ACHES AND PAIN

• By loramarie03
• 2 February, 2012
• 5 Comments

Once upon a time we lived in Jacksonville, Florida. Let’s just say it wasn’t the place to me (a little too much Yankee in this girl for the deep south). Even though it was 1,000 degrees every day (seriously), I still kept up with my running. Granted, it wasn’t as enjoyable as running in NYC… but I did it.

I decided I was going to train for the Jacksonville Marathon. I also decided that I was bored with my old Nikes and ready for a change. I went to a little running store and did a gait analysis, where the sales person said, “Oh! You should get these instead.” Little did I know, the store was basically funded by said running company so I had a feeling that no matter what your gait was, they probably told you that you needed that shoe brand.

I started running in the shoes, and felt great! I did a long run and my shin started acting up. Of course, I didn’t listen. I kept running. And running. The pain was getting worse, but I thought I’d run through it. Then, one day I woke up, and I couldn’t even walk without limping. I decided I should finally listen to my fiance who had told me from day one to rest it. But I was a tough runner that could make it through!

I was sidelined from running for two months. My goal to run the Jacksonville Marathon was gone. I know other people have had worst injuries so I’m thankful that this is the extent of what mine have been, but not being able to run for two months was hard. Especially since that is my outlet for when I’m having a tough time.

I learned two lessons. 1) If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. 2) Listen to your body.

Today, I took an unscheduled rest day. The side of my knee has been hurting this week, I think because of having old shoes (new ones should be here on Tuesday!), so I thought I’d listen to my body. Tonight, my leg feels like its back to normal so I’ll be back pounding the pavement tomorrow.

Have you learned any major lessons from an injury?