I believe that everyone who comes into your life, comes in for a reason. Some people are in for the long haul, some for only a chapter or two and some for just mere hours. My life intersected with Hank M. for three hours at Chicago Midway airport last Thursday on my way to Minneapolis. I was headed out to Minneapolis to meet up with The Blister Sisters and The Misters for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk For The Cure. He was headed there to see his sons. Over the next three hours we exchanged life stories and views on a variety of topics including the two "must avoid topics" for a first meeting - religion and politics!
Most important, when I told Hank about my attempts at running, his eyes lit up. He immediately told me of his own running and a book he had just finished and was taking to his son, "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. (www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-august-18-2009/christopher-mcdougall) As we continued to talk and I confessed to him my plans of running 50 by 50 in 50, he insisted that I take the copy of the book he intended to give to his son. He convinced me that this book would change my thinking about running. He was right.
The book tells the story of the Tarahumara tribe of Mexico. The book goes way beyond just telling a story of an ultrarace in the Copper Canyons. And Hank was right, it did get me thinking about why I was running. One of the first points made was to get back to running for the share joy of running. Remember when you were a kid and got out to run just because you could? You weren't running to lose weight, work off stress or stave off depression. You just ran. How liberating!
The second take away for me was that running shoes are killing us. Okay, not literally, but they are causing more injuries than they are preventing. The discussion of the architectural design of our foot as a perfect arch, the fact that a surprising number of big time coaches have barefoot training drills, and yes you can't forget the Kenyans really got me thinking. Coincidentally I was awaiting the arrival of a new pair of shoes while I was reading the book. When the shoes arrived, ones I've worn for a couple years and love for the big toe box, they had been re-engineered. And yup, they had narrowed the toe box. I got refitted for a different pair of shoes but can't say I'm that happy with them. Maybe it is time for me to try the Vibram FiveFinger shoes......
The final take away from the book for me was the discussion on endurance running. For me marathons or ultramarathons are not in the cards. I'm not running 26.2 miles or 50 miles or 100 miles let me make that real clear. I might get up to a 10K but that's it. However the discussion of humans as persistence hunters was fascinating and helps me understand all those folks who can go the distance.
By the way, Hank wasn't satisfied with my goal of breaking 30 minutes. He told me he's looking for a 28!
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