Running Toward Myself

Pain...the Other Four-Letter Word


Recently, I was chatting with some coworkers during lunch, and the discussion turned to working out, running, and general fitness-merry-making. As the resident athlete at our table of mostly middle-aged women, I am often  asked my thoughts about new workout strategies, innovative eating regimes, and generally all things fitness.  These ladies are aware that I've had a lot to overcome along my path to personal fitness (maybe I'll share more of it here one day?) and respect my opinions...at least they ACT like they do.

One of my coworkers shared her frustration with being sore after a recent workout. She has recently re-dedicated herself to being health conscious (as in giving up cupcakes...just like me!) and sticking to a gym schedule. Naturally, the follow-up question to her admission was, "How do you deal with being sore or in pain?"

Immediately preceding my FIRST broken bone
...I have a long history of  pain!

Hmmmm. I gave pause, as this is a very sticky question for me, personally.  I don't go around advertising my various ankle surgeries, back issues, or my current ankle woes. I find that the more you discuss the uglier parts of an active lifestyle the less interested people are in signing up to get involved, and I like to think I'm an ambassador-of-sorts for living the good life. How do you share your own viewpoint when there are so many shades in the pallet of pain? 

I'm a firm believer that we learn our tolerance for pain early in life, as kids, and, as the youngest child with five older siblings, there was A LOT of pain to go around in my childhood, let me tell ya. However, no matter the severity of pain either inflicted upon me or as a result of my own shenanigans, emotional highs or lows resulting therefrom were never acceptable. Slam your thumb with a hammer? Suck it up and keep hammering. Sore after a long day of loading hay? Yeah...so is everyone. Pass the peas.

Scout the guard dog after my last surgery

As an adult I've had my share of pain, but, thankfully, mostly related to my athletic endeavors instead of sibling-inflicted or chore-related. Somehow it is much easier to deal with pain when it's self-inflicted, wouldn't you agree? Looking back, I have to admit that I've been able to tolerate plenty of pain -- of two ankle reconstructions, of lower back pain associated with scoliosis, of bike wrecks, and now of some pretty nasty bone spurs in my ankle joint--in a pretty admirable fashion, with little complaint (well, if you discount my incessant whining to The Husband and BFF Sue). Leading up to each of my ankle reconstructions, I tolerated the associated pain for a long..long...LONG time before agreeing to surgery, even completing 16-weeks of training and the Chicago marathon on a crappy ankle with a stress fracture.


Why does this matter? Well, with regards to pain, I never honestly registered the pain as being so severe as to truly NEED surgery. Sure, I was icing my ankle after each and every run, hobbling around most days, but I had done that back in high school and college every single day after basketball practice. My two ice buckets and the training room were my best friends, and it just seemed normal to have to do the same thing as an adult in my new sport of choice.. It was normal, wasn't it? Apparently not.

I was interested to read that there does seem to be a correlation between athletes and their tolerance for pain, and this could quite possibly shed a little light onto why those of us who have always been athletes, throughout childhood and as adults, can take just a little more discomfort than our new-to-the-active-life counterparts. Being the research-minded individual that I am, I began to research.  Yesterday I happened across an article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution which supported the idea that athletes and even your run-of-the-mill weekend warrior are more tolerant of pain than their non-active counterparts (Full Article Here).

I truly believe my childhood and my athletic past has enabled me to handle pain in a vastly different way than many people might. There aren't many things that will keep me from running...even the need for surgery that I'm currently coping with. However, another interesting idea relating to pain tolerance in adult women that DOESN'T apply to me is that women are able to achieve greater things athletically after giving birth. I suppose that would certainly explain why my age-group is so freaking competitive, then, wouldn't it? Hmmmm again. It seems some of the research also supports this, and I found this article particularly interesting (Read Article). The research suggests that, "When it comes down to it, labor may make the most difference. Enduring hours of contractions and delivery -- and sometimes C-section recovery to boot -- may raise women's pain threshold." Of course, a lot of that strength is surely mental because, in my opinion, if you can endure all things baby/toddler/kid/teenager AND manage to train for any event at all besides becoming an alcholic, you are MUCH stronger than me any day and you can endure any pain your little 'ol body can throw your way. Broken foot? Try again, sucker. I'm a mom. Take that...and give me another margarita!

So how did I answer my coworker who wanted to know how I handle pain? After a moment's pause during which I contemplated being truthful ("I suck it up.") or being supportive ("I rest and stretch."), I went with the supportive answer. Every woman who is stepping out of her comfort zone, pushing her limits, and testing her own strength IS "sucking it up," and I am going to support that endeavor every step along the way every day.

See You On The Run....