5050

I finished reading what I picked to be the best book of my year in 2009, 5050. The book is about a guy who runs 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states. He has some ups, some downs and completes his goal. What I liked best about this book was that it made running and completing a marathon approachable. He mentions several first timers that completed the marathons with him. He didn't really see them as competitions and more about a journey being the most enjoyable part of any running. He was usually disappointed with reaching the finish line and having a certifiable end. While I haven't quite reached his level of skill and star power, I am looking forward to getting more miles on my shoes. I keep reminding myself of a quote I saw "Running cleans what a shower cannot." I can feel better about eating like an idiot or not being on a diet plan if I know I am going to work later and get that out of my system. Dean, the author of 5050 says that he follows a caveman diet, because when he eats food a caveman would not have had access to, he feels worse at the end of his run. Maybe one day I will reach that level. I also remember another interesting idea from the book. Dean describes how athletes are simply able to regulate how much they sweat better than others. They have trained their bodies to regulate their temperature better than the rest of us. A well trained athlete will sweat more than a regular person on a first workout because their bodies know what to do. Dean also drank a couple of liters of water a day. I also found it interesting that he was able to do all of this on less than 5 hours of sleep a night. Sure, a marathon is small compared to hundred mile runs and other forms of a ultramarathons that he completes, but 5 hours is not much for expending about three thousand calories a run. I had just got up to 600 calories burned when I did my runs and I was usually tired or ready to be done by the end. This guy achieved his goal and only lost one pound. That is something else.

I also am watching a documentary on PBS tonight about Peter and Paul during the rise of Christ. I am finding it very interesting and educational. It will be a while until I get to those sections in the Bible, but it still is good to see something so informative.

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