Meb for mortals
In a nutshell
Olympic medallist Meb Keflezighi's advice for "mortals" on training, nutrition and exercise. Honest, sponsors included, but a few dozen pages in I realised it's not a book for me.
Who it's for: Runners looking for training advice from an elite athlete.
Maybe not for: Anyone looking for a story rather than a handbook.
Reviews are there to be read. Thanks to one written by Luboš Brabec, I came across this book. But I only read the first paragraph. And that was a mistake. I was lured by the Amazon link and the mention that Meb for Mortals was on sale for just 6 USD (don’t go there now, it costs 15.26 USD). Supposedly money very well spent. I can’t resist a sale, so I bought it. Next time I’ll read on.
I started reading with high expectations. And I lasted only a few dozen pages. This is not a book for me. Another thing I learned about reviews is that they really are very subjective. I should have seen it coming. I’ve read both of Luboš’s books, in which he describes his experiences, marathon and otherwise. Before he ran Ještě jeden maraton (One More Marathon), he wrote a collection of short stories, Maraton a jiné pošetilosti (The Marathon and Other Follies). So I knew we were really different types of runners. He’s performance-oriented; I’m more the take-in-the-view type.
Meb for Mortals - the story of Meb Keflezighi
Meb for Mortals is a pure training book. Its author is a refugee from Eritrea who came to America with his parents at the age of twelve. It was a good choice, by his parents and by America. Seventeen years later Meb ran to an Olympic silver medal in Athens in a USA vest (bronze at the same distance went to Deena Kastor). He finished 2004 with second place at the New York City Marathon. Five years later he took gold in New York. Could any medal be more precious? It could. The one from Boston in 2014. He won it at the age of 39. The last American to do that was in 1983. And it came, symbolically, a year after the tragic bombing in Boston.
But back to the book. Its subtitle reads “Train like an Olympic marathoner and Boston winner Meb Keflezighi”. From the table of contents it’s clear there’s no escape. Be like Meb is the title of the introduction, followed by chapter 1, Think like Meb, chapter 2, Run like Meb, and so on in the style of Train, Race, Eat, Strengthen, Stretch, Cross-train and Recover like Meb. A task almost inhuman for us ordinary mortals.
To be objective, the author is aware of the differences between himself and us. He doesn’t give us advice of the “I do it, so you must too” type. He knows that each of us has different boundaries and limits to our abilities. He shows us what worked for him and what he thinks could work for us in a modified form. He doesn’t give us a sub-three marathon training plan, but shows how to approach the individual phases of training. There’s well-known advice, but also a few tips. Why wear sunglasses when running, why squeeze an energy gel into your drink, why…?
Equally objectively, if you consider beer an isotonic drink, wine gives your blood its colour, you think Caribbean rum is medicine and you have a strongly developed weak will when it comes to food in the fridge, this won’t be the book for you. The negative effect of these worldly pleasures will outweigh the positive effect you’d gain in training from Meb’s advice. So if you’re in the same group as me, reach for the book Z hospody na maraton (From the Pub to the Marathon) instead.
For the other group of runners, though, it won’t be a bad book at all. It’s certainly nice to read how a pro does it. And as Meb himself says in the introduction, he has achieved everything he wanted, so he has no reason to hide anything. This honesty carries over into the book when he recommends various products (supplements, clothing, exercise equipment); he never forgets to mention that they’re his sponsors.
So I hope the advice of this elite athlete helps you, and one day you too will be able to fulfil your running dream. Fingers crossed.
