Talking about talking about running

I haven't posted here about sports books for ages, mainly because I've been swamped with other things and just didn't have time for fun reading. (Big aww from everyone please!) But at the weekend I found "What I talk about when I talk about running" by Japanese author Haruki Murakami hidden at the back of a shelf. I love this book, it's uplifting, inspiring and all-round the best mediation on why we run I've ever read. So instead of wittering on with the adjectives:

As long as I can run a certain distance, that’s all I care about. Sometimes I run fast when I feel like it, but if I increase the pace, I shorten the time I run, the point being to let the exhilaration I feel at the end of each run carry over to the next day. This is the same kind of tack I find necessary when writing a novel.

I love the way he links in writing and running all the way through the book - I couldn't express it as well of course but it's how I feel too.

For me running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself. At least that’s why I put in the effort day after day; to raise my own level. I’m no great runner by any means … but that’s not the point. The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday.

Right, obviously journalism or novel-writing in Murakami's case is competitive against other people in one sense but for me the person with the record to beat is sitting right here at this computer!

Once I interviewed the Olympic runner Toshihiko Seko, just after he retired from running…I asked him, “Does a runner at your level ever feel like you’d rather not run today, like you don’t want to run and would rather just sleep in?” He stared at me, and then in a voice that made it abundantly clear how stupid he thought the question was, replied, “Of course! All the time.”

And that is what I'm going to remember when I'm beating myself up (mentally that is) for not being 100% fit yet. How do you link in sport with the rest of your life?

Anita Bean Nutritionist

Don't worry, this blog is not turning into one of those 'you're so fat' places. Nutritionist and author Anita Bean is one of my favourite people even though we have never met. Reading her nutrition books will answer any questions you could possibly have about eating right for great sport.

No nonsense about blood-types or cabbage soup or only eating while standing upside-down wearing purple. Just common sense and a scientific breakdown of what food really is and how it helps us stay alive and healthy. Both  "The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition"  and "Sports Nutrition for Women" have recipes, the relationship between energy burned and taken in plus factual information on the dreaded female athletic triad and other scary things.

Bean has written 24 books but they are the two I love. The most useful pages are the easy-to-read tables on vitamin and mineral breakdowns for a long list of foods.

Have you read any of her other books? Or do you swear by someone else to fuel you up every day?

New book on women's boxing

You might remember I wrote a review of Bruising here a while back. Australian author and boxer Mischa Merz sent me on a blurb for her next book - The Sweetest Science.  She says:

"Thanks for writing a review of Bruising. I thought you might be 
interested in the next one too. It's called The Sweetest Thing - Inside the
 world of women's boxing, and will be published in the US by Seven Stories
. No feminist theory. I think you'll enjoy it more. "

That's a little reference to me not accepting that boxing is a feminist issue - as far as I'm concerned it's just a sport like any other. But different people bring different things to it.  Could be a good book for the aul Christmas list?

Any other books we should be putting on the list?

Reading and Suffering with Paula Radcliffe

Reading a sports bio. you could expect some inspiration, some positive thinking but having just finished Radcliffe's biography, I'm also thinking you need a strong stomach. One of the fasted marathoners in history - 2.15.25 in London 2003, her list of injuries drips from almost every page; to a point where you wonder how she keeps going. Or even why she kept going.

But she does, in spite of asthma on top of all the sporting injuries. And in the end when you finish the book, you do feel inspired. As much by her determination to stay honest in a sport where cheating seems rife as by her refusal to give in to pain. And reminded too of how delicate we become as we train professionally - she gets knocked over by a little girl on a bike before a big race which doesn't sound too traumatic until you see the photos and realise how hard she hit the ground. You can read some extracts from the book on her site Paula Radcliffe.

Canada 2001

Bruising boxing book by Mischa Merz

Book image Vulgar Press

What happens when a journalist takes up boxing later in life? Six months after she started a boxercise class, 29 year old Aussie Mischa Merz saw off an attempted mugging and was inspired to move onto boxing classes. First printed ten years ago, she has republished "Bruising" with updates on her fights and recent training sessions at Gleasons in NYC.

The book is top-heavy with feminist thought and quotes from critics like Lynne Segal. But what keeps your attention is her journey from regular joan to fighter. Watching her discover what she calls "...this new world of simplicity" in training, diet and exercise, you want to tell her to think less and punch more but she finds that out for herself as she improves. Or you could say as the addiction grows. Some of the more fem-sport issues she raises include how hard it can be to balance growing in strength and muscle with looking like a woman. A relief to note that this isn't so much of an issue in western countries as it was when she started back in the '90s. Although it is puzzling she was never able to fight in her homestage of New South Wales thanks to some arcane laws relating to women's boxing. On the plus side, we have some entertaining thoughts on how hard it is for women to stop saying "Sorry" when we hit each other. Well-worth a read, even if I did skip some of the 1980's fem-thought pages.

You can read more about Merz or order the book from her website Mischa Merz

Reading about Sports

Strand Bookshop by ricoeurian

Much as we love sport, there has to be time to read as well. I won't off-load on everything I read but sharing some of the biographies or other connected books could be good.
Didn't make a great start in my local library which has four long shelves of sports biographies with only three books on women athletes. The librarian is now working overtime on ordering.
You won’t see a book here every week but whenever I finish one up she goes. And if you come across any great books or films linked to this blog topic, do share them with us.