The Runner Reads- The Longest Race

One of the best parts about having graduated from college is that for the first time in my life I have real free time. I have a steady job with a set schedule and no homework! So what am I doing with all that free time? Well other than running, I've been reading a lot. According to my Goodreads account, I've read 34 books since graduation in May. I don't mess around with reading.

I read a lot of different kinds of books, but I really wanted to highlight some books about running on this blog. The first in The Runner Reads segment is The Longest Race by Ed Ayers. Why this book? It was the only one that I was interested in that my library had in stock when I went, to be honest.

Before I started I looked through the reviews on Goodreads. They weren't great. Out of 5 stars it has a 3.28 average (out of 225 reviews, guess there aren't a lot of runners using Goodreads). That wasn't a good sign, but I decided I was going to read it anyway.

In the book, Ayers tells of his running of the JFK 50 Miler when he was sixty years old, flashing back to the experiences that have made him the runner he is.

Reading the book was a lot like running a race. It started out great and interesting, but as it went on I found myself tired. Tired of him trying to relate everything in the world back to running. Tired of him talking about how great he was in high school cross country. Tired of him talking about how at 60 he was beating most of the Marines running JFK (okay that actually was kind of interesting).

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book. In fact, I may be tossing around the idea of a 50 Miler next Fall (if I can survive my other big goals before then) because the way he wrote about his experience showed that it was possible for anyone to run this race, even if you aren't a speedy runner (like he was).

Would I recommend this book? That depends. I think I would only say read this if you're in to reading stories about ultrarunning. If you do read it, go in with the mindset that it can be boring at times. But, go in knowing that hearing the story of a 60 year old man running 50 miles like it was a walk in the park was still inspiring (even if his writing was annoying).

Thoughts from the Long Run- You Can Run Longer

This week I've been thinking a lot about how perspective changes as you running experience grows. Mainly, perspective about distance.

In January 2013, I decided I wanted to be a runner. However, I just thought I would stick with 5Ks, because running more than 3 miles at a time sounded awful. Running a marathon was out of the question.

After about 3 5Ks, I got bored. 5Ks were over too fast! I found myself actually wanting to run longer. I used to think people who ran the Virginia Ten Miler were crazy, but I thought I might try it. My logic was that if you can run 3 miles, you can run 5, and if you can run 5 twice that's 10. I'm still not sure if that's the best logic, but I soon found myself signed up for both the Ten Miler and the Outer Banks Half Marathon.

That November I swore I would never do a marathon. The leap from 3 miles to 13 seemed gradual and logical. But to double that distance? That was crazy.

I've since learned that saying "never" usually gets me in trouble. I ran a marathon, swore I would never do it again, and here I am planning 2 more this year, and at least one 50K in the Spring.

The point of this post is that it takes time. Beginning runners usually don't go out with the mindset of running a marathon. However, as time goes on, it truly does get easier. I used to text Zach crying because I had to stop and walk after a half a mile and was convinced I would never get better. This morning I ran 17 miles (with walk breaks) and felt fantastic about it. A year ago, even though I was training for a marathon, I would have laughed if you told me I would ever think running 17 miles would be fun.

A lot of people have told me they wish they had the drive or ability to run as far as I do. The truth is that you do. I didn't get here overnight, it's been a long journey from January 2013 to get here. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Running Roundup Brain Dump

I feel like I've been MIA for a long time.. my last post was at the beginning of June! So here's a little bit of a brain dump/life catch up to get myself back on track here. Enjoy a lot of pictures :)

As you may remember, I'm running Marine Corps Marathon on October 25th. I've been (very seriously) toying with the idea of running the Outer Banks Marathon 2 weeks later. I haven't made the commitment and signed up yet, but I'm about 98% sure I'm going through with it.

Got this long run in while on a weekend getaway in Raleigh 4th of July weekend!

So with 2 marathons on the horizon (current countdown to MCM is 94 days! Eek!) I've been running and training a lot. I've fallen in love with TRX and strength training, and I've been getting some muscle definition! Also, I can now do 3 pull ups on the pull up bar in my kitchen which I consider a huge accomplishment.

About a month ago I demoed the Brooks Adrenaline shoe and fell in love, buying a pair on the spot!

Since I last checked in, I've run the HumanKind 5K...

and Percival's Island 5 Miler. (Which was my fastest race pace EVER!!)

I reorganized my medal rack...

Signed up for a Spartan Super...

Jarvis has been up to his usual crazy antics (okay this has nothing to do with running. I just wanted to put him in here because he's adorable):

"Mom hello I'm more interesting than that book."

Actually, I take that back. He does have something to do with running! Lock Laces (which I have raved about before) held a photo contest on Instagram challenging people to enter pictures using the tag #MyLockLaces to show their laces in interesting places. This was my entry:

And guess what?! We won! The prize was a pair of running shoes (winner's choice) so of course I had to get another pair of the Brooks I fell in love with. They also put laces in the shoes and sent me a tech shirt and 2 new pairs of laces. I love this company!

Finally, the most recent thing I've done of note is a fun run last night that ended in ice cream! (Pardon the super gross sweaty selfie. It was unbearably hot!) We also got free Smartwool socks, which are amazing! I'm pretty sure the foot I tried it out on was the only dry part of me at the end of my run.

The absolute best thing that's happened since my last blog post is that I've finally really gotten plugged in to the running community here. Before graduation, I was never free to meet people or go to social events (it also didn't help that I was working 2 jobs and barely even had time to sleep). I LOVE my running crew. I've only been hanging with them for a few short weeks, but I feel like it's the beginning of a beautiful friendship. 

Running is awesome, but long runs by yourself really suck. I'm so thankful for my long run partner!

Until next time!