Forums >General Running>Do you think running is painful?
So (some) people do run painfully (and still enjoy it)!?
Although running is not painful to me, if it were i think i'd still enjoy it because i enjoy certain types of pain. Muscle soreness and pain from cuts and bruises is enjoyable to me for example. So is the pain from getting my teeth cleaned.
Nausea or headaches, not enjoyable. Lower back pain totally not enjoyable.
My broken rib last summer was only good when it was mostly healed. Before that it sucked because it hurt if i took a really deep breath. So i was winded during my runs. But in the later stages of healing it was a nice comfortable pain.
I hope this doesn't make me sound too weird.
It was excruciating when I tried to run while pregnant; by comparison, I realize normal running is merely uncomfortable. I would describe races as painful.
Painful or not, I do think running is often hard and requires "pushing through" - when doing a longer run than usual, running in the cold or rain, etc.
Mostly harmless
If I stopped running just because something hurt I would never be able to run. Learning to ignore pain to some degree has been part of my (limited) running experience. Learning when to run through pain and when not to is a constant test that I often fail.
"It doesn’t matter how often you do it or how much you accomplish, in general, not running is a lot easier than running." - Meb Keflezighi
not lazy, just tired
For me running isn't painful (unless there's something wrong), but there can be discomfort (sometimes substantial). Discomfort can be pushed through, true pain not so much. I think that sometimes discomfort can be misinterpreted as pain, especially when you're just starting to run.
MrNamtor, you enjoy the pain from having your teeth cleaned? Yeah, that's just plain weird.
Not if it makes sense.
Are we there, yet?
On training runs, even hard ones like intervals, I may experience fatigue, but that is not the same as pain. I'm almost guaranteed to feel extreme fatigue in a race, but again that is not pain. I think the closest I've felt to pain while running that wasn't the result of an injury is the burning sensation I sometimes experience at the end of short races, most notably 800m. Of course there have been many times when the thought of quitting or at least slowing down or reducing the effort has entered my mind, which is what I think those inane posters are refering to, but calling it pain is misleading at best.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
As is usually the case, people are meaning different things by the word "painful".
Runners run
For me, the word pain is a catch all that aptly describes (metaphorically speaking) what I may have been feeling during a run or event.
It doesn't actually hurt, but for lack of a better word, it does.
From the Internet.
Some kinds of pain are a warning. Other kinds are a game you play with yourself. The more I run, the better I get at knowing the difference.
sugnim
I haven't had a pain-free run since 11:50AM, Oct 29, 2009. But those posters aren't for runners...
Sorry to hear you haven't had a pain-free run, MilkTruck.
(Also, I didn't know it would bug you so much if I didn't comment on your painful runs. )
I don't think running is painful. If it were I wouldn't do it.
But let's talk about what you guys are referring as painful. Painful to me means not running. Soreness is somewhat normal especially after and sometimes during a tough workout. But never pain.
Damaris
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These are all instances where runners have pushed through the pain.
Whether they were all really a good idea or not - I don't know - maybe questionable. I guess the runners that stop running when it gets painful ... what do they do in a 400 meter race? Or a mile race? Or a 5k race? Just run easily enough so it doesn't get painful?
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
rectumdamnnearkilledem
I don't think running is painful. If it were I wouldn't do it. But let's talk about what you guys are referring as painful. Painful to me means not running. Soreness is somewhat normal especially after and sometimes during a tough workout. But never pain.
This. And I LIVE for DOMS. It means I'm making myself stronger and proof that I worked hard (going back to the NSAIDs thread, I won't take anything for pain unless it's keeping me awake. During the day I like the soreness. Struggling a bit to walk down stairs or sit down is sort of a warped badge of honor). Dull aches ≠ sharp pain.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
I don't normally feel pain during training runs.......if I feel pain, I stop running, walk home, take a nice HOT BATH, grab a beer and enjoy the rest of the day, and try it again the next day....
In a 5K race I feel PAIN for the whole last mile........(5K's IMHO if ran properly hurt bad for the last mile - every time I run one I say I'll never run another one)
Half Marathon - I usually feel some pain during the last couple of miles
Marathon ---- its been SO LONG since I ran a marathon that I finally forgot how bad it hurt.......so now I can FINALLY run another (May 12, 2013 - Providence, RI).
Champions are made when no one is watching
SheCan
I remember struggling a lot that first year, year & 1/2 of running. I tied my shoes too tight, and it took forever to figure out why the top of my feet hurt (PAIN) so bad when I ran. Pushing further and faster than my body was accustomed registered to my brain as pain. Now I rather enjoy the feeling. But even now, there will be days where I'll have shooting pains in my calves (or other body part), soreness, etc., but it's not the vast majority of my running. Most of my running is enjoyable, and I get joy out of striving to reach specific goals.
Cherie
"We do not become the people who this world needs simply by turning our backs on anyone we don’t like, trust, or deem healthy enough to be in our presence. " ---- Shasta Nelson