You’re on a run one beautiful morning, everything is going well. Around mile three you start to notice a different sensation in your (insert one of the following foot, knee, hip -you get the idea.) what do you do? Deny that there is anything happening and hope whatever it is will go away just like it started? Give it some time and reassess a little later, continuing down the road like nothing is going on? Or maybe slow down, do an assessment of what could be causing it and try to adjust your running form? Stop running, and walk to see if the sensation remains?
If you choose to ignore and continue running, at what point do you opt out of running? Have you thought about the consequences of ignoring your body's message? What if it is the beginning of an irritated muscle injury that could have you sitting the bench for four to six weeks if you continue to aggravate it by running?
Running a little longer while hoping it will go away and not adjusting anything else will not change what is causing that niggle. Have you ever tried to change how your foot strikes the ground or the angle of your running form when you hear the loud message your body is sending?
How many minutes would you continue if nothing changes before you go to your next response on your algorithm? Hopefully the next item on that algorithm is to stop running. Depending on how long you continued, you may only have to take a week or two off. But if you tried to finish the workout by being in denial, you might be joining the benched crew.
Did you choose to walk and listen to body for more information? Processing the conversation between your body and brain? As matter of fact, it may take some time to get used to understanding what is being said. Once you are able to understand what is being said and make the adjustments, it will be the most helpful thing to keeping you running for years to come. If you're the type that takes Motrin every time you get an ache or pain, maybe you are muting a conversation that your body and brain are having about you.
If you were the one who chose to slow down and try to troubleshoot what's happening, good for you! But if you were not able to make it go away with adjustments, what is your next game plan on this run? Hopefully, you call the run over, walk or call someone for a ride home depending on what your body is telling you. By doing this, you might miss only few days of running.
Learning to be a mindful runner will help you make the adjustments your body is telling you to make. When you head out on your next run, see if there is a conversation happening. See if you can begin to listen and then gradually make some changes and then listen again. Keep the conversation going and be safe out there.
