Two somewhat related links to start the week off:
"Rebooting," Platelet-Rich Plasma, and Minimalist Running | Sweat Science
[Injections are] like rebooting your computer or whacking the side of an old TV set, he suggests: you haven't necessarily figured out exactly what's wrong or exactly how to fix it, but sometimes resetting the system will do the trick.
Runners and Superstitions: Do They Work? | dailymile community blog
In an indirect way, those silly things that we do are actually helping us run our best. So long as your superstition doesn’t actually cause you or anyone else any harm (I wouldn’t advocate adopting eating a package of bacon as a good luck ritual, which I have seen done in high school to very negative consequences…), go right ahead and do what you need to do so that when you toe the line, you’re confident and ready to rock.
So what do these two posts have in common? The general unknown sense of what's going on with remedies or good luck charms is fairly common amongst our kind, and saying 'X works because it works' is often good enough reasoning for most. As inquisitive and curious as I tend to be, sometimes things just work and they can't be fully explained.
Example: some runners (I have no idea how many, to be honest -- and data verification is a big part of he problem) have alleviated chronic leg injuries by switching to more minimalist shoes. But some people get injured in them! So while the arguments of biomechanics and physiology and evolution all make sense to me in fundamentally explaining the benefits of those types of shoes, I'm more prone to accept the 'minimal shoes work for me because they work for me' argument than many others. Because if they work, they work.
This overarching idea of sticking with what works was touched on yesterday by Pete at Runblogger as well. His post was, in turn, predicated on a post at RunningPhysio.
Perhaps this is something to keep in mind when looking at last week's reports on water intake and the like.
Hoka One One Bondi B Review | irunfar
Speaking of 'miminalist' shoes, here's a shoe that's most certainly not minimalist -- and is showing up quite often in ultra races.
Saucony Kinvara TR Trail Shoe Now Available at Running Warehouse | Runblogger
These shoes, however, do fall in the more minimalist realm, and look quite nice.
A Devilish Time at Mountain Creek | Beyond Fatigue, Pain & ATCN3
Running Home: 50 Years Later, Little Has Changed | Footloose
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