Why Runners Get Hurt

Okay so this is a bit of a throwback from 2 years ago, but it all still rings true and since I enjoyed reading it again this morning I thought I would re blog it.

"I received an email from Runners Connect titled "Why Runners Get Hurt".  It started out like this:

Recent research has shown that as many as 79% of runners get injured at least once during the year.

Stop. Think about that number for a moment.

Nearly 8 out of every 10 runners you see at your next race have been or will be injured sometime that year.

I have to admit that the first thing that popped into my head was

The reason runners get hurt is because we don't like to quit.  We like to believe we are invincible.  We are superwomen/men.  We can't help it, we want to run the extra mile.   We want the endorphin high.  We want to see how much faster we can do that next half marathon/5k whatever.  We get injured because even though we know better we aren't always patient about progressing our training. We don't want to believe our medical professionals when they tell us to NOT run for x amount of time.

We are going to test this every chance we get.  We are stubborn.  You don't run a marathon by being weak and not believing in yourself. 

We get injured because we NEED the run like a popstar needs fans. We define ourselves by our running, how can we be a runner if we can't run? 

We get injured because there are so many fitspo photos with inspirational sayings like

• push past the pain
• you can feel sore tomorrow or you can feel sorry (how about both?)
• Life begins at the end of your comfort zone
• the voice in your head that says you can't do this is a liar
• It will hurt, but it will be worth it
• and seriously on and on! 

and bam the next thing you know you are blogging about your therapy, comeback plan and how running 1 mile pain free is a victory.  How you should have listened to your body a little closer, got new shoes a little sooner or quit the run three miles earlier. You are using your bike for cross training, hoping to do a race at the end of the summer and doing things like concentrating on your core and upper body. 

Upside to being injured, it makes your running shoes last longer, you save money from not paying entry fees and you have more time on your hands to do things like shop for new running clothes when you make your great comeback while you ice your leg.  You can discover hidden talents like handstand push ups.

Any of this ring true or is that just why I got hurt?

Although if you want to read what they had to say about it, you can check it out HERE, they do have some really good pointers, some that are even similar to what I pointed out. "

Obviously I wrote that while injured, but I am not injured right now and here is how I feel about that.

Right now I am on a bit of a cutback, just running mostly easy miles and recently, like this week, starting doing more hill work and plan to add in some speed work next week.  It has felt good to take it easy for the last month after the half marathon.  My body is feeling recharged.

When is the last time you dealt with a running injury?