So we’re at
that inevitable time of year where all the miles on the bike, on the track, on
skis, on the pavement combined with countless burpees and the occasional
mountain climber, have come together in the exact measurements necessary to
cause a searing pain on the inner shin (or foot, knee, hamstring, calf… you get
the point). And then, as is the necessary
action of a teenager-who-is-old-enough-to-vote-and-enlist-in-the-military-and-is-of-legal-age-in-Canada-who-is-also-a-diehard-runner,
it hurts but you keep running. And then
you run again… And it still hurts. But,
hey, you have exercise obligations, so you run some more. And you make plans for your next marathon,
and think about training, and you run one more time… But, by then you’re
limping, and you resolve to take a few days off to rest your wound… But a few
days turns into a week and a week turns into two, and by then, you’re itching
to get back on your feet, whether it’s a few laps of the indoor track or a
13-mile-loop around the local reservoir, and you keep complaining to anyone who
listens that in fact, every day cannot be arm day!
But, alas,
such is the life of a runner.
Eventually, the miles accumulate and your body tells you it’s time to
stop. And you rarely listen to that, and
it usually works out for the better, but every so often, it doesn’t, and you’re
forced to spend some quality time with an ice pack, which at some point is just
a serious justification to spend several hours at a time on that Netflix
account that you really shouldn’t have.
I mean, you
know there are worse things in life than an overuse injury. That nagging inflammation in your shin or
crack in the bone or whatever it is, will take a while to heal, but it’s not
cancer, you’re not in jail, you didn’t lose your home in a hurricane and you
will run again. A year from now, on the
finish line of your next marathon, today will be a distant memory. And yet, you don’t have time for this… Although
realistically if you don’t have time for an overuse injury in the middle of a
snowstorm in February, when do you?
So I think
that we have established that running injuries suck. I mean, who wants to feel like a cripple
taking the elevator at the gym, making every day arm day and ab day and laying
off the cardio?
But, all I
can say about shin splints, stress fractures and other running injuries, like
plantar fasciitis, runner’s knees, muscle pulls and strains and IT Band Syndrome
is to stretch, ice, take the occasional ibuprofen, wrap it, lay off it, make sure your shoes aren't too worn out, and if they are replace them, and
ease back into high mileage slowly. See
a trainer/ doctor, get X-rays or go to physical therapy if it perseveres for
longer than you can stand. It sucks
emotionally and physically to be injured, but it’s bound to happen sometime,
and it’s better to let it heal fully now, instead of more seriously injuring
yourself. But, if you’re reading this,
then you’re a runner/ work out junkie, so chances are, you’ll just be like me,
and try to run through it. But, hey, I
tried…
That’s all I’ve got for now,
Sarah
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