by Monica on May 31, 2010
When Piper Kerman was incarcerated for a year on a ten year-old drug charge, she ran everyday around the track to keep from losing her mind. The kindness of fellow inmates in this stripped-down world provided her comfort. This book reminded me of the redemptive qualities of running. And although this story is not about running, it plays an intimate part in the outcome. Running sometimes saves us from ourselves. It can provide peace to a troubled mind or solace to a busy soul. It can act as a catalyst to knowing that we are capable of coming back from pain. If life is like a race, we keep running, even when it really hurts.
The unexpected friendships that developed for Piper within the walls of the prison camp brought to mind threads of running friendships. Although not even comparable to prison life, a shared experience of long training hours and personal triumphs (reduced to the toughness and the kindness within us) can bring forth some of the most unlikely bonds. True colors are shown and respect is earned. Humor and connection trump competition and rivalry.
Orange is the New Black – My Year in A Women’s Prison is a really good read that opens your eyes to the injustices within the walls of our prisons. So much of it made me cringe. Piper is one tough cookie. I could not put this one down and was left wanting more.
If you’re looking for more about this book and Piper Kerman, see these videos and interviews:
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by Jamie on March 3, 2010
It’s amazing when you get to a certain age, and you talk about sleep in the same way you spoke about getting inebriated… I got eight hours last night. It was fantastic! Johnny Depp
Often, on running mornings, the first thing we talk about is our state of sleep. “I got to bed too late.” “I woke up at 3 and couldn’t get back to sleep.” “I’m tired!!” Sleep, like so much of youth, was a simple activity, taken for granted. In middle age, I court sleep. And fret over it. While sleepy, I am cranky, tedious and famished. A good night’s sleep is the holy grail of comfort and restoration. I bask in it.
I recently read, Healing Night, by Rubin R. Naiman, Ph.D. Naiman is a clinical psychologist specializing in the field of sleep. He works with natural wellness guru, Dr. Andrew Weil. The book is replete with new age flourishes. But, the vast amount of information about sleep is enlightening……I thought that I would share some of it here.
Yet another debt crisis to fear: sleep debt. Chronic lost and damaged sleep has a deleterious affect on our mood, physical well being, mental acuity, athletic ability and waistline. Falling asleep within 5-10 minutes of hitting the pillow signals a sleep debt. Sleep should be a gradual process (akin to walking into a lake).
Naiman recommends that we avoid looking at the time once we begin to enter the sleep state. If 20-30 sleepless minutes have passed, he advises us to get up, do something else and await sleepiness. My obsessive mind wanders–has it been 10 minutes? 20? 24? Should I get up now? In 5 more minutes? I’d better peak at the clock. What time did I go to bed again?
The term “cognitive popcorn” is bandied about. It refers to those thoughts (often anxiety filled) that enter our consciousness and prevent us from falling asleep or wake us up mid-sleep.
Sleeploading is recommended. That is, make up for sleep debt by spending a week or so going to sleep and waking up when the body chooses…even on vacation, this transcendent opportunity rarely presents itself!
Our bedrooms should be cool, dark and quiet.
We are biologically programmed to nap.
The BFF of runner’s, NSAID’s (Advil, Motrin,Aleve), compromise deep sleep by inhibiting melatonin production.
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by Monica on March 20, 2009
I finally went to the doctor today to check out the constant nagging pain in my foot. The one that has been keeping me off the road and out of the Boston Marathon. Feeling a bit defeated, I decided to get an official diagnosis. The doctor thinks it is a stress fracture or heel spur and sent me for an x-ray. On my way out of the house, I grabbed the mail which included the newest edition of More magazine (April 2009 issue).
As I sat there, if there was an ounce of pity in my thinking, it was now gone after reading the cover article on Dana Torres. Motivation in the form of a 42 year old fireball. I read the excerpt from her new book, Age is Just a Number , and was completely engaged. She describes the tedious, mythodical pre-race ritual for her Olympic medal winning effort. Funny, honest and totally inspiring commentary from a hard working perfectionist.
I love it when she says…”you don’t have to put an age limit on your dreams, that the real reason most of us fear middle age is that middle age is when we give up on ourselves”. (this is why we run ladies!)
I chuckled at her describing her rolling suitcase being laughed at by the younger swimmers and was intrigued by her relationship to her body. It’s a great article and truely made me re-think the way I look at my own injury. I look forward to reading her book. Go Dara! You’re amazing.
by Monica on February 7, 2009
I just learned that Malcom Gladwell is a distance runner. I saw him speak at the Philadelphia Library this week about his new book– The Outliers. He started one of his comments by saying that he was a runner and had always wondered about the reason so many great runners come from Kenya. He was fascinating. My friends and I spent the entire ride home discussing the ideas from his new book. His book asks questions that make us think…and ask more questions…
I have read two other books lately that were written by writers that run, Personal Record, A Love Affair with Running and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I liked them both for different reasons and found this review that sums that up nicely: Book Reviews
So in the spirit of Malcolm, I wonder if writers have an affinity to running?…maybe it’s because all that idle time in front of a laptop mirrors long hours of thoughtful or thoughtless running. Perhaps it requires an effort level and commitment that writers know all too well in their process. As a result of my Google research (not very scientific of me…but of true Gladwellian spirit again), I found this from an interview by Tim Adams of the Observer in the UK:
talking about Malcolm Gladwell…
He believes that his need to understand more about insistent success stories, and in particular why some people around him were more accomplished, or happier, than others, came from his fledgling running career; it was athletics that gave him his obsession with the nature of performance. As he talks, he occasionally compares running to writing; both, he suggests, are honest expressions of the application of effort.
Sometimes the same effort does not produce the same success because of other factors like talent, opportunity and funds-other ideas discussed in his book. So I begin to think about my own “long distance friends“… I used to think there was a certain personality type that I saw in runners but now I see it’s more of an attitude towards the effort required. I would not call all of them type “A” people (some are actually quite mellow) but I would say that none of them are afraid of a tough run.
