No Pain, No Gain?

Many people say, "No pain, no gain," when it comes to exercise. In a lot of senses this is true. But is it always true? The answer is a big No! About a month ago, I was running up a hill, while one of my feet landed on a large rock. I wasn't expecting it, so when I leaped off the rock to go forward, I felt pain shooting through my foot. I was annoyed at myself. I should have been paying more attention. But I didn't worry too much about it, and figured it would go away before morning.

I didn't go away by morning. In fact, a dull to aching pain continued with me for the next couple weeks. The pain mostly resided in the upper half of that foot. Interestingly, though, it usually started out sore, and eased away as I ran. (The pain magically reappeared after I was home). I've fallen in love with running these past several months, and I wasn't about to let a little pain keep me from tearing up the dirt with my fivefingers. Sunday's run, however, was different.

I had taken a couple days off, due to increasing pain in that foot. I figured the break had done it good, and set out Sunday afternoon for a long run. The pain seemed to be greater than usual when I began, but I set my worries aside, assuming it would subside as usual. I chose to do a loop involving a big hill, 1 mile of up. The motion of going up must have done that foot in, because by the time I had made it a mile past the hill my foot was aching in pain. I contemplated if I could make it home with the pain the way it was, and concluded that it was ridiculous and impossible. I slowed to a walk. A little ways of walking later, I tried to run again to see if it was better. I almost yelled out in pain. Clearly, I was walking home.

Now I was angry at myself for not bringing my phone. It was a hot day, and the last leg of my loop involved a mile down route 7. Running that part doesn't take very long, but walking was another story. Despite my hopes of one of relatives happening by to pick me up, I winced the whole way home, feeling like an idiot. My naiveté again got the best of my as I hoped the pain would go away after a good nights sleep. I didn't, and so I succumbed to the notion that its going to be a while before its safe for me to run again. After a few days of taking it easy with no exercise, I got back out there today, this time wheels.

I have a practically brand new mountain bike, that I've had for several years now. I really haven't used it that much. After going on it a couple of days last year, I had pretty much decided that I didn't enjoy biking, as it killed my legs. Running all year so far, though, has redefined the strength in my legs. I decided I'd give it a try, since it wouldn't put nearly as much strain on my foot. I discovered it didn't bother my foot, wasn't nearly as hot as running in the afternoon, and was actually pretty fun. I love to cover distance on my runs, which is a lot more doable on a bike. I only did a 5 mile loop to start, but I think I'll quickly be adding to that total. My legs handled the hills pretty well, so I'm looking forward to getting better at a sport I have previously only done for leisure.

The moral of this story: Listen to your body. Pain that goes away after a day or two is probably nothing to worry about. But consistent pain means there is something more going on. There is more to gain sometimes from avoiding excess pain.