Theories and Actuality

During lunch today, I made a comment about how I should write a book called, "How to Raise Your Child... Theoretically" My co-workers just laughed along and said they'll help write the forward to the book with "The author's a good guy but..."  It was a good topic, but at the same time, it struck me how I've often heard people talk about long distance running as a bad thing.  There are so many things we talk about that we don't fully understand.  Looking at it from an outside perspective doesn't help.  You can only fully understand the situation when you look at it from both the inside and the outside.

Just like I can't truly write a book on how to raise a child due to the fact that I do not have a child and I can only come from one perspective, when people talk about the bad effects running has on them, I would like to see how many of them don't run right and end up hurting themselves more.  You can always know a lot about theories and how things may work, but until you dive in and get dirty, you won't truly understand it.

Today, I started reading a book titled, "Dr. Sheehan on Running" which is by an individual that is both a doctor and a runner.  I find it a lot easier to listen to a runner that has a medical background than someone who has just a medical background and works through theories.  When you need help, do you just go to someone that has only theories under their belt?  Or would you instead go to someone else who went through the exact same thing you went and take in what they have to say.

I would look to the individual who experienced the same thing I went through.  People forget that and just take in every little thing that is being said from just anyone.  It's important to understand that being a Doctor doesn't automatically make you understand everything.  Having the title is important, but experience is also important.

Today, I went out for a medium run, finishing 7.69 miles in 55:36, an average of 7:14 min/mile.  It was a lot faster than the other times I've run around this distance, which shows me that my speed training is working.  After running that, I ate dinner, took a small break, and then went to the RUSH, where I did 20 pull ups, 50 push ups, and cycled for an hour, doing 17 miles.  After doing 260 single calf raises per leg and 100 vertical lunges with high knees, I went and stretched hard for a couple minutes, and then went to the sauna for 10 minutes.  It was a really good day.