Catching up...

I'm off work this week, and I'm trying to get caught up on household things. Since I'm the queen of procrastination, I haven't gotten much done, but yesterday I decided to plow through the pile of Runners' World and Running Times that have accumulated on my nightstand. I don't know about you, but I just don't read magazines anymore. I get a free subscription to Runners' World with my Chicago Area Runners' Association membership, and I subscribed to Running Times because my niece was selling magazine subscriptions for her school. Needless to say, they come in the mail, they look interesting, and I set them aside to be read later. With the internet, I look up what I need to know and read it that way. Plus, after all these years of reading Runners' World, I'm starting to feel a sense of deja vu. How many articles can you read on picking the right shoe? Injury proofing your body? Power foods? And don't get me started on all those subscription cards that fall out of every issue. I already subscribe, people! I like to read in bed and those cards just keep falling out. Sometimes, I wake up with print on my face because I fell asleep on one of them.

I actually like the more technical articles in Running Times. But the editors have cut publication of that magazine to 6 issues per year.

Anyways, I read all the issues I had, back to November, and found some articles that interested me. Today I'm linking up with Amanda at Running with Spoons for Thinking Out Loud Thursday, and I figured I'd share some of what I read.

November 2014 had an article on muscle cramping. Where was this when I needed it in October? Remember that fabulous finish at the Chicago Marathon? Where I reached up to grab a snack and my legs froze up? I nearly fell to the ground but someone caught me, put me in a wheelchair, and whisked me off to the medical tent, where they offered me bananas. That was weird. I was well hydrated with my Tailwind Nutrition and to this day, I have no idea what happened. According to this article, it most likely was muscle fatigue. The author makes a good point when he says that if dehydration alone could cause a muscle cramp, then people could just cramp up in saunas, hot tubs, or even on hot days. I had this image of people seizing up at a Cubs game in the middle of July. At least, they can't blame the heat if that happens. Maybe just the Cubs...but I digress...So what works for muscle cramps? Pickle juice (yep, Mish, you were right!) and stretching, which is what I did to get myself out of that medical tent. What doesn't? Bananas, mustard, and quinine. I'm allergic to bananas, so I can feel good about turning down the bananas in the medical tent.

December 2014 had an article titled The Writer Runner, about Jamie Quatro, a runner, who writes stories, and now a book. She recently published a short story collection titled I Want to Show You More, which has been a critical sensation. Reviews by readers on amazon.com have been a little less generous. The article in Runners' World made the book sound like it was all about running but the amazon.com review describes it as "dark, bizarre, and sexual". Hmmm. Quatro seems so normal, and the best quote from this article is: "Keep a clean life so you can be messy on the page. I believe in that motto." Not so sure this book is one for the book club.

Naturally, the January/February 2015 issue had an article on resolutions. This article was interesting to me because it was more about motivation and goal setting than actual resolution making. I'm not a believer in resolutions, since it can be a recipe for failure, but setting goals is a whole different thing. I'm all about goals. I've actually written quite a bit about that on the blog, and at the end of every month, I check in with my goals for the year. There was also an article on Liz Ferro, founder of Girls with Sole, which is an organization to bring running to at risk girls. The goal of her organization is to build self esteem and fitness. Ferro, who was a former foster child, is a runner. She's written a book about her life story as well. Maybe her story will be one for the book club?

David Willey, editor in chief, writes in the March 2015 issue about the National Runners' Health Study, which is set to shut down this year due to lack of funding. This study of over 113,000 runners, has been ongoing for 19 years, has generated a lot of data, all of it showing the health benefits of running, and lots of scientific papers. There's a National Nurses Study too, looking at the lifestyle and health habits of nurses. I wonder what other groups are being studied? I had no idea there was a study of runners, and wouldn't it be a shame if it stopped? You can write to the Secretary of Energy, Dr Ernest Moniz (secretary@hq.doe.gov) to show your support for continuation of this important study.

I found 2 articles that inspired me in the April 2015 issue. One was a picture of an inspirational runner, Toni Carey, co-founder of Black Girls Run in Atlanta. Besides all the great information about her on this page, I was distracted by the cute running top that she was wearing, a Brooks Run Happy shirt. Could I pull this one off? I guess we'll see since I ordered it! On sale! Score! Just what I need. More running clothes!

The other article that inspired me was about Kathy Martin, age 63, who is breaking all kinds of Master's records for running. She recently ran a 3:10:27 marathon, setting an American record for the 60-64 age group. If that isn't inspiring to this later bloomer, I don't know what is.

And I've finished them! All right, now I'm all caught up! Maybe now I should clean out my closet and dresser....

What have you been reading lately? Do you still read magazines? What's got you Thinking Out Loud? Be sure to head over to Running with Spoons to see what everyone is thinking about.