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What does ONE painful run indicate? (Read 173 times)

    As of today, I had been running every day for 87 consecutive days with no pain whatsoever. Went out this morning for a 10K run, and my right shin simply wasn't gonna have it - slightly sore and stiff by the end of the first mile. I'm paranoid about getting injured, and it was tying up my form anyway, so I ditched the run and walked back.

     

    Please excuse my naivety, as I am probably not experienced enough to know the answer, but what does this indicate? Do I simply need a rest day and some R&R? It was not exactly painful - it just felt awkward to the point that if I had continued running it would be painful. Does anyone have any similar experiences? Could it be better in 24 hours?

    if you're tired of starting over then stop giving up!

    Mr MattM


      All you can do is see what happens tomorrow.  You could try icing it if you want... you could do some light stretching... but really, you have to see how if does tomorrow and evaluate from there.

      be curious; not judgmental


      an amazing likeness

        To my perspective it depends on whether it really is "1 run with pain" or the "first run" with this new pain.  If it was one run with a new pain and it isn't there in subsequent runs....then it happens.  If it was the first run, and the pain will be there going forward -- then it means you have an injury that you need to resolve.

        Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

          Your log looks pretty classic for an overuse injury:  increasing pace and mileage rapidly.  Take a few days off from running completely, or just do the minimum mileage to maintain your streak if that is important, and run slower and shorter distance the next few times in either case.

            Your log looks pretty classic for an overuse injury:  increasing pace and mileage rapidly.  Take a few days off from running completely, or just do the minimum mileage to maintain your streak if that is important, and run slower and shorter distance the next few times in either case.

             

            This.....Or it is just one of those random things for no good reason.  Monday the outside of my right foot was killing me at the end of the run for no reason at all.  I had never had that pain before, and it was completely gone on Tuesday, those things happen I guess.  Only your run tomorrow will tell the difference.

            Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.


            Dream Maker

              Worrying about one data point never helps anything.

               

              The body has weird complaints sometimes. If it really is isolated, forget about it.  If it's the same tomorrow, then start worrying about taking action

               

               

                The funny thing(s) are that: (a) I went out of my way to make sure I was increasing mileage by about 5% weekly (well within the 'safe' range), and (b) not once did I have a run which felt too hard or out of control. I run by perceived effort - I literally do not look at my watch after starting it, I just listen to the beeps that occur on the mile splits so I have an idea how far I've gone. I'm going to assume that I simply haven't run enough to differentiate accurately between various levels of effort. But I'm working on that.

                 

                Also, (c) - I never had a week at the end of which I felt wiped out and needing a day off. Historically, I seem to go for periods of running fine, then injury or strain strikes very suddenly, with little or no warning.

                 

                It's a slightly strange scenario. Today, the feeling is not quite to the point of pain yet, though I am smart enough to know not to wait until it develops to that. Additionally, there is virtually no discomfort when I am doing anything except running.

                 

                I'm hoping that a weekend off w/x-training, foam rolling, ice, and R&R will solve the problem. If not, the suicide hotline will be receiving a call from me.

                 

                Meme

                if you're tired of starting over then stop giving up!

                  The funny thing(s) are that: (a) I went out of my way to make sure I was increasing mileage by about 5% weekly (well within the 'safe' range)...

                   

                  Firstly, there's no magic formula for 'safe' increases in weekly mileage, even the famous '10% rule'.  Secondly, your weekly run stats show increases of way more than 5%:

                   

                  26.7 --> 30.5 (14% increase)

                  30.5 --> 33.3 (9% increase)

                  33.3 --> 38.5 (16% increase)

                  38.5 --> 43.0 12% increase)

                   

                  There's nothing necessarily wrong with increasing weekly mileage from 26 to 43 in 4 weeks; your ability to cope with it will depend on a number of factors including your previous running history.  But I would agree with the comment above that - based on what we can see from your RA log - an overuse injury would not be an unreasonable outcome. I would take it easy for a while - maybe short, slow runs each day, or maybe complete rest.  Good luck!

                  FTYC


                  Faster Than Your Couch!

                    It might be an overuse injury, or just some pain that comes and goes away again for unknown reasons.

                     

                    That's the tricky thing with overuse injuries, they don't necessarily come after one overly straining run. You may be fine for weeks or even years, and then, out of the blue, something happens, even if you might not have changed anything from your normal routine.

                     

                    Take some rest, ease back in again, perhaps take a rest day more often, before your body forces you to do so.

                    Good luck, happy healing!

                    Run for fun.

                      There is also your pace.  Generally, you can safely increase mileage or pace, but not both.  The practice most likely to work is to hold at an easy pace and then let the mileage ramp up.  Try running 1 min/mile slower.

                       

                        Thanks. Granted, that graph is slightly misleading because around 1/28 I moved location from a place where the only running territory was incredibly steep hills, to an area with relatively flat terrain. Point taken, though. Cheers!

                        if you're tired of starting over then stop giving up!

                          Oh, that makes more sense.  Otherwise, that pace increase was insane.  I hope all this helps.