Long Distance: Testing the Limits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously

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  • Long Distance: Testing the Limits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously (Unabridged)
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    • Originally published in , the book was reissued in paperback by Rodale this past fall.

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    Early on, McKibben visits the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid to undergo a series of unpleasant tests involving a treadmill, a snorkel-like device, and numerous blood-lettings to ascertain his VO2 Max—a measurement of how effi ciently his body uses oxygen.

    And no amount of training will change that.

    Long Distance: Testing the Limits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously (Unabridged)

    The upper limit of his VO2 Max and thus of his competitive potential are determined by genetics. Nevertheless, he diligently puts in six hundred hours of training over the year, all to prepare for a grand total of maybe twelve hours of racing. McKibben, of course, is best known as an environmental writer, the guy who sounded the alarm about global warming in The End of Nature and who founded a worldwide movement to try to get politicians to do something about it.

    When I saw him speak a few months ago in Saranac Lake, he struck me as an Old Testament prophet with a sense of humor. Long Distance reveals the private side of the public intellectual. Despite all his accomplishments— as president of the Harvard Crimson, staff writer for the New Yorker, best-selling author, and global activist—McKibben still longs to be what so many males long to be: Bill gravitated toward intellectual pursuits.

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    In his late thirties, celebrated essayist, journalist, and author Bill McKibben —never much of an athlete—decided the time had come for him to really test his body. For one vigorous year, which would culminate in a series of grueling, long-distance races, McKibben experienced his body's rhythms and possibilities as never before.

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    But the year also brought tragedy to McKibben and his family as his father developed a life-threatening illness. Forcing a deeper exploration of both body and spirit, the arrival of this illness transforms McKibben's action-packed memoir into a moving account of two men coming to terms with the limits of the flesh.

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    Here, writing with his trademark honesty and insight, he once again creates a provocative and unconventional book, a fascinating portrait of a man in midlife pushing his body and soul to the breaking point—and learning some unexpected truths along the way. McKibben admits early on, 'I'm not sure where my wimpiness came from. McKibben also steers clear of an obsession with chronology or a journal-entry style that often dogs such projects, instead telling his story in anecdotes and asides, which allows for shifts in scene and subject that keep the story fresh.

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    Long Distance: Testing the Limits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously [Bill McKibben] on bahana-line.com *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A new. Editorial Reviews. bahana-line.com Review. At the age of 37, bestselling author and journalist Bill Buy Long Distance: Testing the Limits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously: Read 26 Books Reviews - bahana-line.com

    He incorporates an account of his father's battle with brain cancer, which coincides with his training, but he avoids melodrama when ruminating on his father's decline and weakness in light of his own increasing vigor. The result is a short and satisfying read that, like the author's experience, may not completely alter one's life, but certainly supplies plenty to think about.

    It's not about sports or exercise, but the idea of endurance.

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    I had read a couple of books by Bill McKibben but just recently discovered that he wrote one about a year of training for cross country ski racing. Lists with This Book. I've read this book 3 times, once per decade since the late s. I love to read autobiographical or biographical works about endurance athletics running, cycling, apparently skiing, too and this is a worthy spot in my library. Please try again later.

    Throughout, essayist, journalist, and author McKibben shares the lessons he learned while skiing on three continents. As he states, 'I came seeking sweat and found only enlightenment.