happyrunning.com – Aimee's Soapbox

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Aimee's Soapbox!
August 2006: 1st Annual Readers' Poll

Dear Groovy Readers, you have all been so patient and receptive to my ramblings for the past three years, so it’s only fair to let you finally have your say. I want to know what YOU are thinking! What are YOUR soapboxes? What are your habits and routines? What are you passionate about?

Below is my First Annual Readers’ Poll. Please read the bullet points below, and then email me your thoughts on them. For next month, I will report on the findings and share the results with you.

1. NUTRITION. Doesn’t it seem that every six months or so, “they” report on some New Nutritional Discovery that contradicts what “they” said last week? This very morning on the Today Show, Al Roker reported that “carbs are back in.” I wanted to say, were they out? Have I been committing Fashion Faux Pas by eating cereal and toast every morning? How gauche of me…… Yikes. Anyway, here is your first Reader Poll topic: Tell me about your nutritional habits. What is your basic diet? What do you eat and/or drink ON the run? What is your favorite pre-race meal (the night before, the morning of, etc.)?

2. OVERTRAINING. We runners and athletes tend to be Type A overachievers. “If a little bit of running is good, then more must be better,” is how many of us think. But in reality, overtraining is actually detrimental to our performance. We can plateau, regress, or even get hurt. And yet we are often addicted to overtraining. So, the second Reader Poll topic is this: Have you ever experienced overtraining? (By the way, the symptoms of overtraining are elevated heart rate, moodiness, disrupted sleep, injury, declined performance, increased/decreased appetite.) What particular symptoms did you experience? How did you handle it?

3. STRETCHING. Stretch. Don’t stretch. Hold for 30 seconds. Hold for 2 seconds. Do it before you exercise. Do it after you exercise. Warm up first. No need to warm up first. Are you confused yet? No wonder, when you read so many conflicting articles. Now, if any of you have talked to me at the store, you know that I am a big fan of Active Isolated Stretching. But I wanna know what you all think, so your third Reader Poll topic is Stretching. Do you stretch at all? Do you stretch before or after your workouts? Do you find that stretching helps your performance? Or your mental state? If you stretch, what method do you use?

4. RUNNING GEAR. Working here at Runaway Success, I have a great opportunity to try out lots of new shoes, apparel, and accessories. Lemme tell ya, there are some really cool gadgets, fabrics, and technologies out there. Of course there are some lame-o ones too. Some of my must-have products are Superfeet inserts, energy gels, Seat Shield car seat covers, my Lexan water bottle, and my running skirts. Your fourth Reader Poll topic is gear, then. What products do you absolutely love? What’s your favorite piece of apparel? What’s your vote for Grooviest Product? Lamest Product?

5. MENTAL CHATTER. Ah, the downfall of many a great athlete: the dreaded negative voice in the head, telling us that we suck, that we should stop, that it would be much easier to stay in bed than to get up and go for a run in the rain. But, conversely, the voice in the head can also encourage us to push just a little harder, do one more interval, or kick it in for the last 200 meters when your archrival is just ahead of you. Personally, I use visualization on nearly every workout. And I have to fight the negative voice a lot, especially when the alarm goes off at 4:45 a.m. Your final Reader Poll topic is the psychological aspect of sports. Do you use visualization? Do you have any mental chatter when you compete? How do you fight against it? Have you ever visualized and psyched yourself up into a victory?

Alrighty, groovy ones, let me know YOUR thoughts. I am looking forward to hearing what you have to say at info2@happyrunning.com. Next month I will compile the results for you here!

Coming up. . . Soapbox Reader's Poll Results!

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