Should I Run Through It?
Run or rest? I wrestle with this decision every few months. I notice some discomfort, a niggle that I’m pretty sure isn’t serious. I want to make sure it doesn’t become a full-blown injury but I also just worked hard to build fitness, and inevitably have a race coming up, so I’m reluctant to pull back.
I know I’m not alone in this. Many semi-injured runners have come to see me throughout my 8+ years as a massage therapist in hopes that some deep tissue work will be the magic they need to keep them running. Sometimes it is! Even if they started out feeling broken and hopeless, focused bodywork can leave a runner feeling ok enough to consider running through it. Often this leads to a conversation about whether I think it makes sense for them to continue to train. While I can’t provide a diagnosis or advanced treatment, I can share what I do when I’m faced with a similar conundrum. I’ve found that two questions can help any runner, including myself, with the decision of whether to run through a possible impending injury.
Is running mostly enjoyable?
Running is not my job but even people getting paid to race say that most of the time running is fun. Yes, it can be hard, thus the tongue-in-cheek “Running Sucks” slogan, but I love it in part because I can choose to make it either easy or hard. If I’m on the brink of injury and even easy efforts feel monumental, that’s a big red flag. Running a comfortable five miles thinking about nothing other than how much my knee hurts is not joyful or easy; it is stressful and exhausting. Checking my heart rate or rate of perceived exertion (RPE) is helpful but doesn’t give the full picture. Was I able to zone out? Did I think about quitting early? If I finish feeling worse than when I started, I know something is serious.
Can I walk without pain?
Running generates a force of three to four times your body weight with every foot strike. If I can’t walk without a limp, how can I expect to withstand the impact of running on my body without ill effects? How I feel going up and down stairs or walking my dog can provide a realistic insight as to how I can expect upcoming runs to feel. Once I’ve noticed discomfort for a week or two, it’s likely I’ve developed some compensatory patterns that can end up leading to secondary injuries. For instance, if my right ankle hurts, I might alter my stride and put more weight on my left side, stressing my left hip and knee more than usual and potentially ending up with two or three injuries rather than just the initial one. Tuning in to how I feel in daily life is a way to help me self-assess whether my gait is normal enough to limit dysfunctional patterns while also allowing the primary injured area to heal. Sometimes running through a minor injury is advised, and simply reducing speedwork, mileage, or hill training is the best course of action, but there is also a time for backing off entirely.
The promise of a running-induced euphoria makes it hard to admit when it’s time to adjust due to injury. The fact that running is my most reliable social outlet adds to the pressure to keep running and usually leads me to eke out a few more days than I should. Sometimes it’s difficult to reframe a temporary hiatus as insurance that my future self will be better able to enjoy epic adventures. I find that if I’m thinking a lot about whether or not I “should” run, the answer is most likely “no” or “not as much.” The best answers come from the best questions.