My beach friends are some of the most inspiring intellectuals that I have had the pleasure of knowing. They are constantly interested in learning new things and almost always reading some epic work of literature. But reading is not what makes them so inspirational, the loyalty which they show to one another and dedication is what I find to be truly inspirational.
Some may attribute it to the fact that he is the oldest sibling of three, others may say it is due to his Jewish roots, but whenever Rafe learns something that he feels is worth while he does not hesitate to pass his new found knowledge onto whoever is eager to learn. Therefore last summer when Rafe, one of the guys in our group, decided to read the book Born to Run, it was only natural for it to become our new summer craze. Once Rafe had finished the book, it was passed on to another friend within this tight knit circle, who is a little more hyper focused. When Mike puts his mind to something he does not come up for air until he is practically perfect or sufficiently fluent in the new field.
After the two "drank the cool-aid" I didn't do much more than skim a few pages before I was engulfed into an in-depth
intensive of the lessons that these two amazing teachers extracted from the book. As luck would have it, during this same time a local surf shop, was selling all of their Vibrams at 50% off. Needless to say, within a week, I owned 3 pairs of various padding levels and was getting a wealth of knowledge from both guys.
Due to scheduling conflicts I was only able to run with Rafe twice, but it was like getting a private lesson with a professional ultra marathon runner. As we ran around the only field in town, he would slow to my pace, correct and critique my stride then take off for a lap. During this time I would take the opportunity to analyze his form and try to emulate his every move.
Off the field I had Mike who was by now a Vibram encyclopedia. When I expressed an interest in learning more about the five fingered shoe he produced a miniature booklet explaining everything a Vibram novice would need to know and do before hitting the road. From everything I had learned through Mike and Rafe the bottom line was that I needed to have REALLY strong feet before I could even think about putting serious miles on my Vibrams.
By the time both guys took off for E-scow nationals, I was running everyday with my family's two dogs and having only minimal issues with soreness. As life events moved me across the Atlantic dust collected on my running shoes and winter won the battle over running.
Nine months later I woke up early one morning to a text 'Hey I am taking M to Nove this morning if you want to join. We are leaving in 15 minutes' From: K. Following my cousin Jackie's advice to never pass up the opportunity to travel I sprung out of bed, grabbed my "go to" shirt, jeans and flats, brushed my teeth then flew out the door. After visiting Nove, the heaven of all beautiful ceramics, I was informed that we would actually be going to one of the few walled cities left standing in the region for a hike and lunch before heading home. Looking down at my Ivanka Trump flats, I realized that I was not equipped. After slipping and sliding on the mixture of smooth rocks and dirt for a good ten minutes I decided to save my shoes and go barefoot.
As we were on our way back down. My two companions got onto the topic of the book Born to Run, my ears immediately perked up. K expressed her views on how her feet were too strong to need Vibrams and immediately a red flag shot up in my mind. Too strong? Rafe & Mike had never mentioned the possibility of feet being too strong for Vigrams. In less than 24 hours I was at the library checking out the book to see things for myself.
While it had only taken skimming a few pages to get the teachers, I'd had the opportunity to skim the full book as it circulated our group. Up until now my method of skimming had proved to successfully capture all of the main points and controversial topics that the author was working to communicate. It was unusual for me to miss a point this big with my fool proof, university exam tested method, and even more unusual for Rafe and Mike to be wrong when they hyper-focused the way they both had on the teachings of this book.
I spent the following week inhaling the pages, during every free minute that I could spare. It was not long before I was sold. I had given up running in the fall, immediately after moving away from my family and our dogs. Away from the perfect climate of Beach Haven and the dogs who practically pushed me out the door, I did not feel the least bit motivated to put on my shoes and go discover my new home town in the cold, wet rain & snow. But after thoroughly re-reading the first few chapters of the book I was sold. I wanted to make pinole, and drink Iskiate. I wanted to run like I was flying and test out the various running techniques that McDoughall had recorded discovering. I did not only "drink the cool-aid" I was straight up bathing in it.
Ironically enough a few days after I completed the book, I was invited to join a group of women who were all planning to run a half marathon together in October. When I invited my best friend, Colie (Rafe's younger sister) to join me, she provided me with a counter offer to run a full marathon with her and Rafe at the end of October.
Shortly after I agreed to run the half marathon I was invited into a social networking group composed of the women running the early October half marathon. In that group I was provided with exactly what I needed to get back out and on my feet. So without further adieu I would like to pass on the following resources.
The program on paper:
Couch to 5k
Variations of the program including language translations, including your dog & using the treadmill can be found HERE
While videos should not be substituted or counted as equivalent to actual one on one training with a professional: this video has been uploaded by Eric (the Ultra Marathoner who is recorded as training Chris McDougall in Born to Run).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaYQwq6TnXY
Get acquainted with your feet: (I have found that doing just one set of the exercises on this page before every run has completely diminished my inclination to have joint aches and pains after running).
www.vibramfivefingers.com/education/why_barefoot_works
Correct your posture:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by-rbM101XE
Some may attribute it to the fact that he is the oldest sibling of three, others may say it is due to his Jewish roots, but whenever Rafe learns something that he feels is worth while he does not hesitate to pass his new found knowledge onto whoever is eager to learn. Therefore last summer when Rafe, one of the guys in our group, decided to read the book Born to Run, it was only natural for it to become our new summer craze. Once Rafe had finished the book, it was passed on to another friend within this tight knit circle, who is a little more hyper focused. When Mike puts his mind to something he does not come up for air until he is practically perfect or sufficiently fluent in the new field.
After the two "drank the cool-aid" I didn't do much more than skim a few pages before I was engulfed into an in-depth
intensive of the lessons that these two amazing teachers extracted from the book. As luck would have it, during this same time a local surf shop, was selling all of their Vibrams at 50% off. Needless to say, within a week, I owned 3 pairs of various padding levels and was getting a wealth of knowledge from both guys.
Due to scheduling conflicts I was only able to run with Rafe twice, but it was like getting a private lesson with a professional ultra marathon runner. As we ran around the only field in town, he would slow to my pace, correct and critique my stride then take off for a lap. During this time I would take the opportunity to analyze his form and try to emulate his every move.
Off the field I had Mike who was by now a Vibram encyclopedia. When I expressed an interest in learning more about the five fingered shoe he produced a miniature booklet explaining everything a Vibram novice would need to know and do before hitting the road. From everything I had learned through Mike and Rafe the bottom line was that I needed to have REALLY strong feet before I could even think about putting serious miles on my Vibrams.
By the time both guys took off for E-scow nationals, I was running everyday with my family's two dogs and having only minimal issues with soreness. As life events moved me across the Atlantic dust collected on my running shoes and winter won the battle over running.
Nine months later I woke up early one morning to a text 'Hey I am taking M to Nove this morning if you want to join. We are leaving in 15 minutes' From: K. Following my cousin Jackie's advice to never pass up the opportunity to travel I sprung out of bed, grabbed my "go to" shirt, jeans and flats, brushed my teeth then flew out the door. After visiting Nove, the heaven of all beautiful ceramics, I was informed that we would actually be going to one of the few walled cities left standing in the region for a hike and lunch before heading home. Looking down at my Ivanka Trump flats, I realized that I was not equipped. After slipping and sliding on the mixture of smooth rocks and dirt for a good ten minutes I decided to save my shoes and go barefoot.
As we were on our way back down. My two companions got onto the topic of the book Born to Run, my ears immediately perked up. K expressed her views on how her feet were too strong to need Vibrams and immediately a red flag shot up in my mind. Too strong? Rafe & Mike had never mentioned the possibility of feet being too strong for Vigrams. In less than 24 hours I was at the library checking out the book to see things for myself.
While it had only taken skimming a few pages to get the teachers, I'd had the opportunity to skim the full book as it circulated our group. Up until now my method of skimming had proved to successfully capture all of the main points and controversial topics that the author was working to communicate. It was unusual for me to miss a point this big with my fool proof, university exam tested method, and even more unusual for Rafe and Mike to be wrong when they hyper-focused the way they both had on the teachings of this book.
I spent the following week inhaling the pages, during every free minute that I could spare. It was not long before I was sold. I had given up running in the fall, immediately after moving away from my family and our dogs. Away from the perfect climate of Beach Haven and the dogs who practically pushed me out the door, I did not feel the least bit motivated to put on my shoes and go discover my new home town in the cold, wet rain & snow. But after thoroughly re-reading the first few chapters of the book I was sold. I wanted to make pinole, and drink Iskiate. I wanted to run like I was flying and test out the various running techniques that McDoughall had recorded discovering. I did not only "drink the cool-aid" I was straight up bathing in it.
Ironically enough a few days after I completed the book, I was invited to join a group of women who were all planning to run a half marathon together in October. When I invited my best friend, Colie (Rafe's younger sister) to join me, she provided me with a counter offer to run a full marathon with her and Rafe at the end of October.
Shortly after I agreed to run the half marathon I was invited into a social networking group composed of the women running the early October half marathon. In that group I was provided with exactly what I needed to get back out and on my feet. So without further adieu I would like to pass on the following resources.
The program on paper:
Couch to 5k
Variations of the program including language translations, including your dog & using the treadmill can be found HERE
While videos should not be substituted or counted as equivalent to actual one on one training with a professional: this video has been uploaded by Eric (the Ultra Marathoner who is recorded as training Chris McDougall in Born to Run).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaYQwq6TnXY
Get acquainted with your feet: (I have found that doing just one set of the exercises on this page before every run has completely diminished my inclination to have joint aches and pains after running).
www.vibramfivefingers.com/education/why_barefoot_works
Correct your posture:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by-rbM101XE