Stubborn, Stupid or Brave

This article goes out to those athletes who goes through the pain of an injury to train or race. I'm sure all of us have been through it or have seen fellow athletes and friends, who just can't sit home to rest and recover from injury.

It's hard to describe them actually. Are they just stubborn, stupid or brave? I guess even high profile athletes goes through this at least once in their sporting career. Lance Armstrong, who won 7 straight Tour De France title, admitted in his book, "Lance Armstrong: It's not about the bike":-

"Of course, I should have known that something was wrong with me. But athletes, especially cyclsits, are in the business of denial. You deny all the aches and pains because you have to in order to finish the race. It's a sport of self-abuse. You're on your bike for the whole day, six and seven hours, in all kinds of weather and conditions, over cobblestones and gravel, in mud and wind and rain, and even hail, and you do not give in to pain.
Everything hurts. Your back hurts, your feet hurt, your hands hurt, your neck hurts, your legs hurt, and of course, your butt hurts.
So no, I didn't pay attention to the fact that I didn't feel well in 1996. When my right testicle became slightly swollen that winter, I told myself to live with it, because I assumed it was something I had done to myself on the bike, or that my system was compesating for some physiological male thing. I was riding strong, as well as I ever had, actually, and there was no reason to stop" ~ Lance Armstrong

Just to let those who don't know much about Lance's history, he was diagnosed with testiscular cancer in 1996. After going through, chemotheray and surgery, he went on a road to recovery, came into his beloved sport and went on to win his first of his 7 Tour De France victories.

So how many of you have gone through this stage, saying the same thing what Lance has said - you do not give in to pain? Of course, I don not mean getting cancer, even injuries such as the common knee pain, ankle pain, etc. Do we rest? Or do we continue on and say this is just something which I need endure to get better in my sport? Or even having a fever, how many times have you heard that from your friend (or maybe you youself have been through it), he or she is having fever, but there they are, at the starting line.

For myself, yes, I do admit that at times, I tried to ignore the pain and train on. More so, if it's a race. But lately, if I do feel pain I will try to rest a day or two, to recover from it. Weeks, if need be. It depends on the severity of the injuries. Even if I come back, will try to do things slow and not try to hurry myself back into shape. Probably getting old. Haha!

The point is, I think there are many out there who just can't seem to find the courage to rest when they seriously need it. I have friends who just went through a surgery or even gone through a series medication/treatments and next thing you know, they are back training and competing, just a week or two after it or even sooner. And they still continue to have pain and try to ignore it as much as possible, until it becomes unbearable again.

Then you have those beginners or those trying to be fit or lose weight. They went straight into the sport and play it like there's no tomorrow. In this case, sports like running, cycling and even gym workouts. These are common sports exposing beginners to injuries. For those getting into running, since it has strong impact on your legs and knees, most beginners will feel sore the very next day, especially in almost every part of their legs/feet. And even beginners will try to ignore it.

Sometimes, they do need to get the right advice before starting out a sport. For beginners in running, what they need to do is to start it slow, maybe doing brisk walking first before they actually start running. One should not go right into what other seasonal runners are doing. You are just exposing yourself into injuries.

For those injured runners, my only advice is (although maybe I am not the right person to say it), you need to REST. It won't kill your fitness, just to rest yourself for a few days, a week or maybe two, to recover from your soreness/pain. If it gets any worse, maybe you will need to see a specialist to diagnose your problem and get treatment.

All I can say is, we are not Lance Armstrong.