Today's Tip

When it comes to running there are a few things I wouldn't recommend. I believe you must use a portion of common sense when it comes to everything you decide to do each day, but there are some obvious things you should avoid. Forcing yourself to get in a workout when you are still injured is never a good idea. Loading up on excessive amounts of greasy food before a long run might have a bad outcome. Don't continuously check your tracking device to see how far you have progressed when you are feeling sluggish. It will never be as much as you think and make a long or short run seem longer.

These are random common sense things. Simple. Not too hard to figure out or come up with. The reason I bring it up is because I have one of those daily calendars that have a running tip on each day's page. Today's Tip was about fennel. Yes. Did you know one cup of fennel provides 30 percent of your daily value for vitamin C? Good tip, I guess. I don't know that much about the nutritional values of fennel since Jay really doesn't like the stuff . It tastes too much like licorice for him. But what does it have to do with running? Well, the tip for today went on to say, "In a recent study, runners who boosted their intake of this antioxidant had less lung tissue damage after running in an ozone-polluted air chamber".

Wait a minute. What? Running in an ozone-polluted air chamber?  Why? I realize it's a study but when do you surrender all common sense to agree to lung tissue damage by purposely putting yourself into that type of environment? I don't think all the fennel in the world would make me run in a polluted air chamber to find out how much LESS lung tissue damage I might have than someone who was running somewhere else. Whose crazy idea was that? Worse. Who were the crazy runners that did it? Must have been some big time fennel lovers! Or seriously lacking in common sense. Maybe?

There are times you need to listen to the tips and helpful hints given to improve. Not running while you're injured, avoiding eating the wrong things before going out to run, and finding a different focus then your mileage when you are getting sluggish are helpful. These are things I would recommend doing. Throwing your common sense out the window is never going to be a good option. Do you really want to eat more fennel so you can have less lung tissue damage than someone who hasn't run in an ozone-polluted air chamber? Think about it.

Today's Tip: Don't just do it. Use your common sense.
TT