Shutting Off the Pain Switch

[Mike Oliver]

I was the result of an interesting stumbling block in my training last night. The moment the last student left the dojo I felt a sharp pain in my foot every time I put weight on it. It wasn't the first time that I was seen lightly limping out of a musty dojo--and I know won't be the last,

I believe it was caused by the unusual amount of stress that I put on my feet. My 3 mile run earlier in the morning was done mostly barefoot and was the longest that I've run barefoot on a hard surface in a while. Barefoot running is much different than running with shoes. The stride is different and you have to watch where you step.

So why did I not feel it until 12 hours later? Well my mind does have a tendency to shut off the pain switch during times that it would not be appropriate for it to manifest. Our mind is amazing at allowing us to get done what needs to get done if our head is in the right space. The dojo is a great help in getting our minds in that space. When we bow in and leave the outside world behind we are entering an almost sacred place. It's a time where our mundane life is set aside and we become warriors. Our hope is that when the time comes in our mundane life that it becomes important to set aside pain (physical, mental, or emotional) that we can "summon up" that same space that the dojo provides.

So, after only one day of hard training, I am forced to modify my regime just a little and give my foot time to recover. That means no running today with lots of make-up time to be had in the coming days. I will keep on track to reach my goal of 1,000 miles by the end of 2011.

If you get injured... when you get injured from training remember that it is just something that happens. We can take the proper steps to prevent and treat our injuries but don't let it take you out all together. It only changes how we manifest our training--it doesn't shut it off entirely.

[Lisa Spagnolo]

So sorry! Good lesson to listen to the body. I thought you might be going w/ the Vibram FiveFingers when you mentioned your shoes in an earlier post.

[Susan Bitar]

There was an article in The Bee today about running-related injuries and the importance of rest. :)