Designing Shirts and Reading Books - Fodder for My Fiyah!

I found the treasure!
What do hot chicks and barefoot running have in common? A tshirt. Yup. I've been working my little ass off designing another BFR tshirt for my next giveaway. I'm currently putting the final tweaks on it, but I'm afraid my head won't stop. I have a few more ideas I have to unleash before I can reveal the designs. Its been hard to find time, lately. I've been feeding the Fiyah which leads to more inspiration, but ironically less time to actually create.

So, what have I been doing to feed my creative muses?

Well, something most barefoot runners have already done prior to learning to run barefoot. Reading about it. I hate to admit it, but I haven't read a lick about barefoot running except for the bits and pieces of information I find on the BRS forums. The one book I've wanted to read, but was holding back on, is now dog-eared at page 161. Christopher McDougall's Born to Run

This book was temporarily off my "to do" radar until a good friend of mine picked it up on her way to Vegas. I get a text from her mid flight saying "OMG!! You have got to buck up and read this!!!" She knew I wanted to read it, but heard my myriad of excuses about "not being ready... yet." I'd heard the book was not only inspirational, but the people who read it find themselves suddenly igniting lofty goals. Like signing up to run their first marathon... barefoot. Or deciding they want to do their first ultra. Seriously? I don't have time to train for a marathon let alone an ultra! And already being a runner at heart and it already being my passion, I could only imagine what kind of goals would transpire after I finished the last page. So my plan was to put Born to Run on the back burner until my kids were older. That was my plan. Until now.

The next text I got from my friend said something like this... 
"I'm in Vegas, walking down The Strip barefoot! Its awesome! I'm really drunk." 

Ok. That confirmed it for me. People really do crazy shit after they read this book. The Vegas Strip? Really? And drunk? Not exactly the best of decisions, but I was happy she was feeling the fiyah! Now she got it. I wasn't so crazy afterall. In fact, I was feeling like the sensible one at that moment. Really sensible. I texted her back to take it easy... and... for pete's sake!! Watch where she was stepping!!! And then I thought to myself... Damn! That must be a good book! I don't care what it makes me do, I want in on that action! To hell with it. I've got to read that book.

So for Mother's Day, my husband drew me a pirate map. Yes. A pirate map. Because we have pirate dinners at our house on occasion. You know? Where you get to eat with your hands and you can forget about table manners. These dinners are never complete without a treasure hunt for the kids, and on Mother's Day, for me too. So I followed my map and it led me to my new book. 

So far, it has sucked me in just like everybody said it would. And even though my plans to do my first half marathon mountain run were already in the works before I opened the cover, I'm definitely using the book as fodder for my running fiyah. And I will need that inspiration come July and August when I plan to do my first serious trail races completely minimal. I'm struggling with the shoe part, but I'll have to leave that for another blog post.

In the meantime, I'll be finishing up on these tshirt designs and posting the giveaway soon so keep checking back!
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Comments

  1. I signed up for my first marathon within minutes of finishing BTR. But more than anything, it took away any remaining notion I had that my desire to run long distances wasn't "normal". Now I know that I'm normal, and everyone who thinks running is stupid is weird.

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  2. The book was a great read and a great motivation. Definitely one to keep on the shelf and dust off each year. As far as shoes go MGBG and I are both fans of Soft Star's shoes. Ugly but so functional and comfortable you won't care.

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  3. I know it's cliche but that book was so inspiring for me. He's a great writer. It's a novel with a real story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Sure it's got some information in there but it was the story and the possibilities of what we are capable of that really got me.
    I can't wait to see your newest designs.
    And I know how you feel about the shoes part. I did a trail run Saturday and knew it was going to be quite a while before I could do it barefoot.

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  4. I thought, "I'm not a runner and never will be," until I finished it. The science in it gave me the mental push I needed to realize I can run, I just need to learn how and believe I'm built for it.

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  5. @important - i checked out your blog and saw the shoes. They aren't bad looking at all (loved the slide show). I figure, whatever helps you run is what you should run in. I am not a fan of the VFF from an aesthetics POV, but I was willing to modify them and run in them... for a while. But they just aren't working for me. I think its the whole toe thing.

    I just recently got my hands on some Merrell women's Pace Gloves. I need something trail friendly so I'm curious to see how my feet do in them.

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  6. @ DB - (begin soliloquy... :-) I've always been a runner at heart. For many years I wished I could say I was a runner, but couldn't because of all my lame ass issues. I wish someone had told me about barefoot running when I was young. I wish my coaches had a clue back then, but they didn't. They just made us run and run hard. I think a lot of my issues are due to the constant impact my knees and joints were experiencing as such a young age. Oh well.

    This book makes me a little sad for what I could have been. I really, truly think I had it in me to be a great runner, but I was also smart enough to know that my body was not happy with what I was doing to it. I had all sorts of misconceived notions about myself that I thought were fated to me and couldn't be "fixed." I was truly floored to find out that an UBER pronator like myself could one day run without motion controls and be stronger. If only I knew back them what I know now. (end of soliloquy)

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  7. Hi Zap,
    I know exactly what you mean in your second paragraph about what you could have been if you had read the book years earlier. I wish I had read it 30 years earlier and I would have avoided all the injuries and costs that followed to fix then up.
    I never had much respect for the doctors that always trotted out the line 'Running is bad for you' what the hell kind of doctors were they anyway. Same goes for the podiatrists with all the rubbish they come out with. I almost can't remember what shin splints are like now no thanks to the 'professionals'
    Get that book read! I did it in 3 days.

    Neil

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  8. I held off at first too, but I just finished it yesterday and sure glad I did. Some of the comments on culture and whatnot are so much deeper than just running. I love how it made my love for running connect with my love for everything else that I am passionate about. I hope that those thoughts can flow in and out while I hit the trails tomorrow with some of my new gear I got in the mail.

    I am going into Physical Therapy and it makes me excited to know that although I may be a bit of a weirdo to the rest of the PT community...I'm not alone and I will be successful once the world starts figuring it out. In regular shoes they say I have perfect stride...in minimalist shoes they say I pronate. I just say, "screw them".

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