 100 pages long. An hour of nothing but this book, that is all I would really need. But, I don’t want just as hour. Every page has really good information; information I want to swirl around my brain – much like a Sommelier swirls wine around the tongue. I want to taste and savor the advice I’m getting. Let it linger. It’s all stuff I’ve heard before from people like Amby Burfoot and John “the Penguin” but I’m treating this like a refresher, not a lecture. Something to savor and lodge it in the brain a second time, and for some of the information, for the very first time. There is no pressure so I’m only on chapter 3, “Gear-ing Up” (p 12). Already I’m taking away knowledge. I’ll take it right to my local run shop because there’s where I went wrong the first time. Here’s the path to my downfall: I started my training in silly WallyWorld $15 cross trainers. They had been my “walking shoes” before I decided to pick up the pace. When they started to sag a little I went mall – bound to Ladies BigFoot Locker. They took one look at my feet and said “Try Kids Foot Locker.” Not that kids don’t train to run seriously. Not that they can’t run any better than me, but I didn’t want something with pink shoelaces and a grinning Elmo on each side. So, I headed for a reputable running shop. “Do you have these in 5 or 5.5?” was met with “Probably not, but let me dig around in the back.” I envisioned the multi-pierced store clerk flinging boxes, searching in vain for something to come back with, afraid to come back empty handed. Finally, she found something. As I counted 7 unnatural holes in her face she explained they were the last pair and she “hoped they worked.” I tried them all for all of 45 second before deeming them “okay.” I left the store $100 poorer and a wilted sense of excitement. It wasn’t the experience I had anticipated and I’ve had trouble ever since.

So. Tomorrow, I try again. I’m going to interview each store clerk and figure out which ones run from the law and which ones run like me. David said I need to tell that store clerk my running history: This is me. I trained to run 13.1, hurt the knee and have been scared silly to try again, but, but. But. Here I am. I’m trying again.
I’m going to try on more than one pair for more than 30 seconds. I’m not going to flee the store with something I can’t wear just because I’m embarrassed that I’ve wasted someone’s time looking for the right size.

Wish me luck.