rachelle

i found this really inspiring article by Pete Pfitzinger, M.S. that was printed in the June 2002 issue of Running Times Magazine, entitled "Do We Know Too Much?".  It goes along with what i had been asking myself...do i want to take a risk, and push myself beyond what i thought possible....to go for that "crazy dream"??

"Perhaps we know too much. Perhaps in our efforts to stay healthy and uninjured, we have become too cautious. If the objective is excellence, do we know too much for our own good?"

"The key to success is to understand both the risks and the potential rewards. The most successful runners take calculated risks based on an understanding of physiology and an understanding of their bodies. They find that fine line where the potential gains roughly balance the potential risks and train close to that edge. Are you training by the edge of your abilities or staying safely within your limits?"

"If you want to reach your full potential you need to train optimally "

"To train optimally, you need knowledge. To reach your potential, you need to read everything you can (taking much of it with a grain of salt) and pick the brains of experienced coaches and runners. And you need to learn to discern between the running gurus whose role is to help you simply survive your first marathon and those who can help you shave another minute off your personal best"

"If you take your running seriously, it is your responsibility to learn as much as you can about training, about recovery, about hydration and carbohydrate intake, about what shoes suit your biomechanics and how much sleep you need. Then decide what to do with that knowledge. If your objective is recreation, then err on the side of caution as an insurance policy to keep yourself healthy and injury free. But if your objective is performance, then find that fine line of what your body can handle and take it to the limit."