Listen to your body. UPDATE Mar.22

[jgore]

UPDATE on the fellow who collapsed at the Achilles "St. Paddy's Day Run" in Toronto.

I'm not privy to the details, but apparently the doctors feel that running was not the cause of his collapse. They think it would have happened regardless of what he was doing. In fact, he may have been lucky it happened where it did because he got immediate medical attention.

[La]

How's he doing? Still in the hospital?

[jgore]

How's he doing? Still in the hospital?

Yes, although I believe it has more to do with him having sustained a head injury when he fell than with the cause of the collapse itself. The word is that he is doing well and was very appreciative of the giant "Get Well" card.

Please be aware that the family has been in contact with the clinic instructor who passes on the information to those at the Running Room. This info comes through that route, not through personal contact with me.

[Dstew]

Five years ago, if someone had posted such a rant I would have said they were a wuss.

A couple of years ago I might have agreed with caveats and conditions.

Now, not as someone who has to listen to whinning about injuries unless I am talking to myself, I could not agree more.

Although the "fault" ultimately lies with the individual, this does not necessarily preclude assigning some blame or fault on the running community or segments therein who encourage one to ignore the body. Being sore, being tired, being fatigued are all natural aspects of running BUT if you want to get to Boston or a PB or ... you have to pay the price. And they usually add, others get injured because they are not following their plan or their schedule.

I could be the poster child for pushing too hard for too long. I knew that stress and adaptation was just a nice way of saying you tear your body apart and then it repairs itself so you are stronger. The risk of going over the edge was an injury but the reward was fame and fortune or a nice medal. Suffer an injury, no biggie. Ice and rest and hit the bike or pool for some time and then get back on track as that injury was the result of a minor mistake or even some bad luck.

Have a nagging and chronic injury such a small hip issue that is now pretty much the entire right leg - just change the training and everything will be okay. Run a little less or a little slower or a little less far and everything will be okay. But these sort of things can sneak up on you, if you are willfully blind and deaf to the messages your body is sending and then were 20 K on a Sunday was a "fun" run, you can run about a mile before you have to stop to stretch. And then it hits you, what the hell am I doing if I have to stop my activity and stretch so that I can walk with only a slight limp the next day.

Have accept my wounds are self inflicted. My elliptical is a decent substitute and the spinner bike with a good weight and stretch program plus no running are starting to heal the damage. I do plan to run again although I may never race. And when I do run, it will be with full attention and focus on what the body has to say. And if it means "bulking" up with muscle even though that might slow me down, so be it. The irony of starting to run to help me on the 18th hole and to loss a few extra pounds is not lost on me when I got so focused on goals and objectives that I was limping around and gained back those pounds as I was less active but still eating as if I was not.

[RayMan]

Interesting thread, lots of great points.

I have a friend (a non-runner) who always tells me I should push it more when I run. He feels that I am holding back and that I need to go all-out for at least one marathon, at the risk of limiting myself.

Odd, because he is such an old, trustworthy friend...

I have had heart trouble this year, for the first time in my life (I am 46 years old). Something called premature ventricular complex...I have had all the tests done, got the green light from the cardiologist, but it really messed up my training as it meant two weeks of no running at all.

Then I started having leg/hip issues, really falling apart this year for some reason.

I am still going to Boston, but with greatly reduced goal (or is it a higher goal?) of just getting to the start line as uninjured as possible, and finishing the marathon with a smile regardless of the time on the garmin.

[PinkLady]

Interesting thread, lots of great points.

I have a friend (a non-runner) who always tells me I should push it more when I run. He feels that I am holding back and that I need to go all-out for at least one marathon, at the risk of limiting myself.

Odd, because he is such an old, trustworthy friend...

I have had heart trouble this year, for the first time in my life (I am 46 years old). Something called premature ventricular complex...I have had all the tests done, got the green light from the cardiologist, but it really messed up my training as it meant two weeks of no running at all.

Then I started having leg/hip issues, really falling apart this year for some reason.

I am still going to Boston, but with greatly reduced goal (or is it a higher goal?) of just getting to the start line as uninjured as possible, and finishing the marathon with a smile regardless of the time on the garmin.

Eeek!

Well, maybe you'll reach your potential in that race.....or maybe you'll hit your physical limit, hard, with bad consequences. I guess the bottom line is - is the potential risk and fallout to the rest of your life worth it for the glory of that one race? For most of us (and especially true with a heart condition! ) I'd say the answer is definitely an unequivocal no.

My race plan blew up last month in Florida....despite doing the best I knew how in regards to nutrition/hydration, my body was just not accustomed to the heat and I had HUGE issues in that race. I ended up having to readjust my race goals about 3 times during that race, and I still couldn't walk properly for a week after (really bad heat cramps, quads quit firing for almost 5 days after the half). If I'd just kept stubbornly sticking to my goal pace, I wouldn't have been able to finish at all.

[HCcD]

Interesting thread, lots of great points.

I have a friend (a non-runner) who always tells me I should push it more when I run. He feels that I am holding back and that I need to go all-out for at least one marathon, at the risk of limiting myself.

Odd, because he is such an old, trustworthy friend...

I have had heart trouble this year, for the first time in my life (I am 46 years old). Something called premature ventricular complex...I have had all the tests done, got the green light from the cardiologist, but it really messed up my training as it meant two weeks of no running at all.

Then I started having leg/hip issues, really falling apart this year for some reason.

I am still going to Boston, but with greatly reduced goal (or is it a higher goal?) of just getting to the start line as uninjured as possible, and finishing the marathon with a smile regardless of the time on the garmin.

Eeek!

Well, maybe you'll reach your potential in that race.....or maybe you'll hit your physical limit, hard, with bad consequences. I guess the bottom line is - is the potential risk and fallout to the rest of your life worth it for the glory of that one race? For most of us (and especially true with a heart condition! ) I'd say the answer is definitely an unequivocal no.

My race plan blew up last month in Florida....despite doing the best I knew how in regards to nutrition/hydration, my body was just not accustomed to the heat and I had HUGE issues in that race. I ended up having to readjust my race goals about 3 times during that race, and I still couldn't walk properly for a week after (really bad heat cramps, quads quit firing for almost 5 days after the half). If I'd just kept stubbornly sticking to my goal pace, I wouldn't have been able to finish at all.

Umm, pretty sure that your Stress Fracture may have something to do with those cramping symptoms ..

[PinkLady]

Umm, pretty sure that your Stress Fracture may have something to do with those cramping symptoms ..

Darnit, I knew you'd come along and burst my bubble.......

I don't think so though. Quads cramped first, same as at the Army Run last year, and calves didn't cramp till 16km or so...... So I still think they're unrelated, I just need to do more MP paced runs to build some threshold endurance.

I miss running!

[HCcD]

Umm, pretty sure that your Stress Fracture may have something to do with those cramping symptoms ..

Darnit, I knew you'd come along and burst my bubble.......

I don't think so though. Quads cramped first, same as at the Army Run last year, and calves didn't cramp till 16km or so...... So I still think they're unrelated, I just need to do more MP paced runs to build some threshold endurance.

I miss running!

And, on the bright side, once you are 100% recovered, with the addition to all your crosstraining activies now, you will be a lot stronger and well balanced overall fitness, in the long run, Pinky ...

Heck, you already have cycled more than I have i this year ...

[La]

There were a couple of times during my interval training last night when I thought, "Be ready to hit that STOP button, just in case!"

[Avis]

Interesting thread, lots of great points.

I have a friend (a non-runner) who always tells me I should push it more when I run. He feels that I am holding back and that I need to go all-out for at least one marathon, at the risk of limiting myself.

Odd, because he is such an old, trustworthy friend...

It's telling that he is a non-runner...maybe he's projecting his frustrations about something in his own life onto you and your running? You know--some sort of middle-age crisis having to do with his youth slipping away, all the opportunites he didn't take...

[Cupcake Girl]

I have a friend who I am battling with on this same issue.

For about 6 months she has had this frozen shoulder issue. She never saw a real doctor and just got half-a**ed treatments from a chiro (gives her a deal) and a physiotherapist.

She then got frozen shoulder on the other one. Again, refuses to see a real doctor.

Frozen shoulder has been related to diabetes and thyroid issues. Issues that are way bigger than running.

She keeps telling me how she soldiered through this run or that run, couldn't sleep because of the shoulder etc. I don't know if she thinks I am proud of her 'toughness' or what, but I can't say that I am.

As her birthday gift this year, I said I would pay for the 15K entry fee into the Midsummer Nights' Race. Last week, I told her I wasn't paying for her entry until she got her shoulders looked at.

Running injured - and I am not sure how you can actually run when your arms won't move - and racing that way or two different beasts and can, obviously, have really bad consequences. Especially when this is likely an underlying issue for some other medical condition. When undiagnosed, who knows how this affects the body when under race-day stress.

She's obviously ticked at me, but I can't say I care. I told her to get herself to a doctor and get some real treatments and, with a doctor, devise a plan for running - if that is an option.

I've done my share of stupid runs. But I have definitely learned my lesson. Admittedly I raced once when I shouldn't have. But that smartened me up real fast - ruined a vacation a couple of weeks later and had me not running for months. I have no qualms about a DNS if I'm not physically able.

[LadyV]

She's obviously ticked at me, but I can't say I care. I told her to get herself to a doctor and get some real treatments and, with a doctor, devise a plan for running - if that is an option.

I've done my share of stupid runs. But I have definitely learned my lesson. Admittedly I raced once when I shouldn't have. But that smartened me up real fast - ruined a vacation a couple of weeks later and had me not running for months. I have no qualms about a DNS if I'm not physically able.

She is lucky to have a friend like you - eventally, she will recognize that!

Me, I am too much of a wuss to run injured (I already feel like a martyr when i run non-injured )

[Cupcake Girl]

Lady V wrote:
She is lucky to have a friend like you - eventally, she will recognize that!

Me, I am too much of a wuss to run injured (I already feel like a martyr when i run non-injured )

I felt bad doing it, but I can't be an enabler to something that is beyond something like a hamstring pull.

It's also my money and I'm not going to toss $55+ onto something that won't get used. Yup, I'm cheap. But that's no secret.

Every day that I can run injury-free makes me a happy girl as I've had a couple of bouts of being injured.