Last Christmas the one item that I HAD to have was Kara Goucher’s book, Running for Women.  In case your living under a rock or aren’t a running fan, Kara Goucher is a World Championship bronze mentalist for the 10K and a top U.S. marathoner.

I started running in August and wanted a go-to book for not only new runners, but something I could reference throughout my half marathon training and many more races to come!  This book did NOT disappoint!

I read the majority of the book  right away, but put it down while I was moving.  I brought it back out after I registered for my first half!  If you’re a new runner or experienced, I think you’ll get a lot out of reading Kara’s book. I finished this book on Saturday when I was relaxing by the pool.

Organization

This book is organized in 10 chapters.  Each chapter begins with a little bit about Kara’s life and experience on the topic and then goes into her tips on the subject.  Her tips are bolded and organized in small paragraphs, so it’s an easy read!  “Dear Kara” is another feature in the book in which Kara answers questions sent in from fans.  I really liked reading these, because I had a lot of the same questions!

Subject matter

I found each chapter to be very insightful and useful (minus the pregnancy one, obviously).  I don’t want to give away all of her tips, because I really want you all to go and read it yourselves, but here are my favorite tips from each chapter.

1. Getting Started:  Make running a priority and you’ll find the time.
   
2. Training:  Think rest day rather than running day.  Instead of saying, “I’m doing to run three days this week,” say, “I’m going to give myself at least three rest days this week.”  The ol’ reverse psychology — it works.
3. Social Running:  Join a running club, but quit if it doesn’t work out
4. Staying Injury-free:  The best way to protect your knees is to do exercises to strengthen your quads.
5. Balancing Running and Life:  Create a routine that works for you.
6. Food, Nutrition and Weight Control: Kara’s chart of anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory foods chart.  A really good reference.
7. Racing:  Focus on yourself during a race, not so much others around you.
8. Running a Marathon: Go real easy for the first few miles.
9. Pregnancy and New Motherhood (skipped this chapter)
10. Running for Life: Stretch to maintain your stride.

I love Kara Goucher’s Running for Women, because it will always be a reference throughout my running career!  The book is easy to read and is a perfect book for the beach.  If you’re thinking about purchasing this book, I’d say go for it.  Some of the tips can come across as “no-duh”, but it touches on things you may overlook when training for any distance of race.

You can purchase the book here from Amazon for $6.98 used, $9.22 new, or $13.99 for the Kindle version.  Get your copy today!