Eat & Run

Two of the most basic things that human beings were created to do, and that we have been doing for centuries. These two words not only go far back in human history, but they are also intimately intertwined; nobody would know this better than ultramarathonner Scott Jurek, which is why "Eat & Run" is the title of his new book. After reading "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall, a non-fiction book about running (and so much more) in which Jurek played a very big role, I'm not going to lie, I developed a huge fascination with and respect for Scott Jurek (Side Note: "Born to Run" is itself a truly amazing book, and was a New York Times best-seller, so it's more than worth reading as well). I went on to research his career, as well as listen to and read many of his interviews, and my respect and awe for Jurek has only increased since. He is totally a running rock-star, and has set records for pretty much every major ultra in the US.....all on a VEGAN diet by the way; but he seems like such a down to earth, awesome person. Of course When I found out he had written a book, I immediately went to the nearest bookstore to get myself a copy.

I only started reading it yesterday, but I haven't been able to put it down, and will write a more thorough review once I have finished reading it. Thus far though, it is beautifully and poignantly written, and the way it is structured is great as well. Jurek seems to jump around from one point in his life to another, telling stories and describing how different life events affected him. These stories are also interspersed with great vegan recipes and running tips and advice. 

The Best News Ever!!!: Scott Jurek is hosting a "Fun Run" and giving a talk/book-signing at a running store SUPER close to where I live on this coming Friday, and I am planning on going (DUH). I am literally counting down the seconds until Friday night at 7:30. 

And Now on to far less important things....like my Eats & Runs (Recipe Included)

Run:

Me going out for the a bike ride up a long, ever-steepening
hill last night......fun last night....not so much fun for my legs
during today's run.

This morning, I was all excited to run because I had been reading "Eat & Run" last night before going to bed and had beautiful, running-filled dreams (nope, I am not kidding nor am I exaggerating). I woke up this morning, had my pre-run smoothie, read another chapter of the book (.....come on, I couldn't help myself) and headed out for a run.

.....that's when my quads and calves staring saying "woah, woah, we're kinda tired" and I remembered I had just gone for a pretty hard bike ride last night. It was a great ride, and I wasn't sore, but my muscles were definitely tight & tired from it. I thought maybe they just needed a few miles to loosen up.....but I was wrong. They stayed tired throughout my whole run, and towards the end they even burned. As a result, I ran super slow.....like "I might as well have been running through a tar pit" slow.....but it still felt great, because the whole time I was just enjoying the moment I was in, and the freedom of being able to run. Sounds cheesy, I know, but it's the truth :)

Here are my splits, I warn you in advance, they are crappy and depressing on paper...but I still felt like a superhero while I was running.....so try to go along with it and let me think it was awesome. K, thanks.

EATS: coming up in the next post!