Should You Be Limping Like That?

What you can and should do when race day approaches

Apr 1

We’ve all had injuries pop up at the most inopportune time.

Hell, there’s never a good time to get injured, so we can clear the air with that. But I’ve been seeing a lot of posts lately of runners who are posting about being injured and continuing on with their training or racing plans.

black concrete road surrounded by brown rocks — Photo by Jake Blucker on Unsplash

I’ve been there - more so when I was younger and still competing for a school - when points counted and places mattered. Sure, I ran through the pain and I ran through some injuries. Would I have been better off if I skipped every race where I felt something creeping up? Possibly, but who knows.

But as adults, running through an injury - being in physical pain - is a completely different story. We do not get paid to run. We do not depend on running for income. We do not need to run a race if we are injured or are risking further injury by competing.

Instead, focus on rehabbing the issue as soon as it appears. Get stronger, get more agile, get more disciplined in your 1%: your pre-run drills, your post-run stretching, your core work, your sleep, your hydration… All of these small steps will help you become a better runner in the long run and a healthier runner in the short term.

group of people sitting on black bench — Photo by Sam Moqadam on Unsplash

There is very little you stand to gain from running on through an injury - you’re not likely to set a PR or come out of the race healthy; instead, you have a lot to lose if you run through your pain and it becomes worse.

Missing 1 week of training - when you can probably still cross-train to minimize the fitness loss - is nothing compared to 1-3+ months of missed time because you neglected to rest in the first place.

So next time you think you need to race when you’re banged up or injured, think about the long-term and what you stand to gain or lose from racing while you’re injured.

And if you can’t figure out what you keep doing wrong or why you keep getting injured, then you need to reach out to a coach and get some help.

Be sure to sign up for Healthy Kids Running Series! Carly & I are the coordinators.

Friday’s Action Plan:

Think long-term about running or racing with an injury. Remember to ask yourself, when you already have an injury, whether this run with help or hurt your ability to run healthy in the future.

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Marc is a middle school teacher and coach but also works with distance runners online. I help distance runners around the globe by providing support, writing customized training plans, and designing workouts to help them reach their racing goals. I write for my blog every Wednesday morning and newsletter every Friday morning.

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