Born To Run

I just made it home after a long, 11-hour ride back from visiting famIly and friends in Georgia. 1600 miles and two books on cd later I am back in Indiana. I had a great time visiting family, celebrating the Fourth of July, and visiting a friend I haven't seen in a year and half. I also made a point not to think about or do anything work related. But, after almost completing "Born To Run" by Christopher McDougal I had more blog material churning. I Recommend "Born To Run". The book is a story and an interesting investigation into the question "were we born to run?" If so, why do 80% of runners end up injured each year. The book is a little slow at the beginning, as McDougall sets the story, but if you stick with it, it gets pretty interesting in the second half. I was even inspired to run for a half-hour tonight partly from sitting all day in the car and partly by this book.

I put on my Vibram Five Fingers at dusk and hit the park next to my home. I started off slowly on the grass with my some warm-up drills. Then, moved to 100-yard sprints. As the sun was going down and after a handful of sprints my legs were loose and feeling good. I felt light on my feet, like I weighed 110 pounds, not 210 pounds. I did five more 100-yard sprints and decided to hit the road with my Five Fingers (essentially barefoot). I had only run once on the road with the Five Fingers and went rather slow. Tonight, I was feeling good and was inspired by the book. So, I set off and kept my mental check list while I ran on the road:

Stand tall
Back straight
Drive with elbows
Feet under my center of gravity
Pull heels through
Land on outside of mid-foot and use the foot and legs to disperse forces.

I moved along smoothly and effortlessly. I gradually upped my pace as I kept reviewing this checklist. Soon, I was at 8-9 mph, but felt like I was simply power-walking. I glided over the ground without any bobbing up and down, thus minimizing the impact on my feet and legs. I was feeling great, running effortless with only 7mm of rubber between me and the road.

McDougall concludes that there are many factors to why we get injured, inspite having a body that is designed to run long distances. The big two are biomechanics and musculoskeletal strength. Both of which are severely affected by modern lifestyles, running shoes, and our 'quick results' mentality. I agree with him on all of these points.

We all knew how to run when we are five years-old. We were all good runners and regularly ran at top speeds. However, a sedentary lifestyle with lots of sitting and weight gain have led most people to have an atrophied and weakened body (especially the muscles of the foot). These bodies can't handle the extreme forces driven through our feet and legs with each stride, especially with improper running mechanics.

Modern running shoes (invented by Nike in 1972) have allowed many runners to use improper running biomechanics (long strides, significant heel strikes, and lots of bobbing up and down). Rarely do people learn proper mechanics to minimize driving forces over 1000 pounds through their joints with every step. Unfortunately, we are under the false presumption that cushy, engineered running shoes will absorb this force. In reality, and I love the way he puts it, the feet are "searching for stability." They will hit the ground harder with the cushy sole versus barefoot, thus causing higher ground-reaction forces.

The last point I think is so true of not only current-day running, but of all current-day fitness. The "quick-results" mentality is a recipe for disaster. We want everything to happen quickly. We have no patience. We want to run a half marathon, but have been sedentary for years and have poor biomechanics. Twelve weeks is not enough time to expect to train for this race. You are fooling yourself. Another line that I liked, that was used in this context was "expect nothing from your running, and you will get more than you ever imagined." Great line.

The human body, with it's rubber band-like achilles tendon, arched foot, efficient cooling system, and large lung capacity, is designed to run. We are born to run, but unlike cheetahs and horses, we are not designed for speed, but endurance. Unfortunately, the most basic exercise for humans ends up being the most problematic. Not because it is a foreign movement, but because we attempted to fix something that wasn't broken.

Food Cues, Priming, and Overeating

"No thanks, I don't eat candy."

"I can't stop at one Girl Scout cookie, I will end up eating them all.

These simple sentences can go a long way to helping you not overeat. Why do you need these? Because in a world of hyperpaliatable foods and constant cues to eat, you need to be prepared to deal with several hyperpaliatable food interactions per day.








Eating one piece of candy or a Girl Scout cookie itself may not be so bad. However, the real problem comes from the 'priming' to eat more and more of that (or similar) food (after you eat just one bite). David Kessler, author of The End Of Overeating, explains that you need to break what he calls the cue-urge-reward-habit cycle. Once you experience a food cue, such as the site of chocolate cake, or the smell of pizza, you will very shortly develop the urge to eat it. This is the brief window when you can intervene with a concious, planned monologue to yourself and break the cycle. Saying "I don't eat candy", when you find yourself looking at the bowl of M&Ms, will override the unconscious urge. If not, then one piece becomes two, and three, and so on until you have consumed a half of a cup of M&Ms.

Be prepared to deal with potential overeating situations with hyperpaliatable foods. Just about all of us will lose control when we eat these foods and end up consuming much more than we planned. Just like an ex-smoker may feel the urge, from time to time, to smoke a cigarette (especially when they are upset or stressed), they know that just one cigarette will put them right back in the habit. Break the cue-urge-reward-habit cycle by being prepared to deal with potentially uncontrollable eating by having a planned, conscious monologue in your head to override any unconscious urge. Because, as the Ruffles slogan says, "you can't just have one."

Bliss Points, Hedonic Hotspots, and Conditioned Hypereating

Recently, I have been reading David Kessler's book, The End of Overeating. It takes you on a fascinating, behind the scenes look at how the food industry 'manufactures' food products that Americans find irresistible. These products are cheap, easily accessable, and dominate our modern environment. The food industry makes no arguement about it, they are in business to maximize profits, even if that is at the expense of your waistlines or health. Their creations are far removed from whole, real foods. They are more like elaborate chemistry projects.



The food-like products sell because they are hyperstimulating and essentially addicting substances. Every little nuance of the food product is tweaked for maximum eater enjoyment. Everything, from texture and aroma, to the mouth-feel and ease of swallowing are perfected. He gives the example of Cinnabon rolls. These cinnamon rolls are sold in almost every mall and airport in America. Although, these country-style cinnamon rolls were popular at the small bakery in Snohomish, Washington, where they were originally sold, they were re-developed in test kitchens over several months to become the irresistible fast-food bakery item they are today.

The processed food products are more than just appealing to the senses. They condition you to anticipate eating them. The term 'incentive salience' is used in the book and is explained as "the desire, activated by cues, for something that predicts reward." Eating these food products condition you to want these artificial food products(even though you may not be hungry). The smell or sight of a french fry, for example, is the cue that drives dopamine levels up in areas of your brain that are involved in food-seeking behavior. Hence, you find yourself scouring through the pantry looking for the bag of the Doritos at 10 o'clock at night.



The 'rewarding pleasure' from the processed food products stimulate the emotional centers of the brain. These 'pleasure centers' in the brain are stimulated similarly as would happen with cocaine use. Over time, your brain gets used to this stimuli and when it doesn't get it, your "seeking behaviors" increase. You now are an addict. Diet Coke drinkers know this all too well. The Diet Coke has no Calories in it, but contains a sweet, sharp taste. It is not so much the caffeine (Diet Coke has much lower levels than coffee or even tea). It is very diificult to cut back Diet Coke intake. But, analagous to drug use, it conditions you to seek out, new and different stimulating sweet tastes (in the form of highly-processed, sweet foods).

Well, if you weren't outraged by the food industry before, you will be ready to boycott every fast food restaurant and supermarket in town after reading this book. Restaurants and food manufacturers blantantly exploit your addictive vulnerabilities for profit at the expense of your health. We have all been affected and conditioned by the modern foodscape. The simple answer is to eat whole, unprocessed foods. Buy from the farmers and grow some of your own. But, I understand the barriers to this solution. Food is so intricately wooven into the fabric of our culture that you have to go against the masses to eat this way. It is also human nature to to find the cheapest,easist, and quickest way to eat (even though this stuff is not food and actually costs you much more in the end). Finally, we have come to use food as a drug. Food provides us with a fleeting sense of pleasure. In a world of more stress, more work demands, more stimuli, less sleep, less physical activity, less family time, we find ourselves more depressed, anxious, and uneasy. Processed food products provide a short-term fix. Unfortunately, these behaviors are part of a viscious cycle, ultimately leading to worsened physical and mental well-being.