One thing I often hear from stay-at-home moms is how much they miss the constant adult conversation that a workplace brings. I can easily see how it can happen and I found myself falling into the same mentality when I was home on maternity leave. Yes, a 3-year-old brings lots of conversation, but there are only so many times a day I can discuss Paw Patrol or PJ Masks.
As I was feeding Baby B one morning, I was catching up on a few blogs and Run, Eat, Repeat had posted a link for a free 30 day trial of Audible that included a credit for a book. Even though I was (still am) months behind on podcasts, I was looking for something different. Based on my Amazon books, Audible recommended My Year of Running Dangerously by Tom Foreman so I decided to check it out.
First things first, I have not necessarily enjoyed audio books in the past. I tend to forget to pay attention and find myself missing a whole chapter. With our walks a few times a week, I decided it would be the perfect time to try and listen while pushing two (almost) sleeping kids.
What Is My Year of Running Dangerously About?
I’m not surprised that Amazon suggested this book based on other books that I’ve read. Tom Foreman went from couch potato to ultra marathon runner in a year. His words, not mine. It all started when his daughter challenged him to run a marathon with her. The first half of the book details the story of how he and his daughter trained together while in separate states for their marathon.
As Foreman hits on often in his book, finding the time to train isn’t the easiest. As a CNN corespondent he is trying to balance life and running while traveling for his full time job. His daughter was trying to balance her classes at Georgia Tech while trying to train for the marathon. He really digs into how much of a sacrifice for the whole family his journey in running became.
Throughout the book Foreman not only describes their training runs but he really shows readers (or listeners in my case) how much his year of running changed him. It changed his mentality, his relationships and his overall level of commitment in a number of areas. An early morning run meant he couldn’t stay out late for a social engagement. Needing to be somewhere else for work meant trying to find new trails to run on. The amount of things he was forced to learn is a true testament to how much a year of running could change someones life.
He met new friends on the trails, grew the relationship with his older daughter and found ways to expand his relationship with his younger daughter.
The Perfect Audio Book to Start Listening To
Listening to audio books didn’t used to be something I thought I would be in to. I had tried to listen to Anne of Green Gables years ago and just couldn’t bring myself to ever try again. The book had the right amount of humor mixed in with the right amount of running stories. Tom Foreman’s voice was the perfect voice to keep your attention while still making you feel like you were having a conversation with him.
While I’ve never trained for a marathon, I can relate to the struggle they both ran into finding the time to get out of the house. It is something I think most runners often deal with. In a way, it was comforting to know that even people who train for marathons still have the same problems that those who just want to get a run in have.
His daughter shares by the end of the book that it forced her to stick to more of a schedule and while she was no longer training for a marathon, she still found herself making more time for herself. This was a point that I loved so much. People so often only see the physical benefits of running that they often look past the benefits in other areas of life. Becoming more organized, making new friends, sticking to a schedule, etc.
After finishing up My Year of Running Dangerously, I quickly downloaded another audio book to slowly start listening to. I don’t speed through them and it definitely took me two months to finish My Year of Running Dangerously. It is safe to say I’m definitely open to more audio books in the future though.
What are your thoughts on audio books?
Thank for your review Kristin. I think I will buy it to listen before going to bed. I have a hemeralopia but I always love book. I think this book is very interesting for me!
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It’s a wonderful book, enjoy!
So interesting – definitely adding this to my reading list!
Isn’t That Charming.