Running Book Geek

As proud as I am to say that I am a Runner, I used to be proud to say I read books, lots and lots of books.  Over the years with a child and 90 minute commutes and jobs that consumed my time, reading took a back seat to all of that.  I have read a little in that time, mainly 2 or 3 books in a month and then nothing for 6 months or a year.

Recently I have read so many books on running that it officially makes me a running book geek and I can put that right next to my running podcast geekdom.  The reason for the book reading on running is the current state of my physical health.  I'm not ill or anything just dealing with a chronic problem with my IT Band which really is the symptom of my problem with patellafemoral syndrome or chondromalacia syndrome.

I took a break from the technical books to read a book called Mile Markers by Kristin Armstrong.  She is the ex-wife of a guy named Lance.  She lives in Austin Texas.  The book has 26.2 chapters with running topics like endurance, passion, and clarity.  I have really enjoyed the book because some of it really hits home.  I will never be the runner she is but I can understand her affection for the women she runs with whom she calls her sweat sisters.  I run with a mixed group of people, men and women, who make it fun to run and add another dimension to my life. 

 I want to quote a passage from her book, but it is really a quote within a quote.  She quotes a trail runner friend of hers who came down ALS. This was written while climbing  Machu Picchu.

  "I am a seeker.  I am a wanderer. I am who I am.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.
   Life is a series of great paradoxes.  To find ourselves, we get lost.  To gain, we lose.  To know the light, we plunge into the dark.  To succeed, we fail.  Opposites seem forever linked.  Without one, we cannot define the other.
   Blessings to all who share these mountains, who share journeys---both guide and traveler.  Blessings to all of those who seek, knowing they may never find.  May you breathe in every moment and with it know that you are truly loved."   ...Dano Keitz

In Kristin's book I finally found the words to why I started this journey to run a marathon.  I was truly inspired by the people in my group who ran the CIM last year, both the veterans and the first timers; although that wasn't quite enough for me.  The greatest inspiration to run this marathon is still my brother Brett.  I can't cure him of his paralysis, but I can stand for something when I run.  Here is what Kristin wrote "Running for someone else makes me less willing to give up and more able to understand the pain and the fatigue, knowing that someone else is drawing power from my effort.  I look at it as an opportunity to carry a portion of someone else's burden, to cover some ground on that person's behalf, to try to lighten the load by shouldering some of it on my own back.  That's endurance.  That's what moves me to move."

She wrote what I felt but could not find the words for.  I highly recommend this book.  There are hidden jewels within it that as a runner you will recognize and feel not so alone.