Taking a rest
Posted on: February 19, 2013
- In: running
- 3 Comments
As I previously wrote about, I’ve been having a problem with shin splints. Because I’m sometimes hard headed, I haven’t taken the necessary rest that I’ve needed. I kept running on my shin splints and last weekend I was actually almost in tears during my run — the pain was that intense. I am so fortunate that I have friends who are educated in physical therapy and have given me some great advice. I’ve decided (finally) to take the week off of running and I’m doing a variety of exercises to help.
I’m left to wonder exactly why I kept running through pretty intense pain for over 2 weeks before finally realizing I was making it worse. I think there is a bit of superwoman mentality there – there is something about simply fighting through the pain that is ingrained in our spirit. As an athlete, you are supposed to compete / train in all types of conditions. This includes when you feel a little pain. However, as an intelligent adult who is not, you know, training for the Olympics and who has a normal job, you have to be smart. You can’t ignore pain until you are able to walk. If I want to actually be able to run the races I’m signed up for, I have to be smart, take care of my body and listen when it’s in pain. I think I’ve learned my lesson and will be taking it easy this week while I rest my poor shins.
Have you ever struggled with simply not wanting to stop training?
3 Responses to "Taking a rest"
[...] might recall that I recently took a week and a half off of running to let my poor, damaged shins heel. During that time, I did a variety of exercises, iced and did [...]
February 19, 2013 at 10:29 am
I’ve struggled with simply not wanting to start training
February 19, 2013 at 10:30 am
Hahahahaha — well, that’s a constant struggle, T!