Born To Run - by Christopher Mcdougall

Whenever you do a search for "Running Books" or "Books about Running", the fantastic “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" always comes top of the list. Eventually, I had enough of people telling me how great the book was, and I decided to see for myself.

I also really wanted to test out the kindle app on my Ipad, so thought it was perfect timing (reading on the Kindle app is great by the way).

The book essentially tells the story of  how humans are a species, were "Born to Run". It has a fascinating chapter on how Running was a vital part of our eveloution, and makes us who we are today. It really is fascinating and has some wonderful stories about the reclusive tribe the Tarahumara, some of the worlds best ultrarunners and amazing races.

The book adresses the question of running and how modern running technology has played a part in making us more injury prone, inefficient runners. Born to Run has inspired me to pursue minimalist running, and I will be posting about this in the weeks to come. I am actually going to attend a barefoot clinic at my local running shop in Edinburgh, if you are from these part you should check it out too.

I thoroughly recommend this to any body who is interested in running. I would even recommend it to those of you who are not, as after reading it, you will be!


I would love to hear what you thought about the book. Have you been converted to running barefoot? Do you now eat, sleep and run like the tarahumara?

Chia seeds - Food of the (Running) Gods

Chritopher Mcdougall's excellent book 'Born to Run' talks about a miracle food, that has left me confused, excited, sceptical and hungry, all at once. This super food is the Chia seed, an ancient Aztec food that packs such a high nutritional punch that it provides enough energy for endurance runners to keep going on little else.

I wanted to put forward some of the key benefits for you to have a read over, there are tonnes of benefits out there, this really does seem like a miracle food.

The nutritional make up of the seed speaks for itself really. Tonnes of protein, fibre, calcium, omega-3 make it a runners best friend for obvious reasons, but I will explore this in a bit more detail.

The Protein in the Chia seed is fantastic for athletes, because every time you go out for a run, you are putting tiny wears and tears in your muscles. In order for this tissue to reform and grow, you need a source of protein. High Protein content in your diet will also mean you feel fuller for longer, great if you are trying to maintain a healthy diet.

Chia seeds are high in dietary fibre, which again make you feel fuller for longer. Fibre is also great for lowering cholesterol. Fibre is a vital element of a healthy diet, so the fact that Chia seeds are stocked full of the stuff is great.

Chia seeds have a lot of calcium, great for runners as it helps build up strong bones. This is essential for people who do a lot of running, as you put a lot of strain on your legs. We dont want broken/sore bones, so calcium is essential! The other cool thing about Chia is that it contains the mineral boron. Boron acts as a catalyst which speeds up and increases the way calcium is absorbed in to the body. Antoher great plu point of Chia!

The seeds are also full of Omega 3 - these fatty acids are great for runners because they give you a healthy Heart. They reduce inflammation and swelling (meaning your muscles will not be as sore after long runs). Omega 3 has also been linked to a healthier brain, and has been said to increase focus, meaning you can stay motivated and focused on your running goals!

oooo Chia - is there anything you can't do? It would appear not!

Once digested, Chia acts as a barrier between carbs and the enzymes that break them down. This is really cool because it effectively slows the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar, meaning you will feel fuller for longer, and your carbs will be released as energy slower. Great for runners. Also great for Diabetics!

These tlitte miracle workers also absorb up to 12 times there weight in water. This means that they make for a perfect source of slow release energy, keep you hydrated and energised throughout your long run. If you mix Chia seeds in water, give it a stir and leave for 10 minutes, it will form a jelly like substance. If you add some lime juice to this and knock it back, you will be drinking something very similar to the Iskiate drink that the Tharahumara tribe drink, the Tharahumara are the subject of the book 'Born to Run'. These are the guys who are dubbed as being some of the best distance runners in the world, and this is what fuels them.

I don't know about you, but I am ready to try some Chia seeds and see if I turn in to a super athlete too - can't do any harm...can it?

If you are already eating these seeds in your diet, let me know. Has it affected your performance at all? Is this all just a big joke? Why do we all not eat these every day at every meal?

Edinburgh Marathon - Team Relay

Picture the scene, the sun is splitting the sky, it's a baking hot 21 degrees and you are standing in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, ready to run 8.4 miles of a relay. Life could not be better.

The atmosphere was great and 10am could not come quick enough, I was super keen to get running. With 5 minutes to go I decided it was time to turn on my Garmin 305 and lock in to the satellites. But my watch had other plans. I was holding down the power button till my finger was sore, but no dice, my watch wanted a lie in today.

'Quick download the app Run-Keeper on your phone, its better than nothing!' was the sound advice from the lovely Charlotte. I was anxious, and could feel my world caving in. I am a creature of habit when I run, and didn't know what I would do without my pace keeping companion on my wrist.

The Run Keeper app is actually very good and I would recommend it to anybody. It played my custom made relay playlist and every 5 minutes it would interrupt and tell me my pace and distance ran. I was actually running a lot faster than target pace because I was not constantly looking at my watch.

I was hoping to run the 8.4 miles in about 1hr 10 minutes, so at mile six, when I was about 6 minutes ahead of target, I felt great. The sun did little to slow me down, and I really felt like I was flying. There was something lovely about running faster than all the marathon runners (I was kind of cheating only running a 1/3 of the way), but my pace was much quicker, meaning I spent an hour over-taking people. I felt like the fastest man alive.

When I was in Portobello, my great friends Helen and Euan were there to cheer me on, Euan took the picture below - look how happy I look!! Seeing them gave me a boost and I started running even faster. Charlotte had driven to the finish line so I knew when I saw here I could just sprint to the finish.

The relay handover was quick and painless (considering I had never met Katie, my team mate). I gave her the band and she was off like a shot, after a quick and awkward "Lovely to meet you - have a nice race!"

I had finished my leg of the race in just under an hour - 59 mins 32 secs in fact! The rest of the team ran 'relay' well and we actually finished in just over 3.5 hours. Out of 701 teams we came 57th, which we were all very chuffed with.

Chocolate milk in hand and medal round my neck I was filled with the desire to run the full Edinburgh Marathon next year. You may think it was just the adrenaline talking, but after a few nights sleep I am still hungry for 26.2 miles. Maybe I will win the whole thing?

Best Breakfasts for Runners

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, if you read anything about nutrition and fitness this is one of the first things you will come across. Skipping it will set you up poorly for the day, and will mean that the "wall" will hit you much sooner than you'd like when out running.

I have laid out a couple of the best breakfast foods for runners here, with some simple recipes and ideas that I think will help your running.

Porridge

There is a reason that a lot of people eat porridge before doing exercise. Porridge oats are complex carbs, which means that they will slowly release energy and will keep you going for longer. This in turn helps your body stabilise blood sugar levels for the day, meaning that you won't feel the need for a quick sugar fix.

My suggestion would be to have the porridge with some fresh fruit and berries. I would try to stay away from the mutant sachets of porridge though as they have tonnes of sugar and may not be the best thing you are looking for before a big run.

Banana Loaf

Line a loaf tin and preheat your oven to save you waiting around. Mash 4 ripe bananas and mix them together with 225g wholemeal flour, 100g butter, 150g caster sugar, 2 eggs and a pinch of salt. Bake it altogether and then in about 1 -1.5 hours you will have some banana loaf that will taste delightful.

This will be the effect breakfast as it has a nice mix of fast burning energy and slow release energy with the wholemeal flour, so you will feel full. Also great for cooking at the start of the week and then grabbing on your way out the door if your are in a rush.z

Muesli

Muesli is awesome for runners. It's packed with whole grains, nuts and fruits which are all great sources of slow burning energy, and this will keep you fuelled throughout your run.

A great tip - go to your local health food shop and by all the dried fruits, nuts and grains you like - smack them all together in a tupperware and you have just created your own muesli. Make sure you get some bran, barley or oats in there, as they are great wholegrain carbs.

Scrambled Eggs on toast

A great recovery breakfast. Eggs are packed with protein which is what your muscles need to recover, and the whole grain carbs in your bread are need to fuel your recovery, and allow the protein from the eggs to be carried to your muscles.

Why not add some ham and cheese to the mix if your particularly hungry and looking for some extra flavour?

Fartlek Training

Fartlek literally means 'speed play' in Swedish, and it really is just that...playing with speed. Fartlek sessions are a work-out both aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels and as a result are great for increasing endurance and overall running performance.

Fartlek sessions are different to interval sprints in that they are continuous. Intervals require stopping and starting whereas is fartlek sessions you vary your pace between jogging and running faster segments, but you will always be moving. In interval sprints you have a set distance that you stick to and set recovery period. However in this type of training the slow-fast intervals are determined by how the athlete feels (yes you are an athlete).

To incorporate fartlek training into your runs, every so often throughout a longer run you should pick up the pace to faster than you would run on race day, and maintain this for a minute or so, then drop back down to slower than your normal running pace until you catch your breath. Once ready start running at normal pace again, then after a while repeat the process. Again this is not based on a set distance, so just respond to how your body is feeling. You will have to push it in the faster intervals, but if you need longer to recover that's completely fine.

Fartleks will put extra strain on your system and will raise both aerobic fitness and anaerobic threshold as mentioned above. Plus its a fun word to say. This is also a great way to lose weight, so if that is a concern, smack a few fartlek training sessions into your schedule and watch the weight drop off.