Originally Posted on April 21, 2012 by Maureen Gibbons, TriTactics Multisport Coach, with, of course, invaluable insight from Greg Gibbons, the other half of TriTactics.
Now, the disclaimer comes first. If you don’t know the answer to the question of hurt vs. injured – ask your doctor. Period. Now for the rest…
During triathlon training, especially Ironman or iron distance training, you will hurt. Some days, all of you will hurt. Even Mirinda Carfrae, when asked about Kona 2011, replied “on that run, I never felt comfortable. I always hurt. I thought to myself ‘I should stop’ but then the pain got a little better and I kept going.” Was she hurting? Yes. Injured? Probably not.
As your distance, or your consistency of training, starts to increase and you literally tear down the muscle to make new, stronger muscle, your nerves let you know that you are doing damage. That sensation is felt as pain. When you take an errant step off the sidewalk and sprain an ankle, you tear the ligament (bone to bone connection) and that, too, is felt as pain.
So how to tell the difference? In a word: migration.
On a very long run, or long ride, if you pay close attention, you will have little to no pain free time. There is always a twinge here or there. Today, for example, on a zone 1-2 (low effort) 20 mile run, I had pain in my left achilles, then my right, then my left knee, then my left IT band. But when all was said and done, and I’d sat down for a bit, the only thing that hurt was my quads when I stood up. That’s just Ironman pain.
Does this mean that you should ignore all pain? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I didn’t ignore any pain today. I took a moment to ask myself “is this pain going away?” and “does it feel like real damage?” After a while of sitting with the pain, you will realize that most pain is transient and will go away. The “injury pain” lingers after you are done, or possibly even shows up before you start! So, be smart, take stock, and learn to feel the joy and pain that is triathlon – within reason, of course.
For more triathlon training information visit the TriTactics.com blog. Drs. Greg and Maureen Gibbons are both accomplished Ironman Finishers, physicians and USAT coaches.
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