Listen to your Body - The Goldie Locks Problem

Today is a rest day for me. Laid down 10 miles yesterday. I am taking a rest day for a couple of reasons. First I went out last night and played Bar Trivia. We did not win. Second, after work tonight I am going over to school to give a talk on professionalism to some new first year students (I am a third year evening student and therefore full of wisdom) Third, and finally my body hurts right now. Which brings us to today’s topic for Charity Racer. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.

One of the biggest mistakes that I see new runners make is over training and not listening to their body. Now listening to your body is a Goldie Locks problem. Listen to your body too much and you under train because you hold back when your muscles are just naturally sore from training. Listen to your body not enough and you get a stress injury or an over use injury. The trick? Is the pain sharp or is it dull? That’s the answer. Sharp pain means stop. Dull pain, or soreness then think about your training regimen. If you have been pushing the envelope but not killing yourself, and you have been stretching before and after the work out, with proper warm ups and cool downs. This sounds like you have muscle soreness but still maybe able to work out.

Or have you been doing speed training, not stretching, no cool downs? You may have pulled or strained something and may need to take a break. Listen to your body grasshopper.

In my case my hip flexor and groin are real sore. I am going to give them a day. Do a warm up tomorrow, stretch see how they feel and make the call. It could just be soreness from putting on big miles, or a mild strain. I will do a nice RICE regimen and take it easy for 3 days. (slow 4-6 mile runs) With an anti-inflammatory before I go to bed. Listen to the ole body it’s pretty smart.

As always – find a charity and take your first steps. Hit the bricks and become a charity racer. There are always people in need. It was Edmund Burke who said “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Do something!

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