How much pain is normal? And how much is too much? I’ve been trying to find exactly where that line sits, but it’s a struggle. I know that with the increase in mileage I’m working on, a certain amount of new pain is to be expected. But how much? I’m afraid to push too hard because of fears about injury. After running almost 87 miles two weeks ago, I was only able to log 63.7 last week. Every day, my legs were a little more sore, my knees a little more stiff. By the time Thursday rolled around, I was hurting so bad that I took an unplanned rest day, fearing that the ITBS in my right knee might be legitimately flaring up again. And it didn’t even seem to help. The knee hurt just as bad on Friday, and then on Saturday’s long run, my left calf started acting up. It feels like there’s a golf ball stuck in there now and I was struggling just to make it through an easy 7 miler today. Part of me thinks that maybe it’s all in my head, that maybe my brain is just trying to trick me into being lazy. After all, the pain seems nearly constant and is moving around to different points within my legs. But, what if it’s real? The last thing I want to do is push too hard and end up sidelined before the summer starts. I just really wish there was a way to know.
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Pain17 comments to Pain |
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Someone is telling you something. I wish I had the solution to the dilemma of when you need to stop and when you can keep on going. I’ve gotten more conservative so I’ll stop more frequently. If a missed day or two won’t hurt me, it surely won’t hurt you with your base.
Sometimes seemingly arbitrary “rules” have their uses. Two come to mind. First, don’t run hard for 26.21875 days after a marathon effort. Second, always take two days off if the hamstring screams (as opposed to just coughs), which applies to other items that crop up and leave you hobbling.
I call these rules because they take you out of the picture, i.e., it’s not that you don’t want to do the run or the race or whatever but that you’re not allowed to because of this stupid rule.
Stiffness and soreness are one thing, they come in cycles. But the more serious stuff is more serious and needs to be taken seriously. Keep the faith, though. This too shall pass.
I like this approach. And, I agree that a day or two missed won’t hurt the base, I just am having trouble knowing when the pain is significant enough to warrant one of those days off. If we took the day off any time anything hurt, we’d never run…
And, as we’ve discussed before, the marathon rule just doesn’t work for me because of the number of them on my schedule. But, I do see how running hard right after an all-out marathon could be problematic, so maybe the answer is to go a little less than all-out in more of the marathons so I can still get the quantity I’m looking for without facing the increased injury risk.
I’m sorry to hear this, though you’ve been hitting it so hard for such a consistent amount of time that maybe it’s time to just step back a tiny bit and repair. Are you doing as much self-PT as possible? Foam rolling every night? It’s pretty tedious but it really does help. Hoping this is just a short blip on the radar…
Honestly, no. I’ve been doing the foam roller about every other day and have been skimping on my exercises. I really need to figure out how to make time for them again.
I think you’re body is telling you something. Icing? Ice baths? Compression sleeves?
Yeah, I probably need to focus on recovery more.
It’s a tough one. Even after 30 years my ability to listen to my body is not brilliant. I think reading pain is harder the closer one is to pushing limits. Limits of volume, speed, life-balance.
I like Joe’s ‘rules’. I’d add never be so tied to a miles/week goal that you’re unable to have a day off or cut a run short. When you’re running a ‘lot’, niggles are pretty normal. They come and go. Just be wary of the ones that hang around. Also, be relaxed about postponing a hard session if the legs aren’t up to it.
I think the point that not being too tied to a miles/week (or month) goal is really important. I’ve definitely been guilty of chasing numbers lately.
Back off the mileage for a bit. Constant pain is a warning sign. How are you feeling overall? If you’re fatigued on top of it, all the more reason to take ratchet things down to recover.
Also, are you running lots of doubles? We’re all different, but for what’s it worth: my legs simply don’t recover properly when I run doubles more than 3x a week. I do better on one long (up to 12 mile) recovery run than I do on, say, 7/AM + 5/PM.
I’ve only been doing doubles once or twice a week at most. They happen as a result of “social running” more than because they were actually planned.
If I were your coach (I have officially completed the Badwater race 13 times plus have another 4 solo 146-mile crossings + have coached ultra runners for the last 20 years), I would tell you to heed the warning.
Scott Weber
That’s an impressive résumé. And, your advice seems smart and coincides with everyone else’s comments. I definitely am listening to my body and am trying to figure out what it’s telling me to do. I cut my run for today in half and slowed it down by almost a minute/mile to give my legs a rest. Hopefully backing off a little bit now will help down the road.
If only we could see into the future…!
Wouldn’t that be nice?
hmmmm. yes, id say take a few days to rest the running legs, it will only make you faster and stronger the next time you run anyway. whenever i cant run, I BIKE! or swim.
I think we all know the chances of me getting on a bike are about the same as the chances of hell freezing over, as they say. But, I’ve thought about the swimming. Maybe this summer when they open the public pool by my house.
you stated foam rolling already; so i wont reiterate on that part. i found out that some of my nagging injuries went away with weights/strength training @ at the gym. Lunges/squats/bosu-ing seems to help.
I had the same left calf pain in dec. 09 and it is SUX! I gave it 4-5 days rest and put on some compression calf sleeves and the rest was history.
You should be fine – rock on cowboy!