Train Smarter, Not Harder

-Train Smarter, Not Harder-

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I would rather not admit how many times I have violated this principle but let's just say too many.  I am at a crossroads again which inspired me to put pen to paper (or fingertips to keys) in hopes that someone can learn from my mistakes.  For me, it all began a couple of weeks ago.  Up until then I was in the best running condition at this time of year for the first time in a while.  I had and still have high hopes for this season of racing but I've recently developed consistent lower shin pain seemingly out of nowhere.  There have been no drastic changes in my training routines that would explain an injury such as this.  It was also alarming to be fine one day and then experience consistent pain during the next run without an event to point to as the culprit.  Now it should be noted the pain I was dealing with was not severe in any way but having a consistent sensation of pain and discomfort on every step was concerning.  I have finally learned that it would be better to pay attention to my situation now instead of putting it off or ignoring it like I've done before.  That's lesson #1 if you are keeping track: Take care of things early on instead of ignoring them or allowing things to fester and get worse.

Having dealt with other injuries in the past I have also learned that continuing to run probably wasn't going to help the situation.  Chances are it was only going to make things worse so as difficult as it was I decided to shut things down until I could resolve this particular issue.  That's lesson #2: Sometimes you just need to stop as much as you don't want to.  Even if there is a race or event coming up, it's better to give your body a chance to heal, recover and figure out the problem instead of just pushing through.  I am not an elite athlete and I'm guessing anyone reading this isn't either so it is unlikely there is anything truly on the line that is worth risking further injury and delaying a return to your desired activity.

As frustrating as it is, having the patience to take time off from running (even with a couple of events in the next month) and get to the root of the problem will pay dividends for the rest of my season and if all goes well, for the long term too.  That's lesson #3: Be patient.  Life is much better when you can live to fight another day rather than push through and be sidelined for much longer.  Being "tough" and training harder ends up backfiring more often than not.

Thank goodness I have the skills to figure things out and treat myself in most cases.  Having finally learned these lessons the hard way, I should be able to solve my particular injury in the short term so that I am ready for the rest of the season.  There is a time and place to train hard(er) and this is not that time.  I am finally allowing my brain to help me train smarter which will help me get back on the trails and racing as soon as possible.

So I encourage you to learn from my mistakes when training for whatever your endeavor may be.  When healthy and especially when dealing with injury, take full advantage of those three pounds of tissue between your ears and train smarter, not harder.

Knowledge = Power; Share the Power:

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