Blogging on a rest day.

I'm sitting here, on my plump heinder, taking a rest day because my legs are just tired. So so tired. I guess my January of sickness and injury took a bit of a toll on me. But it's the perfect opportunity for me to do a double header book review! Since I only mentioned "Barefoot Running Step by Step" by Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton and Roy M. Wallack in my barefooting blog, I will go into a bit more depth here. This book is a joy and a treasure. I laughed out loud at least once a chapter. Ken Bob is an extremely likable man, teaching people how to do what he loves. His writing style is gregarious and readable. He is full of puns and jokes that some might find a bit "lame" but I found them to be hilarious. He includes testimonials and stories from people all over the the U.S. and abroad. He even has the "angry podiatrist" (the anti-barefooter) in his book to be fair to both sides of the barefoot running debate. I highly recommend this book to anyone who's even considered barefoot running. It's a practical guide with great advice. I bestow 5 Gu's to this fine volume.

The second book I would like to review is the glorious "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. This book was loaned to me by a friend who isn't much of a runner and he had wonderful things to say about it. When a non-runner has a glowing review of a running book, that's a good sign. This book is absolutely a must read for anyone who has ever run in their lives. Even if all you've ever done was run away from an angry hornet, this book will be enjoyable. McDougall goes into the history of the Tarahumara Indians, a tribe I had never heard of before this book. They are an incredible people, with distance running built into their DNA. Their diet and lifestyle doesn't seem conducive to being able to do what they do, and yet, there are none better than these shy Indians when it comes to tackling long distances and insane conditions. Also, I love the stories of Olympic athlete Emil Zatopek. He is truly the perfect example of a man who ran for the love of running. There's so much I could say about this book, but I will just say that everyone needs to read this book. You won't be disappointed. I am going to make my book club read this when it's my turn to pick. I love it so much, I'm forcing it on a whole group of non-runners! I want to award this book 5 Gu's times two. Go read it. Go now. And let me know how you liked it!

Happy reading!