A sporty sister

Two ladies

After finishing a new column on shoes and adventures in the American West, I was  excited to run with my visiting sister in New York this past weekend. She is a relatively new runner. And she gets it. As we made our way through the remote Red Hook neighborhood along the water, with views of the city and the Statue of Liberty, I could see her form and stride. They were relaxed and good. On my favorite 400m track near the mega Ikea in Brooklyn we did a few loops at tempo pace. She didn’t complain, despite the heat and last night’s alcohol intake.

She mentioned that recently she told her young daughter about going for a run, after tucking the girl in. The little one had showed signs of annoyance: ‘I know mom. You always go running.’ What a great sign: the children grow up seeing their parents be active and outside, keeping their bodies and minds in shape, increasing their life expectancy and expanding their brain activity with every run.

I’m happy and proud of my healthy, sporty little sister. Check her out.

Pictures I would never have taken if I weren’t a runner (I)

The rain, the violent and drenching rain, can make a run good. It clears even the Brooklyn Bridge, usually an unrunable zoo of tourists and bikers. It cools me. It tends to isolate the runner from noise and crowds. And rainy skies over New York can be magical. See the photo, in which the new WTC proves it really is a skyscraper.

Looking south

Silly shoes

There is exactly one way to get and stay in shape: do the work. Run, bike, swim, play, stretch, run some more. This seems somewhat obvious. But of course people want quick solutions, easy answers and magical tools, getting fit without doing the work. How wonderful. Actually. no. But looking around on American streets it seemed that a company named Sketchers was able to tap into that deep wish for quick, painless health. All you had to do was wear the silly-looking shoes and you’d lose weight and get in tip-top shape.

It always sounded ridiculous and deceptive, and now Sketchers has agreed that, indeed, it is. Just like Reebok did recently, the company has agreed to pay 40 million dollars in a settlement. It ‘s supposed to being comfort to the ‘victims” who bought the ugly sneakers.

It’s nice that common sense prevailed. Still, I feel that the buyers of these shoes, not the seller, should suffer. Their punishment? The realization that they need to do the work. On normal athletic shoes.

Oh, and my new column! Thanks, as always, for reading. Now go run.

Watch, read, laugh

Check out this blog: What Runners Should Call Me. It is superb. Thank you, internet.

Be smart: run

Running is good for all parts of the body. More than strong legs, a healthy heart and all that, I have always enjoyed the mental state it brings me. Not every run is peaceful or easy, au contraire. But I do find peace in and after every run; that’s one of the few things in life I can be categorical about.

It is more than being away from emails and phones, desk and deadlines. It’s doing something so simple and natural and elemental that it feels… right. If that’s what ‘Zen’ means, then I am continually striving to be a Zen master.

I always love it when research underlines, confirms even explains the feeling I get from running. I’ve written an entire book about it; patience please, my Dutch-free friends, the translation is slowly but surely being created. But better than yours truly talking about his feelings are the cold, naked facts. The endorfin-induced euphoria of the run has been researched well and deeply. Right n ow I’m referring to a body of research proving how intense activity –a term I loosely translate as ‘going for a run’– makes the brain healthier and faster. Renewed thanks to Gretchen Reynolds of the Times, always giving runners a good name.

My friend Eddie proved the ‘running=smart’ thesis in Boston. It was too hot for his goal pace. He took it easy. No risks, just running through beautiful Boston. He’s looking decent after the race, I’d say. (That’s him in the red shirt, and him the day before, still boastful.) Also, check out a great post I enjoyed at Runner’s World, about the upside of slowing down in Boston. It’s all about the girls.

Running makes you smarter. It works better than reading, playing chess and other brain activity. If anyone needed one more reason to go for a run, there it is; go get that good feeling.

Fast-as-ever Cecile wrote about Boston, which she finished in 3:15 despite the weather: a sweet  read. Oh, my new Dutch column is here.

Post-Boston

Aging, speeding

I can only wish the Boston-bound inspiration, light feet, joy and strength. Also, plenty of hydration and sunscreen. I’ll be there for a melancholic kind of support.

Here’s my new column, inspired by this story, and by memories of my grandfather (the man knew style).

Walking and talking

 

To run like him

The other day I was thinking about Micah True, a.k.a. Caballo Blanco. I am translating my book, and in the part about Chistopher McDougal, Born to Run, running long and lightly, I talk about meeting Micah in a New York City running store. A gentle man he was, a gentle soul, very strong and kind. This is what I wrote about that encounter:

Exhibit 1 is the Tarahumara, a Mexican tribe mostly living deep in quiet canyons, which McDougall visited and ran with. They are super distance runners, wearing only slippers. They lead simple, healthy lives, I later learned from Caballo Blanco, a restless guy from Colorado who figures prominently in McDougall’s book. Caballo is a small, tough man with a weathered face and a smile that appears to cover his entire face. His real name is Micah True, he tells a small crowd of obvious hard-core runners at a running store in New York one spring night. True speaks the way he runs: improvising, feeling his way, and long.

McDougall said it simply and beautifully in a tweet: “caballo had the only funeral he would have wanted: his friends spent days running in the wilderness in his honor.”