Saturday, January 5, 2013

Final Weeks of Training for Carlsbad Marathon 2013

It's crunch time again. No time for skipping a short run, no time for injury or sickness, & no time to try new running gear or ideas. Talk about focus!
 I've read two new books during training for this marathon. The first is Running with the Mind of Meditation by Sakyong Mipham; http://www.mipham.com/home.php .   I am still working on my daily meditation and although I would wish I have could have mastered this after my first two attempts, I found out it's going to be a life long process.  Running and meditation have a lot in common. They both require training, commitment, discipline and time. This book captured feelings of goodness and simpleness. I regurgitate a lot of information in this book as I run. Each chapter feed your brain and I found myself rereading some of the chapters just because I enjoyed the emphasis.
The second book, Performance Nutrition for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald ; http://mattfitzgerald.org/ , has really help me decipher my way through a lot of performance enhancement supplements and is chalked full of easy to understand nutritional plans.  This book explains and gives you charts of top products and illustrates the differences using a grid.   I really like the chapter on energy sources. Like the Non-Runner's Guide to Marathon Training by David Whitsett, Matt Fitzgerald goes over ATP (Adenosine-5'-triphosphate) - "the body's fundamental energy currency". This helps me work through my meal planning and I do believe this has helped me minimize my injuries.  After all I am a non-runner who trying to keep going as long as my body will allow it.

3 comments:

  1. I'd really like to check out the first book. Meditation has been on my mind a lot, but I'm not sure where to start!

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    Replies
    1. Marathon training takes a lot of time. As the miles get longer, I desired something else to do. I feel like a child on a long road trip and the " I spie with my little eye...." game has lost it's charm. Meditation is worth a shot and is difficult. I am averaging about a mile and a half per session. Then I busy myself with daily thoughts then back to attemting to meditate. Good luck!

      Delete
    2. Marathon training takes a lot of time. As the miles get longer, I desired something else to do. I feel like a child on a long road trip and the " I spie with my little eye...." game has lost it's charm. Meditation is worth a shot and is difficult. I am averaging about a mile and a half per session. Then I busy myself with daily thoughts then back to attemting to meditate. Good luck!

      Delete