Survey Says...

I received a survey in the mail from Runner's World. It was long - like long-form census size - and had tiny fonts that my old-man eyes had trouble reading. But they sent two dollars with it: yes, two crisp brand-new dollar bills were in the envelope. Well I love free money so I gladly filled out the survey.

I tend to overthink things, but as I was answering some of the questions I didn't like the way I was being portrayed. For example, they asked a lot of questions about trail running. 98% of my running is done on trails, but I don't consider myself a "trail runner". Trail runners climb hills and hop rocks and fallen trees. I do some of that on rare occasions, but most of my trails are flat horse paths. It's not a road, it's not a track, it's not a treadmill: When asked where I run, I had to put "trail". (oh and the reason I don't want to be classified as a trail-runner is that they're all just a bunch of hippies.)

Many of the questions involved how you shop for shoes and other running gear, but some of the questions were a little weird:

Which best describes how comfortable you are with going into a store and asking about a sports bra fitting?

1 Not At All Comfortable - 5 Very Comfortable

My first reaction was that I'm probably a 1, but I just decided to leave that question blank.

I'm also not sure I was their target audience for some of the nutrition questions:

How often do you snack (by snacking, we mean any food consumed outside of breakfast, lunch or dinner)?

1-2 times per week
3-4 times per week
5-6 times per week
7 or more times per week
Do not snack

So I guess 5-6 times... Wait a minute, per WEEK? I thought it said per DAY. And when I snack, I SNACK. I don't think grabbing some celery sticks between meals should count as a snack. And who are these liars who check the box "Do not snack"? Puh-lease.

So don't be surprised if you start seeing Oreos being sold in running stores as a result of my survey answers. You're welcome.