Things read - Week 28

For the last few weeks, I have been intently reading "Born to Run." Some say it's the runner's bible, but I say it's real and based on scientific evidence and a couple of actual races. The writing was captivating and the portrayal of people was balanced and funny. I have turned my notes into a bunch of questions and answers. If you're considering reading it, focus more on the questions and if they seem interesting, then the book will be enthralling for you too.

What makes humans biologically suited for long-distance running?
A few things that evolved biologically: long spring-like tendons in the legs that store energy, our neck that keeps our head stable, big glutes that help us in our strides, arched foot support that support efficient strides and our unique ability to sweat that helps us dump head so we can run without getting overheated. Compare these advantages with seemingly large cats like leopards and cheetah, they can run fast for sure but can't run for longer. The fur makes their body heat and they have to inhale and exhale in sync with their stride.

How do the Tarahumara achieve injury-free, joyful ultrarunning when most modern runners struggle with pain?
Tarahumara - the tribe in the Copper Canyons of Mexico - on which the book is based - run in thin sandals made out of discarded tires. This keeps their mid-foot landing light and stride short. Since the foot feels the ground, the body automatically actives the natural shock absorbers like arches, calves and Achilles tendons. This make the impact stay low and prevents injuries. Another important factor is that they first get strong then they run. Imagine going up and down in the canyons for simple daily activities from the childhood and then beginning to run. And finally, since childhood, they are taught to run at a pace where they can hold a conversation so that makes the running joyful instead of strenuous. So obviously they start out slow and slowly increase their conversational pace.

What are some useful techniques for endurance training?
The pace is the last thing one should worry. All your runs (even if they might start as jog) should be at conversational pace. Once you reach the one-hour mark, where you can easily run or jog lightly, then you dedicate 20% (max) of your time sprinting.

Easy, light, smooth, then fast. - Caballo Blanco

One of the common mistakes we do in our trainings is that we run our slow runs "too fast" and our fast runs "too slow". This leads to training our bodies to burn sugar rather than fat. To activate the fat burning mechanism, we need to stay below our aerobic threshold (aka conversational pace).

Another helpful mindset is that our bodies need to be shocked to become resilient. Instead of stretching before a run, a raw strength drill like push up, lunges and jump squats are recommended.

And finally, for trail runners - don't fight the trail but take what it gives you. One of the ultrarunner's creed is that "If you can't see the top, walk."

What role does community and a little friendly competition play in unlocking our best performance?
Running together turns the effort into a shared adventure. It raises pace and perseverance by tapping into our social wiring. Unknowingly, in a race we start mirroring stride rhythms and synchronies our cadence. Each time you pass a slow runner in the race, a trigger of dopamine hits. Collective flow emerges when everyone targets the course rather than one another and in the process, you push that envelope increasing our endurance.

View race as a festival. The reason we race isn't so much to beat each other, he understood, but to be with each other.