Careful Running

Growing up, I had the mentality of “Play hard or don’t play at all” when it came to softball. You know, the “Go big or go home” way of thinking.

I took practice seriously, I took summers off seriously, and I took games seriously. I loved the sport and I enjoyed being on the field. Softball didn’t come easy to me as I didn’t being playing until 7th grade and I was scared to death to transition to fast-pitch. Finally, it came to the point where I had to make a decision – either switch to fast pitch or don’t play at all. I trained hard, played on several all-star teams, and by the end of senior year, I made the All-District team. 

Pushing through pain wasn’t a question – we all did it, even if our coach wasn’t aware at the time. A teammate of mine used to tape her hand/wrist so tight, she couldn’t feel her thumb anymore. I once jammed my finger during a tournament and borrowed her tape for a “quick fix”. When I first began playing fast pitch, I can’t tell you how many times I crowded the plate so I could get hit by the pitch – that was an easy ride to first base. We did what we had to do to stay in the game.

This mentality followed me as I grew older. A couple of summer ago, I found myself on a softball field once again only this time, I was surrounded by adult women and men. While running to 2nd base after hitting a double, I was hit by a wayward ball. I heard someone yell “heads up”, so I reached 2nd base, ducked my head, and the ball hit me on the foot. No big deal, right? Wrong. The ball hit my foot in such a way that it split one of the phalanges in two –aka, I had a broken bone in my foot. Thankfully it was a clean break – I knew something was wrong when I couldn’t seem to “walk off” the pain. What do you think I did after that? My hard headed self and I finished playing the game. I finished the inning (running into home), then played the last inning in the outfield – I was in terrible pain but again, I did what I had to do to stay in the game.

With running, this “Go big or go home” mentality doesn’t always work, and I definitely learned the hard way when I dealt with my ITBand injury. If I could have taped up my knee so tight I couldn’t feel it and continued running, I would have. In the world of running, you have to listen to your body. Every ache or pain that goes ignored can lead to weeks and weeks of no running at all, perhaps even physical therapy or surgery.

I’ve noticed since my injury, I’m a more “careful” runner. I don’t always push myself as hard as I used to (which is not good for me or my sub 2 hour half marathon goal). Perhaps in a way, I’m scared to death of being injured again. I’ve told myself time and time again, some running is better than no running at all. Maybe I’m scared of being injured again? Maybe I feel as if my injury will resurface if I push myself too hard?

I’m still trying to draw the fine line between “go big or go home” and “careful running”.  In reality, maybe there really is no fine line to draw – maybe it’s ok to have a little bit of both in the mix. It IS possible to push yourself, but know your limits at the same time. I’m going to work on moving out of the comfort zone I’ve cornered myself into. I CAN be “careful” without being “overly careful”. 

Where do you fit into the picture? Are you a go big or go home kind of runner or do you find yourself more on the careful side?