Review: Run or Die by Kilian Jornet
In Run or Die, Kilian Jornet tells the story of how his passion for competitive running and wild places blossomed from being a child running in the hills around his home to a world-class record-setting ultra runner. In it he tells the stories of some of his most notable and personally rewarding feats. He tells it like it is, the ups and downs, the struggle and the pain. Despite the fact that he is performing seemingly superhuman feats you can feel a human connection to him through his passion and love for what he does. He describes in detail the search within himself for the age-old question of why? Why does he run? The overall tone of the book is one of inspiration. Just through describing his physical & mental ups and downs he captures the absolute essence of pushing the human body to its limit. He is trying to tell his personal journey and through it inspire others. I personally enjoyed this book for its honesty. As a person determined to try to push my own limits in running, I found the unwavering devotion to the the sport extremely inspiring. He never lost touch with his love for nature or the beauty of the mountains. It made me contemplate how fortunate I am to be able to move my body and be able to enjoy beautiful places along the way. If you are someone interested in feats of endurance or in getting inspired to push your own limits, then I would definitely recommend reading this book. It’s written by someone who just loves to run. It doesn’t contain a definite story line or the words of an experienced writer, but what it does contain is passion, dedication, suffering and a great love for running which surpasses the need to compete and rises into something much greater than just sport. “You don’t need to compete to be able to feel the intense emotion of finishing, the excitement of crashing through the finish tape. It is a happiness you alone feel as you experience that strength powering you to succeed.” ~Kilian Jornet~...
10 Trail Running Lessons
Here are a few trail running lessons that I have learned over the past year. I thought I would pass them along to see if you can relate to any of them! Don’t eat eggs before you run. They will make you feel heavy and make you even gassier than running normally makes you! This can be a huge problem if you are ahead of your running partner; you may actually lose a partner on this one. Keep your kit tidy! Meaning don’t have earphone wires hanging down so they can swing aimlessly while you gallop along. Tuck those stray wires in your sports bar or in your shorts waist band. You will tire quickly of having to adjust laces, wires, straps…everything needs to be in it’s right place or else 2 to 3 hours down the trail you are going to have a meltdown. I have so I know. Take the right music. Music that sounds great at the beginning of the run can become very annoying hours in. How do you know you have the right music? For shorter tempo runs I always like a few sick beats to get dropped and for longer runs I like something a bit more emotive, nothing that will make me cry mid-run, but soothing enough that it helps me keep on pace. Fight the urge to sit or lie down when you see a soft mossy patch along the trail. you won’t get back up. Always bring toilet paper. Let’s not beat around the bush, because you are eventually going to have to poop in one, so be prepared! There will be slow days and there will be fast days. There will be days that you love it and days that you swear you will never run again. It’s all a part of the process…embrace it! Learn to love walking. That’s right, I have let the cat out of the bag, the key to running for a really long time is learning when to walk and when to keep running. There is no shame in walking a chin scraper of a hill, it’s probably more efficient and energy-saving in the long run; unless you are kind of a big deal like some of the pro’s out there. I am not therefore I am not ashamed to walk every now and then! Running solo is a beautiful thing! Don’t be afraid to head out on the trails by yourself, even for the long runs. Running in a group is a beautiful thing! Learn to run with a group, especially people who are faster than you. You won’t believe how motivating it can...
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Pudding
If you’re anything like me the first time you heard about Chia it brought you back to being a kid growing up in the 80’s watching this commercial. And let’s all be honest with ourselves, we all really wanted a Chia pet, I mean I still kind of want one…hmm I wonder if they still sell them? Buy one! Chia Pet Kitten I have since found that Chia is much more than a super cool indoor gardening toy. And more specifically, Chia seeds, are a powerhouse of nutrition. Everyone can add these into their daily eating routine and they are chock full of health benefits . I started adding them to my morning oatmeal concoction (which is: oatmeal, almond milk, sunflower seeds, Goji berries, Chia seeds, hemp seeds) but after reading the book “Born to Run” (a definite must read for any aspiring runner or any experienced runners who need a kick in the pants motivation wise ) I thought about other ways I could incorporate them into my diet. I had heard about Chia pudding before but never got around to trying it… until now. Oh my god I can’t believe I have been missing out on it all this time!! It is so delicious and just absolutely decadent that it won’t seem like you are eating something so good for you. So here is the recipe that I currently use: 1 400ml Can Organic Coconut Milk (Full Fat) 4 Tbsp Organic Chia Seeds (Use less if you want a thinner pudding) 1 splash of pure vanilla extract 1 dash of cinnamon (I love cinnamon so don’t give specific measurements. Use to taste) That’s it! Put all those ingredients in a resealable glass container, give it a quick stir and put it in the fridge for a few hours. The Chia seeds soak up so much of the coconut milk that you are left with a thick tapioca like pudding. You only need to eat a small amount at a time as it is so rich, unless you are like me and eat almost half of it in one sitting! Scoop 2-3 tbsp into a bowl, add your favorite frozen or fresh berry and sprinkle with raw cacao nibs. Amazing! Now I am not much of a sweet tooth and prefer to make it unsweetened, but if you wanted to sweeten it up you could add a touch of agave syrup, or even maple syrup would do the trick! Do you eat Chia Pudding? We would love to hear your favorite way of eating this delicious snack! If you haven’t tried it before make sure to let us know what you...
Ultrarunner?
Oh my goodness, what did I just do? Ok so I just signed up for the Arc’teryx Squamish 50 50km race August 10,2013. So far my amateur running career (if I can be so bold as to call it any kind of career) consists of a 10 mile and a 13 mile in 2009 and then a full marathon in 2011 and 2012. Just looking at the list on this page makes me realize I don’t really take baby steps when it comes to things like this. It’s all or nothing I guess. I convinced myself to jump to an ultrarun with the rationale that it’s really only 8km more than a marathon, even if it’s all on technical trail; plus we do a lot of long tiring mountaineering trips most weekends, which is a good base, right? I rather enjoy the suffering involved in these types of sports and from my limited experience have found that, along with a lot of training, there is a huge mental aspect involved. Just being able to talk yourself through discomfort and pain and still being able to carry on is a huge part of it, right? Well this is what I will keep telling myself for now. I have 8 months to get ready for the biggest race of my life. What do I expect from myself? What kind of time goal should I expect? What kind of training plan will I use? These are all questions that I am sure I am going to be agonizing over for the next month or so before the real training starts. Until then, I will enjoy the “just registered for my first ultrarun” high I am feeling and deal with the knots in my stomach that I feel are slowly forming tomorrow morning! If you want to follow my progress and updates then bookmark this: http://pebbleshoo.com/tag/Squamish50/ Video of myself and a few other runners by...
