Tiny Injuries & the Ego

Though we hate to admit it, injuries do happen.

They aren't welcomed when they appear and they're even less appreciated during their stay in our bodies. When they leave, we don't throw them a farewell party. They 'move on' and so to we (and quite happily we go along without them).

My close friend Margo is training for her second marathon. She ran her first marathon a number of years ago. Now she's juggling two young children, a husband, a career and training. On days when I'm up early running, she's often already posted a photo of her sunrise lakefront run. She has a training plan and determination.

What sideline's her carefully thought-out plan is tiny injuries. A finger sprain. A swollen toe. Annoyances. How hard is it not to let injuries affect your training ego? Very hard.

If the conversation going on in your head about your injury isn't enough to drive you to the couch, there's those friends and family members who recommend the end all be all solution - just quit.

They tell you that you're not cut out for the training. Your body is telling you not to. Maybe you hear the catch-all 'swimming is really the best activity for you' line. But whatever you've been doing for exercise that you love (running, riding, whatever), you should just quit doing that. Because that makes complete sense. Instead, apparently, you should bump up your cable package and prepare yourself for a sedentary life.

Hopefully the determined fighter in you isn't talked into hanging up your running shoes just yet. You seek out opinions from athletic friends, explaining your current aliment. Your friend can manage to talk you off the cliff about 90% of the time. Pretty good odds. They bring along war stories and suggestions for exercises. The underlying message is that in a short time, you will bounce back from this. The same amount of time might seem like a lifetime to you in your current state.

So stay with it, you Margo's of the world, tomorrow's a new day. And next week is a new lifetime.