“Ignore it, it will pass…” “This tendonitis is getting worse!” “Not cramping again?!”
These are all inner thoughts most of us runners will have had. Your instinct is to resist the pain. To fight it. Surely that will make it go yes?
Another technique is to try to ignore it by focusing on something else. That may be your running form, the landscape, the sound of your feet touching the trails. It’s all resistance in another form.
Well earned rest cresting Rooley Moor Road
“What is he getting at?” you might ask
Well I’ve found myself doing all of the above for years and, for me, none of it has ever worked. Instead, it has cost me energy, draining me of valuable stamina and efficiency I need to run. But it’s all I’ve ever known. That was until a June this year…
For a few years I’ve been using the Headspace app for meditating. It’s been a revelation in many ways. More than anything it’s developed my ability to take even a few seconds out and just ‘be’ – emptying my mind of any rushing thoughts by simply relaxing and focusing on my breathing. So what has that got to do with pain? Well here is my attempted and probably quite poor explanation.
Fronting up to pain
Through the Headspace pain pack, I learned the technique of actually focusing on the pain. Literally focusing on the very outer edges, then gradually getting closer to the central point of where it is coming from. Ultimately you put all your focus into the very heart of the pain itself. I learned that when you get there, it is not one tangible thing. It shifts and consists of so many elements. It’s no longer possible to feel it in the same way. In fact it seems to disperse – a total paradox to my way of previous thinking.
You might be wondering how you could use a meditation technique when in the process of running. I can only give you my own experience: I had an ongoing niggle in my right knee and right calf. When running the trails, movement would become ever more restricted and result in me struggling to run. Each time I was wishing it would go away – resisting it. On learning the new technique of focusing ON the pain, I gave it a try when running some local trails. As soon as the knee pain in particular kicked in and my movement started to be affected, rather than try to fight it, I actually started to focus in on it. Taking my mind gradually from the outer edges of the knee pain, right into the very heart of where it had been really hurting. I found that there was nothing there to tangibly hang on to, or to resist. The pain quite literally seemed to disperse like a fading ripple into my lower and upper right leg. My mind was immediately more rested, as was my body. My running form returned to something more (ahem) efficient. My trail run and the resultant benefits became more enjoyable and effective. My head was back in the pleasure of running trails.
None of this means the pain didn’t occasionally return. But I now had a way to manage it – fronting up in a relaxed and very calm manner. This approach has been a major boost to helping me along the #Run1000Miles challenge 2017.
If you’re interested, you can read far more about this approach. Experts like @MeganJonesBell can explain pain management far better than I ever could. What I hope to have achieved with this post is making you aware of an alternative approach to our instinctive response to resist the pain. Instead try fronting it up and see if it benefits you as much as me 
Yours in sport
Jeff
That was the question posed during a meditation session on training motivation.
Up to a year ago my feelings would have responded in the positive. I was forever measuring myself against past performance. Getting frustrated at my inability to reach previous levels – be it a 5k, 10k, trail run or track session. Everything was a battle. Fighting Lyme Disease. A mindset of ‘beating’ chronic illness. That it won’t ‘defeat’ me.
All of this was counterproductive in the extreme. Not least because I became so focused on me and in some denial as to the extent of its impact on me and my family. I became a self-centred pr*ck. Behaviour never to be excused.
Turn to daily meditation and appreciating what we have in life resulted in a totally different outlook. A far more productive outlook and appreciating little things that matter. I use Headspace btw.
So the feelings that came when that question was asked were that happiness is not dependent on my goals. Being content comes from appreciating the life we have. The constant flux. Saying goodnight to those we love. A simple smile
Related to training and running. I have learned to appreciate the joy of being active, whenever my body and time allows. So to smile when out running rather than being driven by times. Appreciating the beautiful off-road routes on our doorstep. Running mindfully when jogging with the kids – who are both getting quicker!! Truly appreciating the fact I can still be active when lots of chronic illness sufferers cannot.
You might be returning from a long spell of injury, frustrated at how hard you now find training. Be kind to yourself and remind yourself of why you do it. Is it for views and fresh air? Wellbeing of mind & body? For the simple fun of exercise?
All the best
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