Day 7: Group Run

Today's run was great.

While it was a simple 2 miles, it was 2 miles with company, which gave the run a different flavor and tempo. I enjoyed it because so often during my runs I am entirely in my head, breaking down, fitting and re-fitting my run. I think about my form, my stride, my foot strike, the swing of my arms; I think about keeping my back straight and holding my head up right. I focus on looking forward and keeping my chin up. I pay close attention to engaging my core muscles and using my quads to pull myself forward. I barely have time to think about anything else.

But today was different. I worked outside of my comfort zone and maintained a slower pace so that I could talk comfortably while running. I noticed that the conversation was very light and pleasant and I was able to focus on what we were discussing, but also keep up my pace and stride. It was a whole new and wonderful experience that I am excited and hope will happen more in the future.

I also noticed that my brain tended to wander from topic to topic. Sometimes I would get stuck on a thought and not be able to let it go for a little while. One thought that I kept running through my brain was the idea of injuries and pain tolerance. This is probably because a good friend of mine was recently hospitalized with a sports injury. It has caused me to think about sports, sports injuries, and one’s tolerance for pain. I have always assumed that athletes have a high pain tolerance because they are constantly having to break boundaries within themselves and push through that pain to become stronger. This thought led to me trying to come to grips in a way with my own tolerance for pain. I believe that I can deal with a good deal of physical pain, but at a point it becomes too much. The fracture I recently suffered in my tibia is proof of that. There was a day I was out on a easy 5 mile run and at about mile 5 my knees felt like they had been completely blown out. I could barely walk, let alone run. I hobbled very slowly back to my house in 15˚ weather with whipping winds and made an appointment with a sports medicine doctor. The pain I felt on that run nearly knocked me out. But then when I think back over the past year, there has been a subtle but constant pain that hasn’t gone away. Until I took the time to really heal, I was very much in pain.

Basically out of my very pleasant and light-hearted run with my friends came a long (and kinda dark) lingering thought process about sports injuries. The long story, short is be very careful when exercising, especially in the winter. Pay attention to your body and your body’s ability to tolerate whatever it is you are training for. It’s better to play it safe, than to loose it all.

Anyway till tomorrow…