born to run

At any given time, I might be in the middle of three books or more. There is usually one in the car, one (or several) on my nightstand, and one in each purse. I don't like to be without reading material or something to do. A habit I picked up from my mom. "Always bring something to do," she would say.

Right now, this is one of the books:



Amazon.com book description:

Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.

Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons are custodians of a lost art. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it. Their superhuman talent is matched by uncanny health and serenity, leaving the Tarahumara immune to the diseases and strife that plague modern existence. With the help of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lives among the tribe, the author was able not only to uncover the secrets of the Tarahumara but also to find his own inner ultra-athlete, as he trained for the challenge of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of Americans, including a star ultramarathoner, a beautiful young surfer, and a barefoot wonder.

With a sharp wit and wild exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to the climactic race in the Copper Canyons. Born to Run is that rare book that will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that the secret to happiness is right at your feet, and that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.

So I'm fascinated by this book. I read it all with a grain of salt, but it has me putting on my running shoes and wondering if I am doing more damage in my Nike Zooms than if I were to just run barefoot (Mexican city living aside). But it makes sense. Why do we encourage babies to run around barefoot when learning how to walk? Our feet are packed with nerve sensories and a quarter of the bones in our body. If we were all running around barefoot, would we adjust our gait accordingly instead of masking the pressure of our landing in gel-packed soles an inch or so thick and taking the brunt of it in our hips, knees and ankles? Anyway, now I'm eyeing these babies and wondering if I am... unconcerned enough to pull it off, as I am sure to get all sorts of stares:



See the full Vibram FiveFingers Line here. It would mean I would have to get serious about my running. And I don't know that I'm committed enough to go past my lame three- or four-mile jaunts. We all know I am inherently lazy, and the only thing that drives me is a fear of finding myself on Oprah two-hundred pounds later, cradling a tub of Haagen Dazs, saying, "I don't know how I got here, Oprah. It's just this stuff made me feel like there was a little more love in the world. That's all."