Born to Run

Whenever I come across a book that looks semi-sorta interesting, I snap a picture of the cover with my cell phone. I currently have about...well, let's just say too many book cover pictures. The problem? I can't keep up, probably because I also keep a hand-written list in my purse. (What can I say? I love to read! And there's just too many good books out there.) One such book I've been keeping a picture of: Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall. And I finally bought it last week, hoping it would help motivate me to continue my running game despite the fact that Mother Nature is forcing me off the streets and into the gym—and consequently, onto a track that requires 14 laps before one mile is achieved. Or a treadmill, which sometimes gets very boring.

So far, the book is so very good. And it's inspiring me to keep on keepin' on at the gym. I could come up with an excellent synopsis, but I'll let the author speak for himself:



Intrigued yet? I'm not even finished and I have to say this is a must-read for anyone that likes to run. Even if you don't run, you can't help but enjoy such an in-depth look at a society so otherwise unknown to this world. At the very least, it'll help you understand why so many people dig the sport. To quote the book:

True story, right? Think about it. And also think about the fact that many of us run for health and fitness reasons, too. Though some of us can't for one physical reason or another. McDougall touches on that, as you've heard in the video above. Really, you'll just have to read it. And if you do, let me know. I'd love to get a discussion going.

And speaking of getting a discussion going, we had an interesting one at the dinner table last night. The group of us had just finished eating some very excellent homemade pizzas, and I'm not sure who, but someone pulled out a bag of frosted animal crackers for dessert. They're not exactly the healthiest of dessert options, but according to my mother, they can be acceptable if you only eat half of the recommended serving size. So, four cookies instead of eight. 80 calories instead of 160. While this logic (kinda) makes sense, it's basically her way of justifying a not-so-good-for-you dessert. And hey, we all do it. The discussion I mentioned before, it stemmed out of the following comment. Mom said, "if I only get 80 calories, I might as well eat the big cookies...

...and not the small ones." We tried to convince her that her logic, at that point, was sort of nonexistent. I like to call it playing it safe while cheating. But really, we all just had a really good laugh at her expense. I think it's because all of us could relate. I mean, can't you think of a really good justification you've come up with in the past? Let's make that one of the closing questions for this post.

Question: What's your best food justification? I can eat _____ because _____. And also, going back to the book, I'd love to hear about your last running experience. Was it on a treadmill? Outside with the dog? Tell me.