weekend read: Running Like a Girl

You know that book that comes to you at the exact moment you need it? It just fits perfectly into your life, affirms you, grows you, and encourages you? I’ve had a couple of those so far in my life and I’m adding Running Like a Girl by Alexandra Heminsley to the list today.

As some of you know, I’m training for my first half marathon. I started running almost a year ago, and I’ve been slowly gaining confidence with my distances, my abilities, and my stamina. I’m still in awe every time I think about what our bodies are capable of. And now I’m tackling half-marathon training, running longer and longer distances every week, doing sprints and hills, growing stronger. So when my friend Heather, who is on this half-marathon journey with me, passed this book along, I gobbled it up.

Running Like a Girl follows the author as she goes from no-running-unless-someone-is-trying-to-kill-me to a full marathon. It’s completely honest about the ups and downs, the mental battles that are more daunting than anything physical, the feelings we get as we’re learning to run. I felt like everything she wrote was for specifically for me. I was (and still am) experiencing those same things as I do battle with my inner demons every day to run.

There was also lots of practical advice about running: about normal pains, how important good shoes are, how to stop the sports bra blisters on your shoulders (that I thought were weird zits that weren’t going away for the longest time…), about Vaseline on your feet, about boobs, drinking water, and running without underwear (this literally changed my life!). This book answered questions I had and questions I didn’t know I had. I feel so much more equipped to run well after reading this book.

Running Like a Girl was encouraging, funny, helpful, and perfect for a new runner. And, apparently, all the weird, life-ending thoughts I think while I’m running are pretty common too. And that makes me like running even more.

Have you read this one? Are you a runner or wanna-be runner? This is the book for you! Buy it and then pass it along to your friends, it will change your running life.

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