JUST DO IT.

Apparently when Nike came up with the slogon, Just Do it, in the '80s they were on to something. Really, the phrase applies to many situations, but I'm thinking about running in particular. Matt Fitzgerald provides some interesting insights in his article in Triathlete Magazine's June 2010 edition, entitled, How To Hit Your Stride, HINT: TURN OFF YOUR BRAIN, SCIENTIFIC AND REAL-WORLD EVIDENCE INDICATES THE BEST WAY TO IMPROVE YOUR STRIDE IS TO NOT THINK ABOUT IT. I thought it reflected my thinking from an early blog entry; Information Overload, What Works Best for You.
In short, he revealed a study from the Journal of Sports Sciences, and what I got from it is summaraized when he notes, "There is evidence that consciously meddling with your stride might indeed make it less efficient instead of more effient." Certainly there is much more to this article, but after reading The Pose Method of Running and trying out Newton running shoes and listening to podcasts about barefoot running, I am still in favor of not only doing what works for me, but to have a reasonable training plan, which will allow me to progress intellegently as to avoid overuse injuries and Just Do It. Please understand however that I am not knocking different methods and equipment. There are many people who are thrilled with The Pose Method and barefoot running. I can also say that Newton running shoes are of good quality. These methods and shoes simply didn't work for ME. There, now you see,Triathlete Magazine's Swimsuit Issue does have valuable information in it. I'm just sayin'.