Friday Finds – 14th February

Friday Finds is a regular feature in which I collate and share interesting articles and posts on running/health/fitness which I’ve read recently. Some might be inspiring, some might be scientific, some might provoke debate. All are things I’ve found in some way thought-provoking.

Happy Friday and Happy Valentine’s Day. Are you marking the occasion in any way? I’ve had a lovely day full of the things I love and now I’m here with a bit of reading material for you, my lovely readers.

Let’s start with an interesting bit of research. This one is US-based, but I feel like the situation in the UK may not be too different – spending lots on health and fitness yet actually scoring quite low in overall measurements for health and wellbeing. What are your impressions of this

• The Great Fitness Scam

I also enjoyed this piece, also published in Outside, about setting ambitious goals. Last week I shared the piece by Lindsay Crouse which inspired the below article, however the part of Martin Fritz Huber’s piece that jumped out to me was the part that said, “it’s tempting to convince yourself that achieving an ambitious time goal will help you unlock your potential in other areas.” What do you think? What experience do you have of transferring success in running to success in other parts of your life?

• The Olympic Trials and the Value of an Impossible Dream

Next up, sleep. At this time of year I tend to feel pretty tired and I’m trying to focus on making sure I get plenty of quality sleep. I know that quality sleep will make me feel better and run better, so it was good to find the proof, as it were, in this article. Now who’s going to tuck me in?

• I Swapped Training Sessions for Sleep and Never Ran Faster

Now one for the doughnut lovers – the Krispy Kreme Challenge. Now I’ll admit to a fondness for the original glazed, but I’m not sure I have the stomach for this particular escapade! Would you do it?

• The Glorious, Gutsy History of the Krispy Kreme Challenge

And finally, a little running shoe humour to round off the week. Something to think about the next time you get a new pair of running shoes!

• What your new shoes really think about you

Happy reading,
The Running Princess