How many of us do something stupid or awful or awful stupid to ourselves and then look for a way out – fast? Yes, that is correct - ALL of us at one time or another.  Yeah, yeah, OK, not you, but nearly everyone else.

Nobody likes being sick or hurt, especially athletes and double especially runners.  By the way, who was the idiot that coined the phrase “run through the injury”? Never mind, I don’t really want to know. If he or she (no, I’m pretty sure it was a he) hadn’t coined the phrase we would have just had to do it ourselves.  Nobody wants to be incapacitated by a cold or some kind of injury.

It seems to be that time of year when a person can take just a few minutes to reflect. I am sitting here in the Rocky Mountains having recently returned from a run in the cold and snow. I used to do that all the time when I didn’t live in Vancouver, but am reminded that for a lot of runners winter really does tend to be a down time for serious training. Today was a ‘nice’ day, but it was still cold for a Wet Coast boy. OR, maybe it was cold for a Wet Coast senior citizen.  I keep forgetting about that. It tends to explain why the same runs are longer (they are if you use a watch to measure them) and the hills are higher. So, I guess it might also explain why a not so very cold day feels cold.  In any case, my run today reminded me that there are seasons to running. For most people anyway.

It is good to have that time when you may be able to run, but unless you are very serious and ready to do a lot of ‘distance’ on a treadmill, your runs tend to be for maintenance and just for the pure enjoyment of getting out there, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. It is a good time for rest and recovery as well as planning. I am using it to write a bit, here on the blog and on some other projects as well. Of course in Vancouver racing season will kick off anytime now. Two of the Lower Mainland run series begin in January and then just keep going.

So, what does that have to do with the clever title?

Well, for one thing, if you have been injured or are suffering a nagging ‘thing’ that won’t go away, this may be a good time to follow the tongue in cheek doctor’s advice:”Don’t do that!”  That simple, it is. If you have been ‘running through’ something, winter is a great time to really get the rest and recovery you need, up to and including not running at all for at least a little while. Dig out the articles on alternative (eg water running) and cross-training techniques and see if there is an answer there. What better time is there for taking the break you need to either just let nature help you recover, or if necessary to actually seek professional help to right whatever is wrong. And, if it seems that what ails you is more serious, then by all means see the appropriate medical practioner and get some expert advice.

Don’t get me wrong. If you have a serious problem, you need to deal with it ASAP. You don’t want to wait until winter to do it. That said, one of the reasons this is a great time of year for repairs is that psychologically, there is less of a feeling that you will miss something if you take that time. The same ASAP approach applies to illness as well, maybe more. A few days off with a cold won’t ruin your training, but driving it down into your chest or bringing on bronchitis or such, will.

One thing I am smart enough to know is that I don’t actually know a lot. If you want specific advice about a specific problem, I am not the guy to talk to about it. What you will get from me is the kind of general advice just offered. I do believe that is valuable advice though, because the first thing a person has to do is make up his/her mind that they must DO SOMETHING. Once you really make up your mind at that level, you are ready to seek the expert advice you may need. Most of us self-diagnose and determine that our problem is: a) not really serious and b) it will be fine if I just back off a little and ‘run through it’. I know I’ve done it, and in 2011, it effectively cost me my running year. When I finally acknowledged that I couldn’t run through it, things started to get better, but it still took until part way through 2012 before I was running easily and becoming relatively happy with race times.  Any of that sound familiar?

I could give a whole list of examples of poeple I know who did things right and made excellent recoveries. I could also give a fairly extensive list (starting with me) of people who tried to brave it out and cost themselves far more time, heart-ache and probably pain – definitely frustration. The reader will be pleased to hear that I have no intention of doing that. For one thing, you can probably make your own two lists by filling in the names of people you know. You will have to decide for yourself, on which list you belong.

One thing I do know is that once you figure out what needs to happen, that is what you should do, whether it is stop running completely and get something fixed, or change the workout routine to accommodate and then repair an injury. I am a great believer in self-advocating with medical professionals and making sure you get sound advice. By that, I don’t mean the advice you want to hear, but rather the advice that makes real sense and leads to an acceptable outcome. Too many doctors and other professionals do not run, nor understand runners. You may not get the best advice from such a person. Do make sure your medical advisor understands.  Sometimes achieving the desired outcome means a lot of work and a lot of patience, but I know people who have been told their running was finished, yet are now back out there winning races, or at least their age categories. Those people DID NOT ‘run through it’. They did what they needed to do and took the time required to make the repair and then sustainably regain fitness. In one instance it meant changing running style or technique, but it worked.

So, on this cold wintery day, there you have my thoughts on a subject we all need to consider, because no matter who we might be, at some point we will be faced with a situation that requires a decision about what to do now as it relates to injury or illness, and both the short and long term.

The photo is thanks to Sugar “Tuff Gong” Bong, aka “That Runnin’ Guy‘ (sometimes known as Chris Morales) who learned the hard way about getting stuff fixed and being patient. That is his ‘boot’ adorning the ‘Bolting’ Reggae Runner. Boot walked the 2012 Reggae 10K – a wise decision, and you can read all about it at the blog link.