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One book where the writer Alexandra Heminsley talks about her life and her journey to running.
The book "Running Like a Girl" was published in english in 2013, translated into estonian in 2016. The writer tells her story of how she became a runner, thinking she was not ment to be an athlete at a young age. The book is an easy inspirational reading.
I have read this kind of books before and also in this case the writer thought, that she would never become a runner, that she was not born with the right prerequisites.
I have run about 10 km every day for the past 4.5 years. Before that, I also thought, that I would never become a runner, because running is one of the most boring sports. In addition to the annoyance of running, the author of this book outlines other reasons why people don't like running and think, that they will never become runners or athletes at all.
In her childhood, at schools physical education classes, when she had to run 2 km, the writer tried to get sick by any method by that time. For myself, I didn't notice as much that I hated running, as it just seemed like a boring sport. I've been dancing for my whole life, which is much more inspiring to me, but now, raising a child and having two jobs, it's very difficult to find time for dance classes. Running, on the other hand, is easier - clothes and sneakers on, earphones in the ears and can go any time, in summertime even in the late evenings. I have solved the problem of boredom by listening to audio books at the same time. However, as listening to books does not inspire me to run fast, but rather at a leisurely pace, but it is good to do interval training and increase my pace, so I listen to my favorite music from time to time and make sure that I can keep up some speed.
In the book, the author humorously describes her life and how she came to run marathons. What clothes to choose, how to run a marathon, what it is good for, what difficulties she had to overcome, and much more about running and her life, that she describes in a colorful and funny way.
The common secret of all runners is that they run not for their body, but for the spirit. Being in good physical shape and knowing that you can eat one more donut in front of TV is not a running goal, but rather just a bonus. The key is realizing, that by striving gradually and consistently for the purpose, you are contributing not only to running, but also to your quality of life. If you can overcome the anger and hopelessness, that runners experience during the most difficult moments of long distance, you will accept their nature and you will believe, that anything is possible. The worries and problems that oppress you, will be relieved when you have left home to go for a run even against your will. In the end, running becomes a habit and an addiction, like there would be something pushing us to go out with any weather.
The book is not very thick and it`s interesting and concise, I recommend reading to both - athletes and those, who think that sport is not for them.