And Then The Vulture Eats You by John L. Parker Jr.
SUMMARY: Great collection of ultramarathon stories!
This book it out of print, and not easy to find. But I checked Amazon, and there was a copy listed. Yet everytime I tried to order it, it said no more copies were availble. Then a copy showed up for $2. I ordered that, only to have it cancelled. I finally managed to find a copy of the book for $20. I was more than happy to pay the $20 to get it. This is a great price compared to the $70 copies I have found.
Anyway, I was looking forward to reading the book after seeing how highly recommended it was. The book contained stories by some big names in running: James E. Shapiro, Don Kardong, Kenny Moore, Hal Higdon, Ed Ayres, Tom Hart, Mark Will-Weber, and John L. Parker Jr.
The ultramarathons aren’t all your tradition 100 mile runs either. It starts off with a 6 day race (144 hours) story by James Shapiro. The next story is by Don Kardong about the Le Grizz 50 miler. This is followed by Kenny Moore describing The Great Hawaiian Footrace and 18 days of running 313 miles. Then comes Hal Higdon describing a run across Indiana. Ed Ayres dscribes his failed attempt at the Western States 100. Tom Hart describes his running 37 miles just to see if he could do it. Mark Will-Weber writes about a five stage race in England named Tour Of Tameside. John L. Parker Jr, closes out the book with a story about a race called The Ultimate Runner which consists of running a 10k, 400 meters, 100 meters, 1 mile, then a marathon.
All of the stories were good. I am sure I will be coming back and re-reading this book often.
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Breaking Through the Wall: A Marathoner’s Story by Dolores E. Cross
SUMMARY: Disappointing! Very little about running! Mostly about her life as a black woman, and minority issues. Wasted my time!
I got this book at the library. Thankfully I didn’t buy it! I took the time to scan it and convert it to an audio book. I started listening to it. At the beginning of each chapter she starts with a small bit about running. In fact the chapters are even named stuff like “Mile 1″, “Mile 2″, etc. I listened and listened. I was halfway through the book and wanted RUNNING! I went back and skimmed the book, and found that running seemed to start at chapter 23. This is two-thirds of the way through the book. So I started listening at chapter (Mile) 23, and she talked about training for and running her first marathon. Then the book went back to minority issues! I finally got fed up, ejected the CD from my car stereo, and chucked it along the rest of the Cd’s into the back seat. The author wasted my time! If you are going to name a book “Breaking Through the Wall: A Marathoner’s Story” and have a photo of a runner cross a finish line…have the book be something about RUNNING!!!!!
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Ten Million Steps: The Incredible Journey of Paul Reese, Who Ran Across America-A Marathon a Day for 124 Days-At Age 73 by Paul Reese
SUMMARY: Awe inspiring! That anyone could run 26 miles a day for 124 days, let along a 73 year old man! Wow!
I have been reading pretty much every running related autobiography I can get my hands on. I was surprised to learn that people have actually run across the United States. This book was written from the log kept by Paul Reese as he ran across the United States. Reese ran an average of 26 miles a day for 124 days, and at age 73! Most people have a hard enough time running 26 miles alone. And here this 73 year old man was doing it day after day! Just incredible. I enjoyed his writing. It was fascinating reading about various problems he encountered, such as trying to get a larger pair of the New Balance shoes he liked. It was also interesting reading about the various people he encountered along the way. While I have no desire to run across the America, it did inspire me to consider riding my bike across the state.
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I bought these Nike Air Max Assail II trail running shoes a few weeks knowing that I was going to be racing in an off-road duathlon. I wore them a few times for training runs on the treadmill to get them broken in. Well yesterday was the duathlon. They were very comfortable. There was plenty of cushion in the shoes which is one of the things that attracted me to them. They had pretty good traction considering the muddy messy trails we were running on. There were various roots, and rocks along the way, but I did not hurt my feet when stepping on them. The bottom of the shoe says “Stone Shield” which apparently is some sort of thing to prevent damage from sharp stones. There weren’t a lot sharp stones where I running though. I am very happy with the shoes. Looking at prices for the shoe online, I think I may have overpaid for them. Oh well, that’s my fault. I will just not shop at that store again. They are still good shoes.
I raced in an off-road duathlon this morning. The temperatures were in the low to mid 40’s. Most of my running has been on the treadmill, with very little outside. The little that I have done outside was in the summer when I could wear dri-fit shorts and a short-sleeve compression shirt. But it was too cold for me to wear these. So I bought some Under Armor Cold Gear compression leggings and compression top. I never had an opportunity to try them out, so I just crossed my fingers and hoped they worked out. I was hoping that I wouldn’t be cold, but also that I wouldn’t be too warm.
Well, they worked like a charm! They were comfortable. I wore some sweats over the Cold Gear while waiting for the start. A little bit before the start I stripped off the sweats, and waited. It was a little chilly. But as soon as I got running, I felt fine. I was also a little concerned that when I was biking, that the wind would chill me through the Cold Gear fabric, but I didn’t notice anything like that. I was very happy with the Under Armor Cold Gear. I am sure I will get more opportunities to use them for fall, and later spring bike rides.