Good Reads

[Donna]

I just finished reading "50/50" - a book about Dean Karnazes 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days.

This was my favorite quote, "Before I started the Endurance 50, I wondered what would happen to my body. Would I progressively break down and end up hobbling as the days wore on? Was I hurting my body? The opposite turned out to be true. My body seemed to be growing stronger over the weeks. I was able to run faster, with less exertion as the days progressed. The human body is a remarkably adaptive machine, and this final of 50 marathons was a telling indication of how the body responds to a physical load placed upon it over time. It was my fastest yet."

AND, when he finished the 50 marathons, he ran back to where he started - 100 marathons in total!

A great read. Made me a bit antsy on the plane though.

[doc]

whoops
they need to get that one  barred .
 

[cervelo-van]

Hi Doc,

I am a runner and cyclist (and hope to be a triathlete soon) and not a boxer. I did wander into a boxing class once when I was about 11 and was fascinated (being this little orthodox jewish kid) I asked if I could take lessons, and did. Knocked down the first guy I sparred with who was doing all kinds of fancy dancing. There was supposed to be a tournament a few weeks later. I showed up, but no one else did. That was the end of the boxing career  (Thankfully, as I don't have the makeup and guts of a boxer.)

However, I did read an interesting story at the time about Daniel Mendoza, who is credited with being the one to introduce the science to boxing. Since we Jews were not known for centuries as being fighters, this was to me fascinating.

I assume you may have heard of him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Mendoza

[afie]

Has anyone read "More Fire: How to Run the Kenyan Way" by Tanser? Aparently he lived and trained in Kenya for a few years, a good insight into those special times and places where a group of people come together and produce extraordinary results.
Similar to "Oarsome: Mike McKay, Nick Green, James Tomkins and Drew Ginn reveal the inside story of the Oarsome Foursome" which is interesting and easy to read.

"In a Sunburned Country" is an good read for Australians or those forced to spend time with them. Anything by Bryson is worth a look.

Those upwardly-mobile professionals with time to 'burn' may want to look at eBooks. Cheaper than hardcovers and easier to cart around on your laptop.

[doc]

we will put up a little thing on fancy foot work
for you
and the underlying message , about all the touchy feely stuff .
boxing was a science when they wore no gloves and faught for 3 sometimes 4 hrs .
but thanks will take a look .
we got some here , that follow the boxing .

[javaman]

Doc - Sun Tzu was a ..... genius.  I was going to suggest you take your personal philosophy of coaching and see how well it aligns with "The Art of War..." but then...  Never mind.  Best for the athlete to study and take in what they feel the parallels are rather than have a single person tell them: 'this is what it is.'

"Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paulo Freire talks about the difference between "banking" and "problem posing" education...banking being the type where the learner is a passive vessel for the filling of factoids and b.s...problem posing being the type where the learner is presented a situation from which to make sense...so to speak.  Freire wrote in Portugese, in a very conversational style, so it translates into English with difficulty...good rainy-day reading.

[Wyoming]

Today I ran the Bolder Boulder 10K and was reminded (being on the Colorado campus) of "Running With the Buffaloes," by Chris Lear. It's a season in the life of the CU cross country team, specifically 1998, when Adam Goucher won the national championship. It's a great illustration not only of what goes into forging a championship team (much like the TBB crew, naturally), but what it takes to be a Division I runner (100-mile weeks without two-a-day workouts? Ow). Highly recommended, though my editor's eye cringed at each typo, and there are quite a few.

Second the motion on "Once a Runner." It's the novel every running writer (or writing runner) wishes he or she could have written.

[doc]

java man ,
i will  tell you ,
after spending the first week with chrissie wellington ,then seeing how her head worked , or didnt .
i gave her a present in thailand .
a copy of    you guessed it !
do i think it helped her ?
i think we all saw , she is not only a physically superior athlete
but also a good learner .

[roddy]

Three others good books for Christmas
"Can you make a living doing that? ", from Brad Kearns
"From last to first" from Charlie Spedding
"Gold in the Water" from PH Mullen

[doc]

dont know which christmas
but  true stories from the triathlon trenches , will one day hit the stands
and then we will see truth is stranger than  fiction
 

[Fegan]

Put me down for an advance copy!

[DamienC]

Put me down for one too! 

[doc]

if james learns to swim 
then we can put your swim pussy in the book