I have been enjoying my lazy summer days training myself for the epic amounts of reading that will take place over the next few months during my third semester of graduate school. In the training process, I have finished one of the most inspiring and life shaping books that I have picked up in the past few year, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Thursday and Friday I spent most of my days reading through the text, and last night I was able to actually try out the new running form that they speak of in the book. I look forward to getting back to native roots, because as Christopher McDougall states, “So simple…just move your legs. Because if you don’t think you were born to run, you’re not only denying history. You’re denying who you are” (244). The following are my favorite quotes that spoke to me throughout the book. I encourage you to look through these and make comments; however, I urge you to pick up the book yourself. I promise that if it does not make you want to become a runner, then it will give you a new perspective on life. Happy reading friends! :)
Running Inspired by Literature:
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac: “ ‘Trails are like that: you’re floating along in a Shakespearean Arden paradise and expect to see nymphs and fluteboys, then suddenly you’re struggling in a hot broiling sun of hell in dust and nettles and poison oak…just like life’” (145). “When running stopped being as far as surfing, they had agreed, they’d quit. So to get that same surging glide, that same feeling of being lifted up and swept along, they ran to the rhythm of Beat poetry” (145). How awesome! :)
Charles Bukowski: “ ‘If you’re going to try, go all the way…There is no other feeling like that. / you will be along with the gods / and the nights will flame with fire…you will ride life straight to/ perfect laughter, it’s / the only good fight there is’”(145).
Grounding:
“Dr. Brand, ‘The barefoot walker receives a continuous stream of information about the ground and about his relationship to it, while a shod foot sleeps inside an unchanging environment’ “ (177). I know that it is clear to decipher what the word “shod” means, but I wanted to look it up. In my old timey Oxford Essential Dictionary, “shod” is the past and past participial of shoe. Learn something new every day! This comment rings true though for me, because by experiencing the energy that the ground gives the body by being barefoot is incredible. I enjoy being grounded to the earth: my energy levels rise and my mood stabilizes.
Praise for the Vegetarian Diet: Scott Jurek!
“…meatless diets works for history’s great runners!” (192)
“…no animal products—no eggs, no cheese, not even icecream—and not much sugar or white flour, either” (192).
“By basing his diet on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, Scott is deriving maximum nutrition from the lowest possible number of calories, so his body isn’t forced to carry or process any useless bulk” (192)
“Vegetables, grains, and legumes contain all the amino acids necessary to build muscle from scratch” (193).
“Eat like a poor person, as Coach Joe Vigil likes to say, and you’ll only see your doctor on the golf course” (209).
More Praise for the Veggie Diet: Dr. Ruth
“Geranium niveum is the Tarahumara wonder drug; according to the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, it’s as effective as red wine at neutralizing disease-causing free radicals. As one writer put it, wild geranium is ‘anti-everything—anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antioxidant’”(210).
“Standard American Diet—or SAD” (210).
“She had a simple rule: if it came from plants, she ate it; if it came from animals, she didn’t” (210).
“’ Under the Tarahumara-style eating plan, lunch and dinner were built around fruit, beans, yams, while grains, and vegetables, and breakfast was often salad. You get leafy greens in your body first thing in the morning and you’ll lose a lot of weight…a monster salad is loaded with nutrient-rich carbs and low fat.” (211).
The way to run: Eric, Ken, Barefoot Ted
“Barefoot Ted believed we could abolish foot injuries by throwing away our Nikes” (138).
“Whenever you run, remember that feeling of straining against the rope. It’ll keep your feet under your body, your hips driving straight ahead, and your heals out of the picture” (204).
“Quick, light leg contractions are more economical than big, forceful ones” (205).
“Athletes are Tarzans. Tarzan swims and wrestles and jumps and swings on vines. He’s strong and explosive. You never know what Tarzan will do next, which is why he never gets hurt. ‘You’re body needs to be shocked to become resilient.’ Follow the same daily routine, and your musculoskeletal system quickly figures out how to adapt and go on autopilot” (211).
“Your muscles needs oxygen to burn calories and convert them into energy, so the better you are at exchanging gases—sucking in oxygen, blowing out carbon dioxide—the longer you can sustain your top speed” (215).
Evolution and Family Structure:
“As we evolve, we shucked our beef and become more sinuous, more cooperative…essentially, more female…Mothers see no reason why they should not continue to participate fully” (241).
“Humans are among the most communal and cooperative of all primates; our sole defense in a fang filled world was our solidarity, and there’s no reason to think we suddenly disbanded during our most crucial challenge, the hunt for food…We did everything as a family. The whole community was a family. We shared everything and cooperated, but now there is a lot of arguing and bickering, every man for himself. Running…made them better people” (242).
Prayer:
“The Hopis consider running a form of prayer; they offer every step as a sacrifice to a loved one, and in return ask the Great Spirit to match their strength with some of his own” (253).
Medicine:
“When I am out on a long run the only thing in life that matters is finishing the run. For once, my brain isn’t going blehblehblehbleh all the time. Everything quiets down, and the only thing going on is pure flow. It’s just me and the movement and the motion. That’s what I love—just being a barbarian, running through the woods” (149). Running is obviously a better solution than pharmaceuticals.
“It was the worst! The worst-tasting urine I’ve ever tasted in my entire life. You could bottle this stuff and sell it to bring people back from the dead” (271). Haha! :P Barefoot Ted: “…his observation that human urine is both nutrient-rich and an effective tooth whitener” (275). Have you ever tired this?! Matt and I were listening to a talk by David Wolfe or was it Daniel Vitalis about urine therapy. We laughed, and thought ewww, but the talk had really interesting points. The biggest that I can remember is that if we are putting the best in our bodies then we are just recycling minerals and vitamins. What do you think?
Random Goodies:
“Power to the peaceful” (130). Michael Franti would approve this statement! :)
“The heroes of the past are untouchable, protected forever by the fortress door of time” (131).
“ ‘…pleading doesn’t work on drunks in fountains” (140). Haha! This reminds me of my days at FSU, especially on many friends 21st birthdays.
“Living on the edge wasn’t about danger, he realized. It was about curiosity; audacious curiosity, like the kind Lance had when he was chalked off for good and still decided to see if he could build a wasted body into a world-beater” (144).
“Why add something if you’re born with everything you need? (165)
“If there is a magic bullet to making human beings healthy, it’s to run” (168).
“Translation: if you can run six miles on summer day, then you, my friend, are a lethal weapon in the animal kingdom” (228). I will one day be a lethal weapon! :)
“Poor and free was the way he’d chosen to live, but was it the way he wanted to die?” (280). This is a question that a lot of people who are on this same journey are asking. It is not about living for material possessions, but reaching towards the greater spirit within us. Giving it all up so that we can be humbled by what life gives us.
Don't drink pee.
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