About
I was seven when I decided I was going to be an equestrian. We lived in the suburbs in New Jersey and we didn't even have a dog because he ran away and Mom said we weren't getting another one. I read every horse book in my elementary school's library (we didn't have kindles waaay back then.) When I was ten, I had two riding lessons. Then, thank God, we moved to a dilapidated farmhouse and my mother's mother's cousin's daughter gave us an appaloosa and a Shetland pony. They were old and ugly, but I loved them. I have spent many years being an Equestrian, mostly that means shoveling manure and getting my arm yanked out by unruly beasts. The moments of communication, those few rides where it all came together and the joy of touching a warm, furry horse made all the hard, hard, (did I say hard?) work worth it. I can't imagine living without horses, ever. I only have five now, but I still ride my near black Swedish Warmblood, Valentin in shows. He is nothing like Windsong, but my daughter's mare is. Beautiful, talented, rarely gets a score below sixty, but the poor thing is convinced horse chomping demons are lurking everywhere, and I mean everywhere. I am enjoying sharing my stories, I have been told for years that I should write. My friends were probably trying to get me to stop talking about my horse escapades. I do have other conversational topics such as the weather, and ....
Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness
Description
<p><b>The absorbing, definitive account of CrossFit's origins, its explosive grassroots growth, and its emergence as a global phenomenon.</b><br /> <br />One of the most illuminating books ever on a sports subculture, <i>Learning to Breathe Fire </i>combines vivid sports writing with a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be human. In the book, veteran journalist J.C. Herz explains the science of maximum effort, why the modern gym fails an obese society, and the psychic rewards of ending up on the floor feeling as though you're about to die. <br /> <br />The story traces CrossFit’s rise, from a single underground gym in Santa Cruz to its adoption as the workout of choice for elite special forces, firefighters and cops, to its popularity as the go-to fitness routine for regular Joes and Janes. Especially riveting is Herz’s description of The CrossFit Games, which begin as an informal throw-down on a California ranch and evolve into a televised global proving ground for the fittest men and women on Earth, as well as hundreds of thousands of lesser mortals. <br /> <br />In her portrayal of the sport's star athletes, its passionate coaches and its “chief armorer,” Rogue Fitness, Herz powerfully evokes the uniqueness of a fitness culture that cultivates primal fierceness in average people. And in the shared ordeal of an all-consuming workout, she unearths the ritual intensity that's been with us since humans invented sports, showing us how, on a deep level, we're all tribal hunters and first responders, waiting for the signal to go all-out. </p>
Story Behind The Book
I will often tell my students that if performing dressage was easy, everyone would be doing it. The unique combination of nervous animal and nervous rider can make for some very interesting performance issues. Each rider/horse team requires special handling. At a horse show just last weekend, I had to coach a twelve year old on how to throw her weight onto her rearing horse’s neck to keep from tumbling over backwards. Hmm, that sounds like a familiar scenario with Windsong. The horse is talented and beautiful but has his own breaking point. The challenge and the addiction of working past the bad behavior and turning in a good test at a show is what keeps us horse enthusiasts coming back for more hair raising excitement. The feeling of coming down the centerline to your final halt, knowing that you overcame a difficult movement and may have scored the best that you ever have is tough to match. And when your horse swells under you with pride in his effort, you promise to work even harder and do what it takes to continue to show again and again.
I do not consider myself a thrill seeker, but when a non-horsey friend asks, “How did your event go?” and I describe the highlights of the show day with my students often standing and acting out portions of the story, I realize that my job is on the thrilling side. If I had a nickel for eveytime I slid back into my seat after such a delivery, and the listener shook their head and said, “You should write a book.” I would have financed my retirement by now. I do enjoy telling my stories, and a lot of the horse events in the book are true and have happened. And I will tell you that behind the scenes at an equestrian event is full of excitement. But be careful, if you aren’t already addicted to the thrill of riding a horse, you may become addicted if you try it!
