How often...

....do you check your email? I am an addict. In fact, it extends beyond email, I constantly loop from Gmail, to Twitter, to Facebook, checking out various blogs and news sites in between. I am an information junkie, desperately seeking that one piece of new beta, that little surprise that creeps in. I hit refresh, I click on hyperlinks, digging for more nuggets, casting my web wider.
Do I have to check as often as I do? no, definitely not. With the speed that info travels, I would likely find out within a few minutes, but I am addicted to information.
Although I generally go to sites that reinforce my world view, occasionally I come across something that challenges me. This is one of the information nuggets that I mentioned. (Why I love the internet, after writing this blog post I read this article: "My (Probably Crazy) Plan To Give Up the Internet" by James Sturm over at Slate.com)

Anyway, what does this have to do with running? not a whole lot. What it does deal with is how much info is out there. If you want to have your opinion validated, it is quite easy to find an answer that will do it. It all depends on how you go about your search.
When it comes to training searches, there is a sea of information on the web (and in books, magazines, newspapers etc...), ranging from fact, opinion, experience, trends and the just plain weird. I agree that being informed is incredibly useful and I love to look for that information nugget, the little tip that might help me go faster. I also find some of it quite entertaining, but mostly it is repetitive, variations on the same themes.
The problem comes when I spend all my time looking for nuggets, when the answers are generally quite simple, "run more...run faster"!

People make mistakes in life through believing too much, but they have a damned dull time if they believe too little. James Hilton.
*I came across the quote in "The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last Secret Place" by Ian Baker, a book that I am finding quite interesting. It is a true account of a search for Shangri-la in the heart of the Tsangpo Gorge. It goes from riveting adventure, to sluggish culture and history. I read at nights, so some the accounts of Buddhism and the region, although very interesting, can be tough going when I am mentally tired, but the tales of the journey are well worth it. I would recommend it if you like stories of "seeking paradise", anthropology and adventure, which I do.

****In case anyone was wondering, a lot of these posts are just "brain dumps". I find I have to write something to help me get productive. Studying the Law of Evidence is just as exciting as it sounds (actually, there are some surprisingly interesting ethical/policy questions involved), so I am trying to write to get the ball rolling....