"What's going on? Why so many injuries, most self-reported as 'overuse' in nature?"
We are smart women. We know better. Yet we push ourselves to the point of injury and then try to deny what our bodies are telling us, or we have a chronic issue developed earlier and it rears its ugly head, but we won't tell anyone - not our friends, our families, our doctors, ourselves - that we're in pain and need to adjust. Either way, we aren't willing to listen to our bodies and do what we know is right....
Why do we do this??
What do we gain by not listening to our bodies?
Some might say we gain the satisfaction of reaching our goal, of finishing that elusive race distance, of having bragging rights... 
but at what cost to our body, our health, our spirit???
Now don't get me wrong. I do have a competitive streak in me, and I consider running a competition with myself - to push a little harder, find out what I'm capable of, and reflect on the process... but am I willing to push so hard, so fast, that I create a situation that I might not be able to run, either temporarily or ever again, and then have to deal with those consequences?
Hmmm... been there, done that.
After jumping head first into 'this thing called running' last November, running as fast as I could in three 5Ks (without any training of any kind... had no idea what I was doing), and then coming to a grinding halt because my right hamstring screamed in pain and wouldn't let up.... It took 5 1/2 months for me to get back in the game. During that time, I gained 10 pounds, one pant size, and a whole lot of doubt in myself....
Why do we do this??
How does this happen?
I'm pretty sure we all know the answers to these questions, but I'm thinking a gentle reminder for all of us, and "Hey, did you know?" for our newest running friends who haven't moved in on Injury Avenue yet might be worth sharing, so here goes....
By the way, my own hamstring/pyraformis "thing" is still an issue, along w/ a left knee whose old Navy injury rears its ugly head when I run on any surface that's either uneven or slopes downward. Remember those great photos of my neighborhood: old brick roads w/out sidewalks in some cases, and when there is a sidewalk, it rises/falls with yards built up from the road? Yep - PROBLEM. This past Sunday's long run (7 miles... YAY!) took me right down Injury Avenue with plenty of pain. Left knee locked up near the end of mile 4 again, after running on uneven ground in miles 3 & 4. Shuffled through miles 5 - 7. Bought a knee brace later in the day - will check back and let you know how that's working out. Note to self: in addition to knee brace, use the flatter running paths! The beautiful views are NOT worth the pain... not even for a minute.
My Thankful Three
Today, I am thankful for:
- Flat running paths from which to choose
- Ibuprofen (lots of it lately!)
- The willingness to be conservative when necessary
Happy running, friends....
Robin
12 comments:
I listen to my body...there is no ways I want to be injured now and have to stop....good warm up and cool down..very important to me.
Brilliant informative entry...
Great post yet somewhat stinging...I don't know why we seem to lose all sense of logic when it comes to training. We are aware that the body is warning us to stop yet we feel like we're quitting if we take the time off that the body clearly needs. For me, I know it is an intolerance for weakness. Or, let's just call it what it is: pride.
Thanks for the reality check!
Oh Momma Robin, thank you for the serving! (My friends and I call it "serving" each other when one of us points out the obvious) Being a resident of injury avenue from my own stupidity is definitely humbling. Hoping I am up and running (pun intended) by Celebration 10k if not, I will be your certified spectator! :)
Aww, Robin... I'm sorry to hear you're injured, too. I'm having a REALLY hard time with my "no running" diagnosis. We've had above-average temps here and it's PERFECT running weather. Part of me thinks "just a short jog" but I know it's not worth it.
I'm hoping that nipping this in the bud now will keep me from more injuries down the road. Great post!
I needed that swift kick in the butt - but I guess I am proud to say that today marks 2 weeks of no running ( not really proud but at least I,mm listening to my body). Supposed to try a 1/2 mile today but can already tell that it isn't going to work - my hip and knee pain really hasn't changed in 2 weeks and I think I will be throwing in the towel on the OUC Half and finding another form of exercise to do so that I can continue to eat pumpkin muffins daily!!! If a miracle happens, maybe I will still use your potty as a pit stop in the half!! Haha!!!
Thanks again for the support and the reminders - we love ya for it!!!
For years as a college athlete it was my job to play through PAIN.. But pain is very different than injury. I believe that people often mistake injury for pain or vice versa. Not knowing the difference and not wanting to admit that maybe they should seak medical attention. We get busy, we are scared, we want the pain/injury to go away so we can return to our regularly schedule programming.
WE all mean well...it is just hard to admit that we need to STOP, Red Light, Slow Down...admitting that it TOUGH..
For me my injury came immediately following my first half marathon. I had no pain at all prior to the race. I must have really pushed myself lol. I did finish 25 mins faster then I expected so thats probably why I am hurting now.
BUT I decided to be a smart person and listen to my doctor, blog friends and I have not run since I was told to take 3 weeks off. Once I am cleared to run, things will be a lot different!
I've had an injury last year and I wasn't even running. It happened at the gym during at Steps class. It took me almost 3 months and many physio visits to get over it. So I've learned from that.
Lately I've noticed I didn't cool down good enough so I've adjusted that and now no problems at all.
I realize that you're thankful for Ibuprofen when you're in pain but you do know that you can get addicted to them?
I used to have lots of headaches and ate at least 1 a day till I've read that the headaches could be caused by the Ibuprofen. So I quit, had headaches for a week and then it was over.
Great post! I definitely pushed myself too hard when I was marathon training, so I am taking it VERY slowly now.
I hope your knee feels better soon!
Hey Everybody,
Thanks for your thoughts...this subject has been on my mind (and back, and legs, and knees....) a lot lately! :-)
Lisa, forgive me, but you left a great comment today, and while trying to multi-task at the office (BlackBerry in one hand, ringing phone in other, and yet another person asking yet another question), I accidentally hit 'reject' instead of publish. Darn it! I'm so sorry!!
Lesson learned: focus (only) on the BB when reading comments and be careful when moderating!
Hugs to everyone,
robin
P.S. I'm so glad to read that so many of us are staying OUT of our running shoes for a little while and really listening to our bodies... YAY!! Happy healing and see you on the road soon! :-)
Robin
In my 6 years of running the only injuries I have had were directly attributable to shoes. I sought medical attention, changed shoes (or back to ones I was trying to abandon) and took a short break on HARD running and volume of running, NOT entirely cutting out running, which I found only set me back more when I did try that (did not help IT syndrome or plantar fasciatis). Since I was weening myself from a 30 year pack-a-day habit when I started, I wasn't cabable of over doing it- in otherwords, increase in volume had to be gradual. In my recent schedule of marathon training my 3 peak weeks were 55 to 60 miles per week- NO INJURY. At 48 on a hilly course I ran a 3:36 PR (13th marathon) & recently 5k PRd at 21:43. My experience has taught me that PATIENCE (gradually increasing mileage), cross training mixed in (yoga & spinning have worked well for me), correct shoes, along with an annual cut-back period (NOT totally stopping) has led to improving performance. Running a half marathon, or even a 5K at true race pace, after 3 weeks of illness & no training was simply foolhardy- live & learn. The body will tell you & injury is the result when you don't listen. Good luck & take care!!
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