"50 / 50" by Dean Karnazes

Dean's goal is to complete 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 different states.  Will he be able to do it? 

The outcome is never in doubt.  He is a committed running freak.  His eccentricity comes through especially near the end of the book.  He's run his 50 marathons and the journey is over.  So what does he do?  He has not had enough, so he picks up a baby stroller, packs it with some supplies and starts running back to his hometown of San Francisco from New York.  It was at this point that it became clear that he is unique.  The '50 in 50' goal is something people can relate to.  You set a goal, you aspire towards it, you bleed and sacrfiice, think about quitting, then have a final surge into victory.  All the while dispensing anecdotes, good advice and inspiration. 

While the anecdotes feel forced and wooden, the advice was spot on.  In particular I liked that Dean covers all the standard advice about training (don't overdo it, mix in speed with distance runs, find shoes that fit) and then states that the best judge of what works for you is your own body.  'Treat yourself as an experiment of one'; might be a paraphrase of what is said in the book, but basically this means to take in all that is offered, digest it and synthesize your own training program.  Such simple words!  But often overlooked by runners, some of whom feel they need to stick to a strict training program done in a specific way. 

Days 34 and 42 are titled 'Mind Over Miles' and 'Second Wind' and in these sections Dean does a nice job of deconstructing the interplay between your mind and your body.  There is proverb 'He who suffers remembers'  he is reminded of while passing a restaurant and this proverb nicely summarizes a philosophy of not so much enjoying the pain but enjoying what is symbolizes: exercising free will.  The second wind phenomena all of us are familiar with, and it is interesting the tricks our mind can play with our body.  For example, your mind might believe that there is a long way to run, thus it tells your body to feel tired.  Then one might realize the finish line is approaching and there is enough fuel in the tank to make it, so the mind allows the body to feel not so tired.  Perhaps a little simplistic, but all runners know that the biggest battle during a long run is not the body so much as the mind.

Dean writes about each marathon and day 44, the Marine Corps marathon, was truly inspiring.  In that race Dean passes a sculpture called "The Awakening".  Here is one passage from that section:
"Awakenings are always terrifying, as they force you to realize that your past has been lived in confinement.  The most disturbing part is when you recognize that the shackles holding you down are largely ones you have placed upon yourself.  The prison is self-constructed.  'We are all living in cages with the door wide open,' George Lucas once said."

Truly inspring words!  Read this book and realize that you can do a lot more than you were taught you could.