You want examples? When I was training for a marathon a few years ago, I tore my calf about half way through my training guide. I'd take a few days off, run again, hurt myself again, and repeat the cycle over and over again until it became clear that it really wasn't going to go away. Physio didn't help, and I have to give up on that marathon. I fell off my bike, thought I had sprained my wrist, waited and waited for the swelling to go down. About 4 weeks later I had an x-ray, bone scan and mri which determined that I had 2 breaks and ligament damage in my wrist. Earlier this year I tried to run through persistent pain in my sacroiliac joint and tore my calf again.
I most regret running through my back pain, it was certainly a stupid thing to do. Even following my physio's treatment plan I have twinged my calf twice since March, the most recent time just last Friday. I was running to work with a friend, at a pace slightly slower than my normal speed, on a flat section of path. It was relatively minor, but enough to pull me up and stop running. I eventually talked my friend into continuing her run (she's training for a half next weekend), and called another colleague for a lift to work.
I was so angry, I have run along that path so many times, I was cruising along, I wasn't running fast, or uphill, so why did it have to give out on me! I'm training for two races, I can't afford to take time off with an injury. My work friends did a great job of trying to lift my spirits, and I had a good whinge to my coach and running group at our abs session at lunch. I bought a new pair or 2xu compression socks and wore them all weekend.
Saturday was my pity party, apart from going grocery shopping I spent most of the day in bed.
But, on Sunday I put a stop to the self-pity and worked out anyway (has anyone tried bodyrock? best workout ever!). Monday I took a flex day and did some yoga and more bodyrock. Same for Tuesday. Wednesday was supposed to be a cross-training day with my running group, but we ended up running our interval session instead, and while I didn't run sprint intervals, I did a steady progressive run with no pain.
The only problem was trying not to heave from the stench of a blue-green algae bloom on Lake Burley Griffin.
Isn't it amazing what a pain free run can do? Instantly all was right with the world. The sun was shining (weakly, it had bee -5C overnight), the birds were singing.
Until I feel victim to the cold that half of Canberra seems to be suffering through at the moment. I don't think that I have completed a full week of training in about 4 weeks. I've had bronchitis, a sprained ankle, a calf twinge and now this darned cold. But that one run was enough to convince me that I'll get through it.
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