Usually in the new year we decide we want to get in better shape, eat better, and just be overall more kind to our bodies. Some of us choose to do yoga, stretching, and meditation for the slow pace fitness. Others choose to run or do more physically demanding exercises. I began my running journey around 10 years ago, and each year I have to “start over”, especially in the winter. The cold weather makes me lose interest in doing anything outside. Last year, I ran my first half marathon and before I knew it, I am now signed up to run 3 half marathons in 2024! In the winter, sometimes the training can be tough. It is hard to figure out when to run during really cold and inclement weather. Some people are able to just get out there and do it, while some are like me, and just use the treadmill. Treadmills are boring, but it saves my lungs from the cold air. I’m going to supply you with some titles of books in our collection that can help you start your running journey in 2024 or keep motivated during these winter months.
Bedtime Adventure Stories for Grown Ups (2021) by Anna McNuff
Have you ever wanted to kayak down a gorge in New Zealand? Or run night-time marathons through the Californian desert? How about rollerblading 100 miles around Amsterdam? You have? Then pour yourself a cup of cocoa, get those jim-jams on and prepare to escape into a world of adventure with this collection of life-affirming short stories from award-winning adventurer Anna McNuff. You’ll go road trippin’ through the Canadian winter. Bivvy out on a mountaintop in Wales. Explore pockets of wilderness around the city of London and take a journey by bike across Europe. Always upbeat and often insightful, Bedtime Adventure Stories is the antidote to adult life. It’ll have you drifting off into the land of nod, dreaming up journeys of your very own – and it’s proof that the only thing standing between you and the next wild adventure is a willingness to step beyond your front door.
Running: Getting Started (2014) by Jeff Galloway
Running: Getting Started will take anyone, at any level of fitness, into the running lifestyle. Jeff Galloway, a US Olympian in 1972, has helped hundreds of thousands of people make this journey while reducing or eliminating aches, pains, and injuries suffered during most training programs. Jeff developed the Run-Walk-Run method of training, in which running is repeatedly interrupted by walk breaks, and offers a step by step program that is easy to use and easy to understand. Included are also lots of tips on nutrition, staying motivated, building endurance, shoes, stretching and strengthening, and much more.
The Cool Impossible: the Coach from Born to Run Show How to Get the Most from Your Miles and from Yourself (2013) by Eric Orton
The truth is: Athleticism is awareness. That simple phrase is at the core of The Cool Impossible. Athleticism requires awareness of form and technique, awareness of our effort level, and, most important, awareness of what we think (and don’t think). And with that awareness comes the possibility of endless potential and improvement, progress and mastery–and, ultimately, achievement that you never before would have thought possible.
Run to the Finish: the Everyday Runner’s Guide to Avoiding Injury, Ignoring the Clock, and Loving the Run (2020) by Amanda Brooks
Run to the Finish is not your typical running book. While it is filled with useful strategic training advice throughout, at its core, it is about embracing your place in the middle of the pack with humor and learning to love the run you’ve got without comparing yourself to other runners. Mixing practical advice like understanding the discomfort vs. pain, the mental side of running, and movements to treat the most common injuries with more playful elements such as “Favorite hilarious marathon signs” and “Weird Thoughts We all Have at the Start Line,” Brooks is the down-to-earth, inspiring guide for everyone who wants to be happier with their run.
Run Fast, Eat Slow: Nourishing Recipes for Athletes (2016) by Shalene Flanagan
This cookbook for runners that shows fat is essential for flavor and performance and that counting calories, obsessing over protein, and restrictive dieting does more harm than good. Packed with more than 100 recipes for every part of your day, nutritional wisdom, and inspiring stories from two fitness-crazed women that became fast friends over 15 years ago, Run Fast Eat Slow has all the bases covered. You’ll find no shortage of delicious meals, satisfying snacks, thirst-quenching drinks, and wholesome treats, all made without refined sugar and flour.
In every case, Magill’s best advice is to do what he did: Run anyway! Go at a pace and mileage that work for you. Through inspiration, science, and anecdote, Magill gets runners out the door; through personal action plans, he sets them on the right path; and through the best exercises to protect and rehabilitate the body. He keeps them going and showing a way forward for new and sidelined runners who haven’t before realized how close they are to fun and pain-free running!
If you decide to start running this year, I hope you will let some of these library resources be your guide!
Happy Reading!
