Tag: running

On Old and New Challenges

~ erinhenkels ~ Leave a comment

In my 40th year, I really only have two big goals: read 40 books and run 40 miles.

After having reached my Goodreads challenge last year of 30 books, I decided I could easily do more this year. I fully anticipate reading more than 40, but we’ll just set it there and see how the year goes. With the discovery of Libby and new library cards from our trip back to the States over Christmas, I am set. So many books–so much pressure to complete them before you lose them. I’ve already read 5 books so far this year. In fact, I had to stop reviewing as I’m plowing through books but have very little free time that isn’t full of teaching and training. But some notable mentions from the past several months include: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (very descriptive, rich, and inventive), The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates (beautiful magical realistic take on the Underground Railroad), and Bone Gap by Laura Ruby (the best YA I’ve read in a long time). These are really the standouts, though I did read a lot of excellent literature this past fall and winter.

The other goal is a bit harder. I signed up for the Zugspitze Ultratrail, 64k. And it’s been such a busy and stressful last two months I was not able to put in the necessary foundation training. So now I’m fully base training and trying not to blow up–I’m very injury prone! I just don’t know how this is going to happen. But I’m reading the coach Roaches The Happy Runner to try to make peace with the situation and practice self-acceptance in my process. But I’m getting niggles at only 20 mile training weeks. What am I thinking??!! Why did I think this was such a good idea, coming off a full year of injury??!! I know better than this but I just adore the ZUT and I might not get another chance in coming years. And I’m getting old. And there are so many other good reasons, right?

The #20BooksofSummerChallenge Wrap-up

~ erinhenkels ~ Leave a comment

Fall has officially descended here upon Southern Germany and I am happy to report that while I did not complete 20 books in 3 months, I did reach my personal goal of 10 before September 3rd.

My last three books were all super excellent!

#8 Running Home a memoir by Katie Arnold

I enjoyed this story a great deal. I don’t think you have to be a runner to enjoy it. Katie Arnold was the Leadville 100 champion last year and is in her mid-40’s, so I find her to be particularly inspiring as I deal with the declines of my 40s. But her memoir is about dealing with grief from the loss of her father, combined with new revelations about her childhood as well as postpartum difficulties from having a baby at the same time:  a perfect storm of mental health attacks. And it’s about how running, and time, and love and support saved her.

#9 Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

I thought this was an excellent summer read! The story is about the time 15 years after the collapse of civilization and a band of musicians and actors that travel to survivors camps and towns to perform Shakespeare and play symphonies. The narrative jumps to that present time and back to the day or two before the collapse began with a wildly contagious flu. The main characters are expertly interwoven in their pre and post-collapse connections. While this book was a lot of fun to read, it was also a time for solemn reflection about what we will shortly face and what life might look like.

#10 The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Wow, this story is incredible. The level of neglect Walls and her siblings endured is eye-popping and hard to believe. Because you never doubt that her parents love her and her siblings. But the way they conducted themselves is purely criminal. However, if they had been caught, the children would have been split up and maybe this would not have a happy ending. At the same time, this book is a celebration of the American spirit. You do not have to be a product of where you came from in our country. You can still make your own way. Or at least, they were able to at the time and this story is inspiring as a result.

Now we’re back full-on in school mode and I’m reading several books for school and myself. For me, I’m reading I Have the Right to Destroy Myself which is more depressing Korean fiction and I’m reading Training for the Uphill Athlete. For school, I’m reading Things Fall Apart (for IB English) and Challenger Deep (for Middle School). According to Goodreads.com, I’m way behind on my annual goal of 30 books. I’ve only read 17. So we’ll see.

Happy reading!

Review: Emelie Forsberg’s Sky Runner: Finding Strength, Happiness, and Balance in Your Running

~ erinhenkels ~ Leave a comment

IMG_5075I love to read about running. I love all running books–training, nutrition, mental game, history, inspiration, etc etc. I have become a student of the science and craft of running and a follower of running lifestyle. So I was primed to enjoy Emelie Forsberg’s book about her journey to be one of the world’s best and most accomplished mountain runners and ski mountaineers. Emelie is an athlete I already follow on Instagram and beyond because I always loved how happy she looked and how humble she seemed. In the Instagram world, you can tell pretty quickly which athletes truly love the spiritual flow of running, and which ones just love their own abs. I am not inspired by the half-naked ab chicks. I love the people who are moved by running and nature who I can feel a connection too. Yes, Emelie has tons of talent, but she’s always smiling and always looks so grateful to be in the mountains doing what she loves–even at mile 84. So I pressured my husband to buy me her book for Christmas and he complied 🙂

I enjoyed this book as a light read about Forsberg’s thoughts on her journey. She includes some recipes, some exercise ideas, some interval ideas, and a sun salutation progression as inserts among her story about her professional running journey. I really enjoyed the last section of the book about her attempt on Cho Oyu with Killian. As an armchair mountaineer, I quite like a good mountain climbing read. Additionally, I enjoyed this as a photo-journey. Killian provided all the photos and they are of professional quality (because of course–what can’t he do?)–it really is a picture book that will look nice on a coffee table or in a place of prominence on a bookshelf.

I would have to place this book firmly in the “inspiration” -only category of running books as it is not particularly informative. It’s more of a reflective piece on how Forsberg found herself becoming an elite athlete, making a living from running and skiing, and then some reflections on how she finds balance in making a living from her sports while also always finding joy and love there. Many ultra runners seem to have a hard time transitioning from normal life to full-time athlete and still maintaining that love and joy. She continues to reflect on the balance she needed to overcome an injury and surgery and then how she incorporates nutrition, farm living and yoga into her life to form a complete whole. There are some training tips but they are pretty hap-hazard. Either Forsberg does not want to or cannot share her true training strategies, or she really is a whimsical runner and can just go out and do whatever she feels like for the day. Mere mortals tend to need a bit more regimen to avoid injury. She has some nice ideas for how to incorporate some speed play and how to incorporate some intervals, but the advice is really, just, “so… do some of this sometimes if you want.” Even the strength training descriptions are so vague it is difficult to use as a tool to inform your training. Perhaps you could use some pieces here and there as a way to think about your own training, but you need to turn away if you expect to find a complete picture of what she does and how to do it too.

I think I will continue to use this book as an occasional flip-through when I want to feel a little inspired or when I need to remember to not take training so seriously. As an aging runner, I need to prioritize strength and pre-hab and relaxation. In other words, I need balance which is really the central theme of Forsberg’s thoughts. I’m glad I read it but I’m not particularly blown away. I would have preferred some more specifics so that the first half would not sound so repetitive. I wanted to learn something.

If you approach this book as Emelie’s story, you will be inspired. In the end, we all need to not take ourselves so seriously and find things we love as much as she loves mountain running.