Worth Reading: City of Girls

 

I stayed up way too late finishing Elizabeth Gilbert's City of Girls before I went to sleep last night.

Mulling it over as I climbed the stairs to bed, I realized I found most of the characters and much of the plot completely improbable. Why then did I stay up so late to finish it?

To begin with, because it contains an assortment of wise and insightful passages like this one:

"When we are young, Angela, we may fall victim to the misconception that time will heal all wounds and that eventually everything will shake itself out. But as we get older, we learn this sad truth: some things can never be fixed. Some mistakes can never be put right -- not by the passage of time, and not by our most fervent wishes, either.

In my experience, this is the hardest lesson of them all.

After a certain age, we are all walking around this world in bodies made of secrets and shame and sorrow and old, unhealed injuries. Our hearts grow sore and misshapen around all this pain -- yet somehow, still, we carry on."

And this:

"This is what I've found about life, as I've gotten older: you start to lose people, Angela. It's not that there is ever a shortage of people -- oh, heavens, no. It is merely that -- as the years pass -- there comes to be a terrible shortage of your people. The ones you loved. The ones who knew the people that you both loved. The ones who know your whole history."

And I couldn't help but fall in love with the main characters, who, despite their many flaws -- or perhaps because of them -- radiated love and compassion for those around them. It seemed to me the story was one long lesson in the giving and receiving of grace - something the world could surely use more of.

Of course, since it's a Liz Gilbert book, all the earnest stuff is packaged in a rollicking good story, set in a intriguing time and place, lyrically told, which makes it perfect reading for a long winter's night by the fire, or lazy day on the beach. Highly recommended.

Valentine's Day Weekend - reading, running, eating, painting…repeat

What a good long weekend it was. I spent most of it doing just exactly as I liked - reading, running, eating, painting, and hanging out with Husband. The only thing that wasn't perfect was the weather. Saturday was okay but both Sunday and Monday were bitterly cold and windy. I'd have preferred to stay bundled up inside for the duration but that wasn't an option since I plan to run a marathon in a few months.

Sunday's run was an 8k with husband. Bless him for running with me. It was damned cold - about -20C with the windchill - so I'm sure I would have given up and headed home after 2k if he hadn't been with me. The footing was tricky with several inches of fresh snow, and the frigid north wind blowing straight at us for the first 4k made our cheeks sting and our fingers ache. I thought it would be better when we turned around but the wind quickly froze our butts and hamstrings so the return journey felt almost as tough.

Reading, Running and 'rithmetic

Centennial Trail last weekend 

My major accomplishment last week was finishing three books. Two were running books my friend Janet lent me. The other was a book recommended by another friend, who said it helped her deal with some difficult work colleagues. For very different reasons, all three were worth the read.

Effortless Exercise by Grant Molyneux starts from two premises - that most people only exercise consistently when they find it enjoyable, and that most runners (and other athletes) push themselves too far too fast, compromising both enjoyment and performance. His solution is to encourage "effortless exercise", which involves listening carefully to your body and increasing intensity as and when you body is ready to do so. Most of what Molyneux says makes intuitive sense and is consistent with the Chi Running techniques I've practiced in recent years. However, I found one suggestion particularly intriguing - that is, to breathe through your nose and let intensity build only to the point where you're forced to breathe through you mouth.

For my long run last weekend, I decided to give the technique a try. I'm not sure I was entirely persuaded. Of course, conditions weren't great. There were still heaps of snow and ice around (see photo above), which made running more challenging than usual and Husband and I had done 8k the day before so my legs weren't entirely fresh. Taking time to work my way into the run gradually felt okay, but my inner Type A wasn't happy with how slowly I had to run to avoid breathing through my mouth and the slow pace left my legs feeling wonky. 

To be fair, it may have been the footing as much as the nose breathing that slowed me down. The treacherous conditions were bound to make my legs feel tight and sore after 11k. Molyneux promises that exercise will feel effortless and my performance levels will improve if I follow his suggestions so I'm motivated to keep trying but I hope my next few runs feel a bit easier.

The other running book on the list, The Non-Runners Marathon Guide for Women, isn't really a running book at all, though it is pretty entertaining. I can imagine recommending it to someone like my sister, who's always been very fit but never trained to run distance. She'd enjoy it for its entertainment value but have the sense to seek better advice on prepping for a marathon. I wouldn't recommend it for a genuine newbie. It seemed to me the author, Dawn Dais, hadn't really listened to her coaches' advice. Her account of running her first (and presumably only) marathon is truly harrowing. I've run 7 marathons and a 50k race and none of them came close to the pain-fest Dais describes. Clearly, she was nowhere near ready to tackle a marathon. 

The third book added to the list this week, Emotional Vampires, is one I'd recommend to anyone seeking strategies for dealing with difficult people. Emotional vampires, Bernstein explains, come in many shapes and sizes (antisocial, histrionic, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive, and paranoid) but, there are practical things you can do to protect yourself so they don't drain you dry. I was particularly intrigued with the chapters on obsessive-compulsive vampires since, for many years, I've suspected I fall into that category myself. Bernstein provided a checklist that confirmed my suspicions, together with a list of strategies for mitigating the worst of my OCD tendencies, which I hope will be helpful. The book also contains some great advice for dealing with bullies and narcissists, who are far too common unfortunately. 

I hasten to add that I've been reading fiction as well as non-fiction over the past few weeks. In fact, I've got three books on the go at the moment. I wonder if other people read the way I do - four or five books at a time. I sometimes find it frustrating because it takes so long to finish anything. On the other hand, I like having a variety of books to choose from depending on my mood. There's another snowstorm in the forecast for this weekend so, with luck, I'll finish one or two.

In light of the forecast, I'm only planning one run this weekend - a 13k long slow run tomorrow morning. Husband and I are still on track to run a half marathon in early May though we haven't registered for a race yet, and I'm still hoping to tackle a marathon in July. However, I have yet to work out a detailed training schedule, and my total weekly mileage has been nothing to brag about so it's time to break out my calendar and do a little arithmetic.

I'm really proud of Husband for taking on the challenge. He's nearly 63 and has had a number of serious health issues in recent years but he seems more determined than ever to "use it or lose it". The galling thing is how easily he runs. Though he hadn't hit the road in ages, he joined me for a 5k training session a month ago and barely broke a sweat, and he's already ready to tackle 9k this weekend. Impressive!

Time to sign off and hit the road. I've got another post half-written, which I'll try to finish over the weekend. Until then, happy running and writing, friends. 

Running Lessons: Food as fuel for body and soul

Phew! It's been a busy couple of weeks. With Christmas concerts, dinners with family and friends, shopping for and wrapping gifts, finishing two more Christmas stockings (this time for my sister and her husband) and occasional runs, the days have been full. Still, I managed to squeeze in a little reading by the fire and, while a winter storm rages outside today, hope to catch up on blogging, email and a bit of volunteer work.

A few days  ago, I finally finished Scott Jurek's Eat & Run (highly recommended). What an amazing athlete he is! Among his many other accomplishments, he's won the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run seven times, including in 2005 when he went on two weeks later to win the Badwater Ultramarathon (135 miles).  Like many long distance runners, he says ultra-marathoning is about much more than talent and good training. It's about mental discipline, spiritual development, and a desire to win as well. It's also about fueling with good food. He himself follows a strict vegan diet for environmental and health reasons and he makes some pretty persuasive arguments that diet has been key to his success as a distance runner. It's making me think even harder about my own dietary choices.

Husband and I stuck to a pretty strict vegetarian for a number of years before falling off the wagon when I got into running marathons and decided I needed more meat protein in my diet. Over the past few years, we've tended to eat meat 2-3 times per week but have tried to eat locally raised, organic meats as much as possible.  During the past few months, we've begun transitioning back to a more vegetarian diet and haven't missed meat very much, but it's hard to imagine giving up animal-based protein all together. We both like eggs and cheese too much!  But perhaps we'll try a few of Jurek's vegan recipes and see if they taste as good as he says they do.

The other thing about Jurek's book is that it got me thinking about my running - specifically, what my running goals are for the coming year. I'm struggling a bit with what's "reasonable" given my other commitments. I've also put a few pounds in recent months (a good thing since I was too thin) and haven't been doing any tough training, so it's hard to imagine gearing up for another marathon. On the other hand, it's also hard to imagine not running a couple of long races in 2013. Despite (or maybe because of) our ambitious renovation plans, Husband is encouraging me to get back into more serious training, and there are quite a few races that interest me, including the Bluenose Marathon and Cabot Trail Relay in May, the new ultra in Cape Breton in August, and the Okanagan Marathon and Cape to Cabot 20k in October.

Still, as I sit by the fire writing and sipping eggnog, I find myself wondering if I have what it will take to train for and run even one or two of those races. My body's been mighty cranky lately and I've not been sleeping well so running often feels more difficult than it used to. Maybe it's time to think about slowing down a bit.

On the other hand, I ran a terrific 10k two weeks ago (at less than a 6:00/km pace which is relatively quick for me) and felt pretty darn good running a 12k LSR with my friend David the next day. Then, last Sunday, despite damp cool biting winds and a little too much wine the night before, I completed a solid 14k LSR through Shubie Park and genuinely enjoyed most of it - especially, running through the off-leash area of the park - where dozens of dogs and their human companions celebrated the festive season by frolicking on the shores of the lake, cheerfully barking and calling out Merry Christmas to those they met on the trails.

So maybe I'm just suffering from a case of the running blahs brought on by too much socializing, too much sitting on my butt, and too much rich food. After all, our diet these past two weeks has included lobster, scallops, roast turkey, roast goose, roast lamb, Acadian pork and chicken pie, baked brie and large numbers of cookies and pies. Though all that delicious holiday food has been good for my soul, it's not been especially good for my body. Perhaps, if I draw up a good training plan, get back to doing yoga regularly, clean up my diet and register for race or two, I'll feel energetic enough to train through the next few months of cold, snowy weather.

But not today. At the rate the snow is still falling, it will likely be sometime tomorrow before before I make it out for a long slow 16-17 kms.

Don't get me wrong, I love running on snowy winter days.  So long as I'm wearing my long wool socks to keep my feet and legs toasty, a warm gaiter and mitts, a good hat and one of my favourite Smartwool shirts, I'm happy to run in just about anything. However, until the snow stops and the plows have been through, it would be foolhardy to run along the shoulder of the highway into town.

So, dear readers, what races do you plan to run in 2013? Do you like winter running? What are your tricks for staying warm and dry when temperatures plunge? Would you consider giving up animal-based food if you thought it would improve your running performance?

Book Review: Running Ransom Road

A couple of months ago, I received an invitation to review a new book by Caleb Daniloff entitled Running Ransom Road. I meant to read the book and write a review as soon as it arrived in my mailbox but life got in the way so I'm only now getting around to it. My apologies to Mr. Daniloff and his publisher for the delay. The book is terrific and would make a wonderful Christmas gift for any mindful runner in your life.

Its basic premise is relatively straightforward. Daniloff is a recovering alcoholic who decides to confront his past "one marathon at a time". His quest takes him to seven cities or town in the space of a year and a half: Boston, Burlington (Vermont), Moscow, Gill (Massachusetts), New York, Middlebury (Vermont) and Washington DC.

What I liked about book:  Daniloff is a professional writer and journalist and it shows in the quality of his prose. His descriptions of the races, his past life and the city and towns he visits (especially Moscow, New York, and Washington) are entertaining, evocative and often quite moving. I also appreciated his frank, sometimes darkly funny reflections on past events. Most intriguing though were his insights into the ways running has helped him to address the issues that fueled his alcoholism.

...Over the years, I'd let myself be choked by numbers - carbs, pounds, fat grams, miles, minutes, calories, bib numbers. The sub-four had become not only a barrier to break, but a tool with which to judge myself. The digits on my Garmin, the same thing. The self-criticism that drinking first softened, but ultimately exacerbated, still echoed somewhere deep inside me. It was here in DC where I first started judging myself, feeling shame at being me, too young to realize the far-reaching implications. And it was here where I could snuff them out for good.

What I didn't care for about the book:  As a slow runner who takes regular walk breaks during long runs, I was a little put off by Daniloff''s assertion that he couldn't say he'd "run" a marathon if he walked any part of it. In my experience, walk breaks are an effective strategy for going the distance that in no way diminishes the achievement. Indeed, many runners have found their marathon times improved as a result of taking walk breaks. In addition, the book doesn't include much detail regarding the author's training which may be a disappointment to some readers.

In summary, I'd highly recommend this book for any "mindful runner" - by which I mean any runner for whom running represents something more than just exercise.

Incidentally, other great books for the runners on your Christmas list include:

Once a Runner by John L. Parker, Jr. According to Runner's World, the best novel about running ever written. I liked it enough to say that claim may well be true.

Born to Run by Christopher MacDougall. A highly entertaining and informative exploration of the extraordinary human capacity for distance running, it also provides fascinating insights into what motivate the most extreme ultra-runners.

Chi Running by  Danny Dreyer. Highly recommended for those interested in learning techniques that can help them run with greater ease and fewer injuries.

Eat & Run by Scott Jurek.  A fascinating account of the forces that came together to make Scott Jurek one of the world's great ultra-marathoners. As a bonus, the book includes a terrific selection of Scott's favourite vegan recipes.

Happy reading and running, everyone!