Caballo Blanco and Friends

I think I mentioned a few times on this blog how much influence Christopher McDougall's book "Born to Run" had on me and how the stories and characters I took from that book really stayed with me and helped me push farther and farther. It was with great sadness that I heard bout Micah True aka "Caballo Blanco" passing a few months ago as I was hoping to meet him one day. The New York Times published yesterday the most epic recollection of Caballo's life moments and events that led to the discovery of his body in the Mexican desert where his heart gave up in a last 12 mile run, entitled "Caballo Blanco's Last Run". I highly suggest reading this article as it's considered a very accurate depiction of the man, the legend that will always be Micah True .

While perusing the web, reading his friends' memories from the times they spent together, I also came across this video featuring Scott Jurek, Micah True, Christopher McDougall and of course, the Tarahumara runners. Although short and centered around Scott Jurek, one of the best ultrarunners of all times, it gives a short glimpse into Micah True's life and character. RIP, Micah.

A Life Without Limits

I am currently reading Chrissie Wellington's book "A Life Without Limits" that magically downloaded to my iPad this week as it became available to the public. I had bought it earlier this year and I just couldn't wait to start breathing the inspiration out of her story. Without alluding that I could ever measure myself to her greatness, it is quite amazing how much I can retrieve myself in her words though.

"Mentally it is hard coping with the weight of expectation I put on myself. Mentally it is hard trying to be the best the whole time. And I don’t know who I’m trying to prove myself to. There is something inside me—not a voice exactly, but a deep-seated compulsion—that strives for perfection. But it’s my own version of perfection, not to be perfect per se but just to be the best that I can be." - Chrissie Wellington, 4 times Ironman World Champion

Thankfully I didn't go to such extremes as bulimia or getting straight As, but I can relate to the fact that I always need to be in control, especially of myself, at all possible times. Just like Chrissie didn't drink until she reached 20, it took me 30 years to allow myself to even get tipsy. It was my 30th birthday when I finally had a few too many Bellinis to feel the buzz. Starting to work with a coach hasn't been devoid of doubt and resistance to change. I feel bad for thinking that "I know better" but the urge to listen to my body instead of another person's advice has been both a blessing and a curse.

For example, I didn't listen when coach said before running the Paris marathon: "Run for 30K and walk the rest", I ran the whole thing once I decided I would do so, sometime between 2:00am and 2:30am when I couldn't sleep. I didn't listen when he said to take it easy for 45min on my bike ride on Sunday and instead I pushed relentlessly for 1h against wind and hills because I felt I could do so. But I did listen when he said that I should run a second marathon in three weeks because he knew I would regret not doing so. See a pattern here? It's always pushing a bit farther because my body says "go for it". 

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm no fool and I know when to stop. I can sense in advance when something's about to break, just like last year when I refused to participate in "team building activities" on my only day of rest 3 weeks before the Scotiabank Toronto Marathon. I was told I had no choice and 5 minutes later I pulled a tendon in my calf that put a stop to my running for over a month.

On May 25th I will be meeting Chrissie Wellington in Toronto where she will stop for an evening of book signing and for this purpose I just ordered a physical copy of her book as well. I cannot wait to meet the legend, the humble, astonishing, hurricane who took Ironman by storm just 5 years ago and hasn't stopped awing everyone since. As she is taking a break from breaking world records to spread her passion for this sport, I am getting ready to follow her example and reach for my own limits.

Thank you Chrissie for the inspiration. Read Chrissie's blog. Buy her book. Be amazed too.

Why do you run?

Inspiration for a cold winter day:

And for those who want to see the longer version of that Ironman 1997 crawl to the finish line by Sian Welch and Wendy Ingraham, here it is:

Last but not least, here is an analysis of some of the most dramatic finishes in long endurance competitions: The Science of Sport: Marathon Survivorship.

Two Long Runs

I got bitten by the bug of reading books about running, marathon and Ironman training and inspirational stories about people who managed to go beyond their limits. I think I'm still in the honeymoon phase with this triathlon thing even though I am still not done with my first goal of running a full marathon. 2012 will be the year when I'm going to do both, there's no going back now. So I am ingesting as much motivation and training tips as I can to keep me going and look past my little boo-boos. It all started with reading "Born to Run" last fall when I travelled to France for my dad's funeral. And that book was my escape, my buoy. For having failed to participate to my first full marathon due to emergency surgery and my dad's passing at the same time, I needed something to lift my spirits and boy, that book got me all pumped up.

Now that my feelings have settled a bit, I am on my way to running my first full marathon just a few months from now on May 6. A friend from Runkeeper gave me Matt Long's book "The Long Run" and I could not put it down. It took me just 4 days to finish it. Here's the description from Amazon:

On the morning of December 22, 2005, Matt Long was cycling to work in the early morning when he was struck by and sucked under a 20-ton bus making an illegal turn. The injuries he sustained pushed him within inches of his life. Miraculously, more than 40 operations and months later, Matt was able to start his recovery. In spite of the severity of his injuries, Matt found the psychological consequences of the accident nearly as hard to process. He would no longer be able to compete at the highest level.  

In the 18 months before the accident, he had competed in more than 20 events including several triathlons and marathons and had qualified for running's most prestigious race, the Boston Marathon. After the accident, his doctor told him he'd be lucky if he could even walk without a cane.
The Long Run is an emotional and incredibly honest story about Matt's determination to fight through fear, despair, loneliness, and intense physical and psychological pain to regain the life he once had. The book chronicles Matt's road to recovery as he teaches himself to walk again and, a mere three years later, to run in the 2008 New York City Marathon--a gimpy seven-and-a-half hour journey through the five boroughs. "Running saved my life," Matt says, and his embrace of the running community and insistence on competing in the marathon has inspired many, turning him into a symbol of hope and recovery for untold numbers of others.

I couldn't recommend this book more. I absolutely loved it and now I feel ashamed to talk about "injuries".  Saying "my little boo-boos" is so much more appropriate. Just after finishing this one I marathoned my way through another book called "The Long Run" by Mishka Shubaly. I quickly discovered this to be rather a short story for having finished it the same day, but no less fascinating.  Below is a quick review from Amazon.

What happens when an out-of-shape, drug-addled, 30-year-old alcoholic goes running for the first time? Read on. In the Kindle Single, The Long Run, Mishka Shubaly chronicles his misspent twenties with intoxicating language. "Alcohol," he says, "is a great aggregator: when you are drinking to excess, every problem seems to fall under that umbrella." And Shubaly had problems aplenty, including self-loathing, an appetite for self-destruction, and a disdain for sobriety (which he experienced as relentless anxiety, agony, and amplified boredom). When the author accidentally discovers that running puts his demons at bay better than top-shelf bourbon, he begins to shed his old life and becomes something he never wanted to be: a runner, an ultra-distance runner at that. If running is a substitute addiction, Shubaly says, it's "the dreariest, most painful, least thrilling addiction I have ever experienced." The charms of Shubaly's writing are many: his adoring metaphors for drinking reveal it as his true unrequited love; his self-examination has Thoreau-like depth; and his exposition transforms the pedestrian into the sublime. What's more, Shubaly is earnestly obstinate, yet capable of change; a nihilist, and yet he seeks meaning; a walking contradiction and a joy to spend time with on paper. --Paul Diamond

Very different writing styles and stories, however I thought several times how far from one another are these two men, both living in NYC and running miles around Manhattan. The world is small, how many times have they crossed paths, I wonder?

In the end, it feels like this sport brings us all together as I truly want to meet these guys one day. Maybe at the starting line of the New York Marathon, I will look for them and tell them thank you for the inspiration.