Beware the Testimonial

I've been bothered lately by some lackluster training sessions, particularly on the bike.  I usually feel strong and powerful, able to hold the prescribed power targets.  The sessions are not easy, but doable.  Up until the past few weeks, and now, it's agonizing.  I'm dealing with fatigue or sickness or low self-esteem or who-knows-what?

Okay, so I don't think it's boredom, even though it is indoor trainer season...

I digress.

The point is, when one's performance starts to suffer, one looks for reasons (as proposed above) as well as solutions.  Right now, I'm that one.  Perhaps my diet is to blame?  Right along with indoor trainer sessions, the winter holidays bring an abundance of refined sugar and alcoholic distractions.  It's not a crazy hypothesis.

And then I read a blog by another [wonderful] age-group triathlete who's pursuing a new diet with great results.  The whole blog is a fantastic testimonial for the diet program. Weight loss!  Better sleep!  More energy!  Spouse had great results too!!  Join us!!!

Yes, of course, I want some too!!!

I start researching the dietary paradigm, googling and skimming, considering how to go about it.

But then I stop, recalling my master's degree in, of all things, nutrition.  And not for the obvious coincidence of subject matter, but for what writing and defending a thesis taught me.  All research data has context, created by the experimental conditions used to gather said data.  This context is often designed and presented to allow the data to be meaningful and significant in other, usually very similar, conditions.  A careful and important layering and reinforcement of data spawns, building scientific facts that are the foundation of our world understanding.  I don't know if there's a term that describes this relatively global context that 'good' experimental data has, but it's key to how humans have built credible scientific knowledge for centuries.

Which brings me back to the blog testimony that got me started.  What is the one very thing a testimonial lacks?

Global context.

Now, a testimonial does have context.  It's a very personal and singular context.  In fact, without it, a testimonial sounds like any random marketing slogan.

In this case, I stepped back and considered the testimonial's singular context and started to compare my own.  How similar or different were our bodies, lives, training, our 'experimental conditions'?  To summarize, there were too many differences and unknowns to assume her solution would be as successful for what ails me.

I'm not saying this Blogger's diet is worthless or that her testimonial is just an empty marketing slogan.  In fact, I'm quite sure that the diet has worked well for her and the testimonial is her own important data.  I just can't translate it to my situation.  The diet may have even some merit for me, but I'd prefer to seek out data via Pubmed or some of my old textbooks to get a better idea.

So, beware the testimonial.  Consider it a marketing tool, and let it get your attention.  Just consider its value in the appropriate context.