This weekend I was listening to my favorite running podcast “Phedippidations” and heard Steve talking about continuing running the 114th Boston Marathon although his body was breaking down as he pushed on. I won’t go into what he was going through here. But, if you want to listen to his podcast you can find it at http://steverunner.blogspot.com/2010/05/fdip232-114th-boston-marathon.html. My gut response was that Steve was not being very smart in continuing. As I listened, I felt he was obviously going to cause more damage to himself and in the end have a terrible marathon experience. But, I did know where he was coming from. As a goal oriented runner, it is very hard to quit even though everything points to pulling out and living to run another day. What I found interesting is that my friend Helen took the exact opposite approach and chose not to run this year due to illness and surgery which limited her ability to train properly for the race. This made me wonder what experts say about running through illness and/or injury.
When it comes to illness, I found that the general consensus is when you are sick from the neck up (runny nose, etc.) a light workout is not going to be harmful. However, if you're symptoms are below the neck and more severe (nausea, fever, major body aches, etc.), you should skip your workout entirely and rest. That is simple and easy advice. However, it is not as clear when it comes to running when there are other physical injuries to your lower body. In most cases, the experts say that you can try to go out for your run as long as you are able to run at a level of intensity below your threshold of pain. But, if the pain causes you to alter your normal running stride or foot strike in any way to avoid pain; you should not be out on the road. If you chose to run despite what your body is telling you, you are going to increase your chances of sustaining a more serious injury. I have trained myself to listen closely to what my body is telling me and not to run when I think it will cause further injury.
The first thing you need to figure out before trying to run through an injury is to know how you can tell the difference between pain from simple fatigue or pain from an actual muscular or skeletal injury. The easiest way to tell the difference is if the pain subsides as you run it probably is just fatigue. But, as we all know endorphins that come from running tend to mask pain. So you need to proceed cautiously and not assume that it is just fatigue. As you run pay particular attention to your gait and stride pattern. If you find that you are modifying them to reduce the pain or discomfort, then it is most likely more than just fatigue and you should stop running immediately. More importantly, if the pain intensifies while running you must stop and seek treatment.
Because you are injured does not mean that you cannot maintain your fitness level. There are many cross training activities that will allow you to maintain your cardio-vascular fitness level while you allow your injury to heal. Walking, cycling, swimming, deep-water running can be effective methods to maintain your fitness. Alternately, you could visit the gym and use their elliptical trainers, rowing machines, or stair-masters for low impact work outs. Please remember that once you are sufficiently recovered to begin running out on the road again ease into it. Build up your mileage and work outs gradually using the 10% rule I have discussed in previous posts.
I do want to address the use of anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin or ibuprofen (e.g., Motrin and Advil). Most of us use these drugs to help ease the aches and pains we are feeling and to reduce swelling from injuries. I cannot stress more empathically that under no circumstance should you use these drugs to mask the pain to allow you to get out on the road and get your run in that day. Everything I have read over the years strongly advises against using anti-inflammatories before running. We all have to remember that pain is your body’s way of telling you to stop what you are doing. Using anti-inflammatory medicine to help speed recovery is perfectly fine. They should not be used to mask the pain enough to allow you to keep up with your training regimen. Instead, you should be taking the time off and allowing your body to heal properly before starting back into your normal running routine.
I have come to the realization that running through an injury is not very smart. I, like many runners, hate to give up my runs. I too have the ob
sessive compulsive urge to finish what I start. However, I have to weigh that urge against the possibility of sustaining an injury that would take me off the road permanently. That is a very scary proposition. Therefore, I committed many years ago to listen carefully to what my body is telling me as I trained for various races. This allowed me to remain injury free and to complete all of the races I set out to run. I won’t say that it was easy to sit out when I wasn’t feeling up to the task or that I never had issues with my hip flexors, lliotibial band or plantar faciitis (which are all overuse injuries). But, by allowing my body to heal properly they never developed into major injuries.
If you want to learn more about typical runner’s injuries and various treatments, I have found this website to be very helpful – http://www.runnersrescue.com/. I hope that all of you who are following this blog will be smarter than Steve and not push yourself when it is obvious that it will do more damage than good. There will always be another race. And I am of the opinion that running should be fun and comfortable. If it isn’t, maybe it is time to sit out, heal and allow your mind and body to recover. Once you do you will find the joy of running again.
Here are my training totals:
Apr. 25 – 10.00 miles (1:26:33, 8:39 pace)
Apr. 26 – 6.10 miles (55:26, 9:05 pace)
Apr. 27 – 3.10 miles (51:16, 22:43 pace) – Speed work
Apr. 28 – 6.20 miles (50:47, 8:11 pace) – Tempo Run
May 1 – 11.30 miles (1:37:40, 8:38 pace)
Total Miles: 36.70 miles
2010 YTD Miles: 544.00 miles
When it comes to illness, I found that the general consensus is when you are sick from the neck up (runny nose, etc.) a light workout is not going to be harmful. However, if you're symptoms are below the neck and more severe (nausea, fever, major body aches, etc.), you should skip your workout entirely and rest. That is simple and easy advice. However, it is not as clear when it comes to running when there are other physical injuries to your lower body. In most cases, the experts say that you can try to go out for your run as long as you are able to run at a level of intensity below your threshold of pain. But, if the pain causes you to alter your normal running stride or foot strike in any way to avoid pain; you should not be out on the road. If you chose to run despite what your body is telling you, you are going to increase your chances of sustaining a more serious injury. I have trained myself to listen closely to what my body is telling me and not to run when I think it will cause further injury.
The first thing you need to figure out before trying to run through an injury is to know how you can tell the difference between pain from simple fatigue or pain from an actual muscular or skeletal injury. The easiest way to tell the difference is if the pain subsides as you run it probably is just fatigue. But, as we all know endorphins that come from running tend to mask pain. So you need to proceed cautiously and not assume that it is just fatigue. As you run pay particular attention to your gait and stride pattern. If you find that you are modifying them to reduce the pain or discomfort, then it is most likely more than just fatigue and you should stop running immediately. More importantly, if the pain intensifies while running you must stop and seek treatment.
Because you are injured does not mean that you cannot maintain your fitness level. There are many cross training activities that will allow you to maintain your cardio-vascular fitness level while you allow your injury to heal. Walking, cycling, swimming, deep-water running can be effective methods to maintain your fitness. Alternately, you could visit the gym and use their elliptical trainers, rowing machines, or stair-masters for low impact work outs. Please remember that once you are sufficiently recovered to begin running out on the road again ease into it. Build up your mileage and work outs gradually using the 10% rule I have discussed in previous posts.
I do want to address the use of anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin or ibuprofen (e.g., Motrin and Advil). Most of us use these drugs to help ease the aches and pains we are feeling and to reduce swelling from injuries. I cannot stress more empathically that under no circumstance should you use these drugs to mask the pain to allow you to get out on the road and get your run in that day. Everything I have read over the years strongly advises against using anti-inflammatories before running. We all have to remember that pain is your body’s way of telling you to stop what you are doing. Using anti-inflammatory medicine to help speed recovery is perfectly fine. They should not be used to mask the pain enough to allow you to keep up with your training regimen. Instead, you should be taking the time off and allowing your body to heal properly before starting back into your normal running routine.
I have come to the realization that running through an injury is not very smart. I, like many runners, hate to give up my runs. I too have the ob
sessive compulsive urge to finish what I start. However, I have to weigh that urge against the possibility of sustaining an injury that would take me off the road permanently. That is a very scary proposition. Therefore, I committed many years ago to listen carefully to what my body is telling me as I trained for various races. This allowed me to remain injury free and to complete all of the races I set out to run. I won’t say that it was easy to sit out when I wasn’t feeling up to the task or that I never had issues with my hip flexors, lliotibial band or plantar faciitis (which are all overuse injuries). But, by allowing my body to heal properly they never developed into major injuries.If you want to learn more about typical runner’s injuries and various treatments, I have found this website to be very helpful – http://www.runnersrescue.com/. I hope that all of you who are following this blog will be smarter than Steve and not push yourself when it is obvious that it will do more damage than good. There will always be another race. And I am of the opinion that running should be fun and comfortable. If it isn’t, maybe it is time to sit out, heal and allow your mind and body to recover. Once you do you will find the joy of running again.
Here are my training totals:
Apr. 25 – 10.00 miles (1:26:33, 8:39 pace)
Apr. 26 – 6.10 miles (55:26, 9:05 pace)
Apr. 27 – 3.10 miles (51:16, 22:43 pace) – Speed work
Apr. 28 – 6.20 miles (50:47, 8:11 pace) – Tempo Run
May 1 – 11.30 miles (1:37:40, 8:38 pace)
Total Miles: 36.70 miles
2010 YTD Miles: 544.00 miles
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