Book Review: Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an all night runner by Dean Karnazes

Even though I’m certainly not running at full tilt at the moment I still find myself wanting to read about running. A running friend still forwards me all the emails from my old marathon clinic, I occasionally pick up a copy of Runner’s World and I am devouring running books. Hopefully this will keep my head in the game for when I ready to get back into it next spring.

I recently finished Dean Karnazes’ Ultramarathon Man. This was an easy read which I managed to whip off in three nights. I'm sure many runners know who Dean is - the guy who runs all night, thinks nothing of running 100 km+ at a time. Dean starts off by giving background on how he got into running, how it changed his life and than focuses on describing a few of his ultramarathons. And while it certainly is interesting to read about the ins and outs of competing in a race like the Badwater Ultramarathon, a feat I can’t ever imagine undertaking, I wanted to know more about how he manages to train for something like this which isn’t really covered. I’m sure he truly is superhuman and there are some genetic explanations for his feats, but as someone who struggles with the day-to-day of training and all that it entails (i.e. what to eat, how to recover properly, how to cross-train, how to carve out enough time) I would have found it equally compelling to hear more about how he gets ready for these races. Nonetheless, I found the description of each of the ultramarathon races fascinating and Dean’s hour by hour or even minute by minute description of them was gripping. Finally it is always fun to hear about why a runner runs, Dean’s answer seems to evolve throughout his running career. For someone who loves to run and loves to read about the world of running this is a fun quick read about races most of us can only imagine doing!

Out for the count

I have been seriously sidelined by the cold that never goes away. It seems I caught a cold about 2 and a half weeks ago, than I proceeded to catch some kind of flu on top of that and this mess has now turned into a sinus infection. The kicker is because I am pregnant I can’t really take anything but some regular Tylenol and usually I like to have a few nights with extra strength Cold Tylenol to help me sleep, but not right now!
So for now I am sidelined. Not only do I not feel like running because I am tiered but there is no way that my poor stuffed up head would allow it. But the funny thing is, as I always find when I can’t run, I miss it. I miss my outlet and my quiet alone time. Hopefully I can shake this thing off be back running and writing soon.

Back to running like the wind

Last summer while I was training for the marathon every time I left the house on a run (which was frequent) my kids and my husband would yell out, “Run like the wind mommy.” My husband even had t-shirts made up for the kids for when they watched us run the Scotiabank Marathon.

I loved training for the marathon and often felt like I was running like the wind. But since the end of May after my last half marathon race I have felt like every run was a chore. It turned out that this was due to being pregnant which sapped my energy. But even though I knew there was a good reason I wasn’t running like the wind at the moment I was disappointed that I was no longer getting the same high from my runs and found each such a challenge.

Well this may have changed. Last night I headed out for my usual five km pretty late in the evening because it is so hot here. With my music playing and the air cooling down I found myself zipping around our neighborhood and I was so pleased to finally get a great run under my belt.

Sloggin Along

I headed out last night for a nice five km run and was struck down by terrible stomach cramps. Not the kind I needed to be worried about but the ones that signaled that I had headed out too soon after our big spaghetti dinner. I limped along for about one km and turned around to head home. But when I got near my house I felt so disheartened because I knew many of my running colleagues had headed out this morning and completed 29 km. So I kept going and battled out my five km doing a run/walk combo. I do find it hard that a 10 km run was a nice easy thing for me to accomplish and now I huff and puff through five km. But I guess I shouldn’t worry and simply chalk this up to running for two!

Welcome to my blog

As someone who used to write for a living (sort of) I thought it would be nice to start writing again as I am no longer working full time - I miss having a creative outlet. I am also pregnant with my third child and thought that it would be fun to chronicle my attempt to keep running during this pregnancy.

I love to run and have been running for over 10 years. Last fall I completed my first marathon (the Scotiabank Marathon – 4:30) and have run four half marathons and a number of other races. I got pregnant while training for my second marathon and was determined to at least complete a half marathon during this pregnancy. But I was shot down very quickly by my doctor who I trust implicitly. She said I could keep running but I needed to take it easy. Well in the end I didn’t really have the option to keep running full out because I have been so sick and have barely been able to get out the door with my kids to the park let alone go running. But I have hit my second trimester and am feeling better so I am going to give it a go and chronicle my efforts here. Here we go...