Welcome to my weekly series, Training Tip Tuesday. Each week I will focus on a different aspect of training – strength, cardio, flexibility, balance, etc.
Today’s Training Tip
Listen to your body
Why Listen to Your Body?
Although I came up with the phrase listen to your body while coaching marathon runners many years ago, I’m sure I wasn’t the first person to utter those words while giving that simple, yet very important advice.
Our bodies are smart, very smart, and designed to do amazing things. If we treat them right, we can accomplish some pretty incredible feats. However, if we ignore their pleas to slow down, lighten the load, or get more rest, our bodies can turn on us and keep us from reaching our goals.
Clues that Your Body is Talking
Even though your body doesn’t always state the obvious when something is wrong, it gives you clues, and if you start experiencing any of the following issues while running, strength training, or any other activity, take heed…
- • Dull or sharp pain
- • Minor, but consistent nagging pain
- • Swelling or bruising
- • Tender when touched
- • Tingling or numbness
- • Trouble sleeping
- • Unusual tiredness
Answering Your Body’s Call
Should you experience any of the above or any other issues of concern, try the following, and if that doesn’t work, seek medical advice from either a physician or physical therapist…
- • Cut back on training for a few days
- • RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation)
- • Set sleep hours and stick to them
- • Eat a well-balanced diet
- • Stay hydrated
Questions
- • Are you guilty of not listening to your body? ~ Yes, and more than once
- • If your answer to the above is yes, what’s an example? ~ In 2012 I majorly overdid it while strength training and hurt my back (I later discovered through an MRI that I had a bulging disc which may or may not have come from the strength training incident). As soon as I’d feel a little better I’d start running long mileage again while training for the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon. Unfortunately, I never gave my back time to heal and had to withdrawal from the race.
- • What other training tips would you like for me to cover?
I’m pretty good at listening to my body – I think what saved me was getting injured very early on when I started running. I ignored some very clear signs that all wasn’t well with my knee and just kept going and even racing until I was forced out for five weeks. That really taught me to respect the body’s signals or language. So, although it was so frustrating at the time – it was a great lesson to have as a beginner.
You’re lucky to learn such a valuable lesson early on in your running journey.
I think every runner (or athlete, for that matter) has been guilty of ignoring the discomforts. It’s much more exciting to press on towards those goals! I have gotten pretty good, or at least much better, about listening to my body and scaling-back when I feel weird twitches. It’s tough to hush the ego, but it’s always worth it 😉
“Hush the ego” is the perfect way to describe it! It took me a long time, but I eventually learned to listen to my body.
I’m a great example of NOT listening to my body. That’s what got me into my first Achilles injury in 2012. And the second in 2019. And the third in 2022.
It seems like I will never learn…
Oh dear, Lady A is relentless in wanting to take you down. 🙁
Listening to my body is something that I have gotten much better at over the past few years. When I was training for my first marathon, I thought I HAD to hit every workout or else my race would be doomed. I know for sure that I pushed my body for training runs that I should have skipped or scaled down.
Learning to pay attention to clues from your body is a process just like with everything else. It’s good that you made it through your first marathon training cycle without any serious repercussions.
I learned to listen to my body early on when I started running and got knee tendonitis almost first thing, and have been very careful to come back to running. Now just after the first run that I felt was a real run, I have a foot injury.. apparently I need to ramp up my running training a LOT more slowly, instead of following what my cardio fitness and knees can handle, I’m going to strictly follow a beginner program when I’m fit to try again.
Oh no, I am so sorry to hear about your foot injury. I hope easing back into running more slowly will do the trick – just be careful and make sure you give your foot time to heal.
Sometimes I am very good at this and other times not. I tend to ignore little aches and twinges sometimes.
Over 10 years ago before I knew any better-I ran a half marathon w a stress fracture. I literally had no idea that’s what it was
Oh my goodness, that sounds painful!
I am getting better at listening to my body. It isn’t worth it to push it too much and get injured.
It took me a long time, but I finally learned I’d better listen to it because the consequences were getting more serious the older I got.