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Best Running Tips Newsletter, Issue #026 -- So, That's What You Want...!February 25, 2011 We're back in action with a regular newsletter. No more secret squirrel stuff as in the past two weeks, this one is out in the open for everyone to see, subscribers and non-subscribers. Curious to know what you are missing out on? Then subscribe to the Best Running Tips Newsletter today! I hope your running is going well. For me it is. After almost a year of dealing with a knee injury. The original injury was not caused by running, but my running probably aggravated it for a while. I am now back to running three, four times a week. I am still very careful with the knee. I really don't want to be side-lined for that long again. So currently I am really holding myself back to not run more than 3-4 times a week. For now I am just happy to be running again. In the end, learning to listen to your body is one of the most important parts of running. In our eagerness we often like to push ourselves, keep to our running program and ignore the pain. This is often counter-productive.
Find it hard to listen to your body? I am trying really hard to stick to the following guidelines: 1) soreness is good, pain is not. 2) when in doubt, better safe than sorry. When I run I am allowed to feel tired, allowed to feel my muscles tensing up and feel sore afterwards. However, pain is forbidden. When I feel a sharp pain in one of my joints, when I have pulled a muscle or my back is hurting, then I choose to take a day off running. I might do some cross-training instead or just rest completely. When I am not sure, then I am choosing cross-training instead of running. I have had to learn the hard way! I hope you keep these guidelines in mind though. It is bad enough one of us did not get to run most of last year! A recent survey in Runner's World indicated that in the past twelve months, more than 80% of runners had suffered from some kind of injury. We often don't have that outside guidance, that trainer that says 'enough is enough'. So, runners need to be that extra bit careful about what they do and how they do it. Outcomes of the Survey ================ About a month ago I posted a survey on best-running-tips.com that asked for your input on four different questions: 1) How long have you been running? 2) What running topic(s) would you like to learn more about? 3) What do you like on best-running-tips.com? 4) What should best-running-tips.com do better? What is missing? The response has been overwhelming. I'd like to thank you for your input. It's been so helpful in understanding what you really want and how I can make Best Running Tips work better for you. The outcomes: 1) How long have you been running? 32% of respondents has been running less than 6 months, 12% between 6 months and a year and the rest has been running a year or more.
A large group, 46%, of respondents wanted to improve their performance in the broadest sense of the word. Many mentioned increasing speed and improving endurance as their key points. 14% wanted to learn more about injury prevention. And basically all of these respondents had been running for one year or more. See the connection? Once you are running for longer periods of time, there is a good chance you will get injured sooner or later. Responses of other respondents were more mixed with the following responses receiving significant 'votes': * diet & weight loss * beginner running advice * technique * marathon training * stretching 3) What do you like on best-running-tips.com? Most respondents highlighted that they like the abundance of information, that best-running-tips.com is their 'one-stop-shop' for all things concerning running training. Many highlighted the Q&A section which provides the opportunity to get personal assistance when you are stuck with something. 4) What should best-running-tips.com do better? What is missing? Almost 50% of respondents said "nothing"! All is good... really? Well, I am very happy about that. Those who did think there was stuff to improve were split in many different groups, most focusing on a specific topic that they'd like to learn more about, much in line with the topics mentioned above (diet & weight loss, beginner running advice, technique, marathon training, stretching). Two items were mentioned particularly often: age-specific info and a coaching service. I will work on getting some more age-specific information on the site and as for the coaching service... it has been launched last week! Interested in a safe running program that provides you with the results you need? Then check out http://www.best-running-coach.com for all the details. There was also a group that did not like the usability of the site. Issues like too many ads, not enough images and the size of the running program tables were mentioned. It was interesting to see that the people in this last group highlighted exactly many of those issues that I had on my long list of things-to-do, but had never really gotten round to it. After reading that it not only irritates me, but you too, I got the kick in the backside I needed to make those changes. Thanks! What Now? ========
I have started drawing up an action plan to address the issues highlighted. Give me a month or so and you will find some changes to the structure of the site which hopefully make it easier to find some of the information that is already there. I hope you will also find that by then there are less ads, more images, changes to the running program tables, etc. Everything that had at least more than one request will be fixed. In addition to that I will also start working on adding some more of the information that multiple people requested more of. So, give me a little bit of time and I hope that you'll find that you have helped best-running-tips.com become a much better website! Plans for the Near Future ================= Apart from the things highlighted above, there is a lot more happening at best-running-tips.com. As you already know, I launched my own coaching service last week. So, if you have got difficulties with finding the right running program for your needs, consider giving http://www.best-running-coach.com a try. The service offers an assessment of your current situation and works out your strengths and weaknesses. Based on that you will get a personalised running program which aims to get you to top performance in your next key race. It is an exciting opportunity to work on your running goals on a one-on-one basis. Sometime over the next few weeks I will launch another service. This one is huge. I am not going to reveal too much yet, until I am through a few rounds of testing. Stay tuned for that one is all I can say at this point in time! Final Thought ========= "Feedback is the breakfast of champions." Ken Blanchard Talk to you soon. In the meantime, come visit my site often and happy running! Dominique Best Running Tips Back to Back Issues Page Like this page: |
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