Comments on: When in Doubt, Follow Your Passion https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html Running Shoes, Gear Reviews, and Posts on the Science of the Sport Tue, 07 Sep 2010 01:57:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.7.11 By: Mark U. https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html#comment-75650057 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/runblogger/wordpress/?p=574#comment-75650057 Peter – Count me too as another fellow-runner that both enjoys and benefits by your excellent product-related reviews, running-form analysis, and other closely related topics (e.g. how human evolution was clearly impacted by our species superb long-distance running abilities).

]]> By: Pete Larson https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html#comment-75878665 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/runblogger/wordpress/?p=574#comment-75878665 In reply to TimT.

Thanks Tim – do what feels right, that’s the best advice I can give you
regarding your own crossroads. Everything else will fall into place.

Pete

]]> By: Ann Brennan https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html#comment-75707658 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/runblogger/wordpress/?p=574#comment-75707658 I am totally with you on this. I have a son trying to decide on colleges right now. He is a very serious kid and pushes himself really hard. I have told him exactly what you said. Follow your passion. If you are going to work really hard anyway, it should be doing something you enjoy. In his case he really enjoys engineering. This a departure from the normal family business. Almost all of the men on my husband’s side of the family are attorneys. But it is what he loves and really has loved since he was a boy. Thank you so much for sharing this post and please do continue to blog. We really enjoy your posts.

]]> By: neurorunner https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html#comment-75718154 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/runblogger/wordpress/?p=574#comment-75718154 What a great blog. I love your running blogs, they really are an inspiration. I also love teaching students but also love research so i went for a high profile university in Boston. Long story short, a disaster in terms of my career and personal life. I have thought about going into biomed industry or a teaching job at a college. After reading your previous blogs and now this one i am seriously considering exploring the teaching option again.
It will be interesting if colleges and universities assess blog writing as part of their promotion scales and i think pretty soon they will after all some institutions consider book publications and tv and radio work. One thing that really strikes me about your blogs is that you could turn your expertise of anatomy and running into academic studies and publications that would be a big contribution to the field. There seems to be a big calling right now for a scientific study on minimalist shoes, barefeet and structured shoes and their impacts on forces and injury. I was particular interested in Anders Torger’s post on overpronation and neutral shoes. My area of interest is neuroscience and i am interested in how brain biochemistry can affect running, mainly fatigue. Your approach of combining your loves for science and running is a big inspiration to me to explore this area more. I read an interview with Dave Martin who said that “there are not enough coaches who are scientists and not enough scientists that are coaches” leading to many runners who are uninformed by coaches who use information that was popular decades ago. Through your blogs many runners are getting a scientific point of view on very important topics.

]]> By: Pete Larson https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html#comment-75881241 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/runblogger/wordpress/?p=574#comment-75881241 In reply to Greg Strosaker.

Thanks so much Greg – as you know, blogging well takes time, but it is very
much worth it. I have grown immensely as a person and writer since starting
this blog.

Pete

]]> By: TimT https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html#comment-75663396 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/runblogger/wordpress/?p=574#comment-75663396 Thanks for this post Pete! I am in the middle of a crossroad in my career right now and I wonder what it is I’m supposed to do. Who am I supposed to be professionally, with family and where does running and all that goes with it fit in the picture…
I will say that your posts here and dailymile have pretty much structured the way I think about running. From form to equipment… You have played a role in my decisions. So I thank you for that and am very glad to hear that you want to keep it up.
Thanks
Tim

]]> By: paulakiger https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html#comment-75694887 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/runblogger/wordpress/?p=574#comment-75694887 Pete, thank you for sharing these very personal, and very well articulated, thoughts. I guess tadpoles would not have had heel strike issues, huh? At the age of 45, I struggle with some of the things you refer to in your post. The best book I ever read was “Do What You Love and the Money will Follow,” a concept that sounded doable in college but has seemed farther and farther away with the advent of mortgages, debt, and the other obligations of married life with two kids. I think you are on to something, and like the other commenters, I am SO relieved that this post was not a goodbye!! I can’t tell you how often I refer people to it, or come to it myself to learn something about running, especially mechanics, and life. In closing, the book I am currently reading, An Altar in the World, has a great chapter about vocation. I like this quote: In a world where the paid work that people do does not always feed their hearts, it seems important to leave open the possibility that our vocations may turn out to be things we do for free.

]]> By: Pete Larson https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html#comment-75884345 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/runblogger/wordpress/?p=574#comment-75884345 In reply to MsRitz.

Blogs are addicting, aren’t they – thanks for the comment! -Pete

]]> By: Pete Larson https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html#comment-75884619 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/runblogger/wordpress/?p=574#comment-75884619 In reply to Tuck.

Thanks for the info Tuck – I think things will change with time, but it will
happen slowly. Change can take forever in academia…

Pete

]]> By: Steven https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html#comment-543564372 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/runblogger/wordpress/?p=574#comment-543564372 Probably the best piece on your site.  I’m about to retire, but when I look back at my career your advice is spot-on.  The work I excelled at was the work I most enjoyed doing at the time.  I have a daughter studying medical research/biology who is questioning what to do with her future.  I’m going to send her the link to this article.  Top stuff, Pete.

]]> By: Douglas Pariseau https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html#comment-75641431 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/runblogger/wordpress/?p=574#comment-75641431 Count me as one person that has learned from your blog, and greatly values the time and passion you put into it. Thank-you Peter! And I hope you continue this adventure with us for many years to come.

]]> By: Lee https://runblogger.com/2010/09/when-in-doubt-follow-your-passion.html#comment-75649624 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/runblogger/wordpress/?p=574#comment-75649624 Count me in as a fellow academic at about the same point in her career and with similar concerns! And I do think that the feeling of making a difference – wherever you can find it – is what keeps us going and helps us find our center.

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