A Blessing in Disguise

A Blessing in Disguise
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“She turned to the sunlight And shook her-2

I was a few years late to Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running; not sure how it escaped my attention, but I only read it a few months ago. It is now officially my favorite book about running and I am re-reading it.

It isn’t a page-turner, mind you. Sure, you could go through it in a day or two, but you are much more likely to read a few pages at a time, then close the book and think. (Think about you and your own history as a runner; think about what you think about when you run; just think.)

The quote above was one of the first things that made me think. When I was (much) younger, I was so jealous of people who could eat all of the food, especially junk food, and not gain a single pound. You know those people, right? Well, I’ve never been one of them – thank you, slow metabolism. Every piece of cake goes on the thighs, every chocolate bar sticks right to the butt.

I started running because I realized that it helped keep the pounds away: I could eat my candy and it wouldn’t end up on my six-pack. Then slowly, I began to like running. Then I began to love it. Then I realized, I couldn’t live without it!

Then I wanted to run faster and started thinking more about the kind of food I was eating. Then food became fuel, and calories became nutrition.

Then one day, I measured my resting heart rate, and it was 45. (I had to look up online whether that was OK. Turns out, it is quite normal for athletes. The heart is a muscle and when you use it a lot, it becomes stronger, pumping more blood with each beat.)

Then I realized, I am the healthiest I’ve ever been. Healthier than 18-year-old me; healthier than 25-year-old me. Definitely healthier than people my age who lead sedentary lifestyles — no matter if they are skinny, or not so much.

And I owe it to my slow metabolism!

So if you’re one of those people who feel like they have to work hard to maintain a healthy weight, repeat after me:

[tweetthis]Thank you, slow metabolism, for giving me a healthy lifestyle and a healthy body![/tweetthis]
 
And if you haven’t read What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, pick it up. It’s one of those books that make you want to lace up and jump out for a run!

Are Running Shoes the New Designer Purses?

Are Running Shoes the New Designer Purses?
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There’s a new celebrity at race expos these days: the limited edition signature running shoe.

This year’s New York City Marathon will be remembered for its unprecedented and controversial cancelation. But at its expo – which did open on the Thursday and Friday before the race’s scheduled running date — Asics premiered not one but two race signature shoes, the limited edition GEL-Kayano® 19 NYC (“embellished with ING New York City Marathon® elements”) and the Limited Edition GT-2000™.

At the Nike Women’s Marathon in October, Nike premiered the NWM LunarGlide+ 4 NWM 2012 limited edition shoe. (I confess to immediately snagging a pair, thus far walked-in daily and with love.)

Pretty, and potentially profitable — Read more

Running Track

Running Track
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This was my run today.

And before you wave it off as incredibly boring, let me show it to you one other way:

Not half bad, right?

I love the track. It’s soft and rubbery, so I can wear old running shoes (because I’m cheap and want to squeeze every last mile out of them). It goes round and round and round, and that repetitiveness just lets me space out completely and listen to my music as I go faster, then slower, then faster again.

Running on the track, I feel and imagine myself looking like this:

European champion at 100m, Ivet Lalova. Fellow Bulgarian. Damn, girl, do you have *any* fat at all? Any? Photo credit

I said, I imagine – OK? Read more