Friday, June 5, 2009

The Painful Truth?!?

I was toying with the idea running with slippers or even on barefoot. I already saw a few people running barefoot in races. Looking at them run seems so graceful yet so painful.


But searching the internet for answers if running with slippers or barefoot is okay, yield me a surprising find...

Here's an excerpt:

"Then there's the secretive Tarahumara tribe, the best long-distance runners in the world. These are a people who live in basic conditions in Mexico, often in caves without running water, and run with only strips of old tyre or leather thongs strapped to the bottom of their feet. They are virtually barefoot.

Come race day, the Tarahumara don't train. They don't stretch or warm up. They just stroll to the starting line, laughing and bantering, and then go for it, ultra-running for two full days, sometimes covering over 300 miles, non-stop. For the fun of it. One of them recently came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing nothing but a toga and sandals. He was 57 years old.

When it comes to preparation, the Tarahumara prefer more of a Mardi Gras approach. In terms of diet, lifestyle and training technique, they're a track coach's nightmare. They drink like New Year's Eve is a weekly event, tossing back enough corn-based beer and homemade tequila brewed from rattlesnake corpses to floor an army.

Unlike their Western counterparts, the Tarahumara don't replenish their bodies with electrolyte-rich sports drinks. They don't rebuild between workouts with protein bars; in fact, they barely eat any protein at all, living on little more than ground corn spiced up by their favourite delicacy, barbecued mouse.

How come they're not crippled?

I've watched them climb sheer cliffs with no visible support on nothing more than an hour's sleep and a stomach full of pinto beans. It's as if a clerical error entered the stats in the wrong columns. Shouldn't we, the ones with state-of-the-art running shoes and custom-made orthotics, have the zero casualty rate, and the Tarahumara, who run far more, on far rockier terrain, in shoes that barely qualify as shoes, be constantly hospitalised?"

Ouch!?!?

For the complete article, CLICK THIS!!!

6 comments:

  1. Wow...something unbelievable...AMAZING!

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  2. moral of the story, maghanap ka na ng ka-pace,tapos magdaldalan lang kayo the whole time PARA di mo maalala na mainit pala, or mainit ung sahig, or na umuulan pala,tapos magugulat ka na lang na "WOW! FINISH LINE NA PALA TO?" hehehehe ;) (para lang yang wow aso moments na binabanggit ng ating kapatid na si lau)

    APIR!

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  3. confirms for me the role of genes and genetics in running...this scares me, though...is there then a ceiling on a runner's capacity, which no amount of training can break through, once it has been reached? :(

    eire :(
    http://walkersrun.wordpress.com

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  4. POJIE
    that goes to show na hindi kailangan ang too technical when it comes to running. =)


    TIMMY
    hanap tayo ng Tarahumara. pa-pace tayo. =)


    EIRE
    but it's not all genes and genetics. this is from the net. "the human body is almost infinitely adaptable. it's just that they live in rugged mountainous area, making travel by wagon and horseback difficult or impossible. that means foot travel is the mode of transportation. but why walk when you can run?" =)
    also, if you've been to Mine's View Park in Baguio. have you ever wondered how the kids catching coins never get hurt or fall from that deep ravine? playground lang nila yun. naka-adapt na sila. naging natural na sa kanila. kung tayo yun, baka tepok tayo. hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's um, painful ahha :)


    Eire... hey, I have horrible genes. My dad is fat, wasnt much of an athlete. My mom would whine if you make her climb up the stairs. As Timmy said, the human body is.... completely adaptable :P

    Cheers,
    Luis
    http://gingerbreadrunning.blogspot.com/

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  6. LUIS
    i think they also run drunk. and what they drink is a mixture of pain-killers+energy boosters+booze. kampai! *hik* =)

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Ehem...