Chi Running

It might be somewhat a stretch, but of the last three books I have read, two were about running. The other one was about horses. They like to run, too, so therein lies the literature trifecta. This latest one, Chi Running by Danny Dreyer http://www.chirunning.com/shop/home.php has rocked my world, and not just the part that running plays in it. As you can imagine from the title, it contains little gems of Oriental wisdom and an altogether radical (to the western, modern mind) approach to the oldest of sports. Think Kwai Chang Caine on Heartbreak Hill. To say, thusly, that I thoroughly relate and am mesmerized would be an understatement the scale of calling Ironman a walk in the park.

To capsulize, he talks about how we can run injury free, run longer, smoother and with more speed as a result of impeccable form and absolute economy of motion. He says look at the Kenyans. Where are the big, bulky Mr. Man muscles? How do they get so fast with so little mass? Well, dear VBA, in a word. Chi (chee).

If you run (and I know that you do), or if you have run, are hurt, and want to run again, or if you want to run faster and pain free (whoa!) this is a must read.

And it doesn't hurt to start a chapter (in this case four) by stating, "How do I best move towards mastery? To put it simply, you practice diligently, but you practice primarily for the sake of practice itself." This gem from George Leonard's Mastery.