Reddit reviews The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances (Volume 5) (The Oatmeal)

One of my favorites. He actually expanded this into a full-length book of comics and stories related to running. It comes out the end of the month, and I definitely already have my copy pre-ordered.

Depending on her sense of humor, I'd recommend the Oatmeal comic book on running - http://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Wonderful-Reasons-Long-Distances/dp/1449459951

http://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Wonderful-Reasons-Long-Distances/dp/1449459951

http://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Wonderful-Reasons-Long-Distances/dp/1449459951

[The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances] (http://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Wonderful-Reasons-Long-Distances/dp/1449459951)

I'm sure you've either read or been recommended these, but here goes:

Eat & Run by Scott Jurek

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.

The Oatmeal's Book

And here I thought the stickers came from here

Oohh, he's releasing a book about it... tomorrow!

http://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Wonderful-Reasons-Long-Distances/dp/1449459951/

The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances is one that I love. Easy to read and he feels very much like an everyman.

Here are some books, but nothing specific to injuries.

If she likes the Oatmeal, this is a must-have.

The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances

The classic. It's a good read. Take the science with a grain of salt.

Born to Run

Bill Rodgers auto-biography. An entertaining read, but not greatly-written.

Marathon Man

If she's science-oriented, this is a great book. I love this thing:

What Comes First, Cardio or Weights?

> just curious, as a book nerd.

I would love to be a book nerd, but I just don't have it in me. So, sadly, I haven't read Murakami's book. Yet. I've DEFINITELY read The Oatmeal, and HIS book on running.

> Why do you run Raisin? What do you like about it?

• The Oatmeal makes a crack to the effect of "Some athletes treat their body like a temple; I treat mine like a fast-moving dumpster." To whit, I enjoy the freedom of not having to watch what I eat super-closely. I get a certain smug satisfaction of knowing that pint of Ben and Jerry's I just downed isn't even HALF the calories I burned on that 20-miler that morning.
  
• I enjoy the bragging rights, both within and without my own head. Not just that I'm capable of running those sorts of distances, but that I have the discipline to train up to those distances is good for the self-esteem.
  
• Until recently, I've either worked literal life-or-death jobs, or had myself sufficiently keyed up to make myself FEEL like my job was a matter of life or death. If it weren't for running, I shudder to think of what those levels of stress over that period of time would have done to me.
  
  > So, what kind of stretches do you recommend before running? And after?
  
  Here's where my practice and the consensus among the Running Community(tm) differ.
  
  I haven't stretched in over 20 years, and only have two injuries to show for it, both of which were likely the result of wearing the wrong sort of shoes. There is a solid body of evidence that suggests that stretching is at best ineffective and at worst may contribute to injury.
  
  That said, since your body is asking you for help, here are some solid quad stretches you can try. Except that last one - unless you're an experienced Yogi with zero back problems, fuuuuck that. You can also try a longer warm up walk and/or "butt kicks": going at a slow jog, but literally trying to bring your heel up to your ass with each stride. I especially like the butt kick idea in cooler climates, where you'll freeze your parts off if you're on the ground stretching.

Its not a shirt but this might also be a good present... Basically a comic book about running by the oatmeal.

http://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Wonderful-Reasons-Long-Distances/dp/1449459951/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417538729&sr=8-1&keywords=OATMEAL+WHY+i+RUN+LONG+DISTANCES