The Workout I’m Regretting

The “inspirational” fitness memes that bug me the most are the ones based on the idea that you never regret a workout. I get it. There are many days I’ve snoozed through my workout time and then regretted that I didn’t get my workout in, but there also are times when I have found myself regretting a workout.

Regret That Workout

Right now, I’m regretting a workout I did at the track last week. Before I tell you more about that, here’s a quick rundown of my workouts for the Weekly Wrap hosted by Holly and Tricia.

Monday: 30 minute full body strength workout; 60 minute Core Power Yoga 2
Tuesday: 5 mile run 
Wednesday: 45 minute indoor cycling
Thursday: track workout: 400/800/1200/1600/400/400
Friday: 30 minute full body strength workout;
Saturday: rest
Sunday: 45 minute indoor cycling

So, what happened at the track? During the last lap of that 1200 the top of my right foot started hurting, rather suddenly, in a place similar to where it was fractured last summer. 🙁

Regret That Workout

I immediately regretted breaking my own rule about being wary of new running shoes. (Yes, the rule I JUST wrote about!) I was trying out the Newton Fate running shoes that I was sent to review for Criteek. I had worn them on the treadmill before with no ill effects, and thought that their light weight and “action/reaction” technology would be perfect for a track workout. 

Newton Fate

Aren’t they pretty?

Since I don’t even know what’s going on with my foot, I really can’t blame the shoes, but they are the leading suspect in this tale of woe.

Now, here’s where I got really stupid, and why I might use this post for my March Runfessions on Friday. 

Runfessions

Instead of stopping when I acknowledged that my foot hurt, I went to the car to switch my shoes to my trusted Mizunos, and finished my planned workout. Not only that, I was proud of myself for not pushing through the pain in the Newtons. It was only when my foot still hurt Friday night that I realized how wrong that was. I should have stopped altogether when my foot hurt. It honestly never even crossed my mind. 🙁

I am still giving myself credit for taking a rest day on Saturday, which was going to be my last serious training run before the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run on April 3. I had planned to do a 10 mile run around the Tidal Basin and Hains Point, partly to see the cherry blossoms (whose blooming has been delayed by cold weather anyway), but mostly to do a practice run around Hains Point, since it’s always the most challenging section of the course. Now, I’ll just have to face its tedium on race day.

More Runfessions

I ran 3 miles on Monday, 5 miles on Wedensday, and might be contemplating a run in Boulder later today. My foot is not 100% better so I hope I’m not making it worse, but I had too many “special event” runs I didn’t want to miss this week. 

[Tweet “The #workout I’m regretting #runchat #runfessions”]

Weekly WrapDid your weather get cold again last week?

Do you try to ignore injuries and hope they go away?

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62 Responses to The Workout I’m Regretting

  1. Marcia says:

    Oh man this gives me post-traumatic stress. I had an incident with a certain pair of Newtons the last time I trained for the Boston Marathon. Running in them put me in the pool for 3 weeks rehabbing a posterior tibialis strain. Sorry this happened. Hopefully you caught it in time.

  2. Kim Westrich says:

    I hope your foot feels better quickly! I think I would have done the same thing – switching shoes and finishing the workout. That meme drives me nuts. Every time I see it I start thinking of all of the examples of workouts that I, or one of my friends, regrets. “Running is cheaper than therapy” annoys me, too. Because, um, not always!

  3. Who me? Ignore an injury and hope it goes away?

    Do you even know me?

  4. Karen says:

    Don’t beat yourself up Coco. It is always a hard call when to stop and when something is serious. After I had my stress fracture I would feel my “spot” almost a year out from the injury. It was very random and it never progressed into anything. I hope it feels better a little taper time.
    Switching shoes is tough, sometimes our feet do need to adjust. It strange how little things in the cut really impact us.
    I hope all is well!!
    and yes, I have HUGE regrets about how I handled the month before my foot exploded. I should have just stopped, because I was having issues on an off for a few months.

  5. Chaitali says:

    Oh no! I hope the foot feels better soon. I agree that I find some of those fitness memes super annoying.

    • Coco says:

      Thanks! Finger’s crossed that another day off has it feeling better. Otherwise I’ll have to think about getting an x-ray.

  6. HoHo Runs says:

    My left foot is literally hurting in sympathy. I swear. I know that pain. It is frightening! (Remember, I’m still running with a neuroma that sometimes feels similar to the original stress fracture.) I think we’ve all pushed through a painful run. You are not the first. And you should get all the credit in the world for not running on it since. Hopefully, it will be better very soon and you can breathe that wonderful sigh of relief. Fingers crossed. Thanks for linking with us Coco.

  7. I read something recently about discomfort versus pain. If something hurts I will usually slow down a bit. If it is discomfort, it usually goes away and I am glad I pushed through. If it is pain, it doesn’t go away and I usually end up walking. I want to keep on running, so I don’t worry much about my paces any more. I just don’t want to be injured.
    Hope all is fine !

    • Coco says:

      That’s a good way to look at things. The problem is, I have a high tolerance to pain and can ignore a lot, so I don’t always trust myself!

  8. That was a great idea to keep your other shoes with you just in case. I have always had issues with shoes and my problem feet. Just got new custom orthotics though, and I think that is helping.

  9. I try not to rely on memes for inspiration but I’m also a firm believer in it’s ok to quit. I know it’s not the “runner” way but you, and only you, know your body best so if it doesn’t feel right certainly don’t do it. Sorry this happened. I bought a pair of Saucony last summer and they made my shins hurt. I kept running in them thinking they needed just to be broken in but after a while realized they were a problem. Feel better soon!

    • Coco says:

      Hah! You should make a meme out of that: Sometimes it is okay to quit. 🙂 Truthfully, we need to remember to take care of ourselves and not always push ourselves.

  10. I agree, there are times when we should stop ourselves. When it’s just I want to sit on the couch instead, yeah you will regret those ones. But when it comes to pain or injury, we need to give ourselves the break and listen to our bodies.

  11. Those Newtons are pretty darn cute! Damn foot! Heal fast!!! Good luck on April 3rd too! I’ll look forward to reading your recap!

  12. Pam says:

    Oh I am so sorry about your track workout and the renewed foot pain. Hopefully it is minor and some extra rest will get you back to feeling great in no time. Out weather was really chilly and then rainy for our race here yesterday. This morning it was 46* after a wonderful week of warm weather last week. Springtime can be rough!

  13. Umm yeah. A few years ago I had a stress fracture in my left foot. I didn’t know it at the time, I just knew it hurt when I did certain things. So, while I did less of those things, I didn’t stop them all together. By the time I was finally diagnosed the doc said I was a few runs away from needing surgery rather than just a boot. Last time I’ll ever run on an injury or even so much as a sharp pain. Ever again.

    Hope you feel better!

  14. Eek!! I hope your foot gets better quickly! We did get cold weather this weekend – just in time for my first half marathon of the season haha.

  15. Ugh as you know I’ve done the same thing before and learned the hard way. It’s just not worth it. I really hope with a few days rest you will be ok.

  16. Carmy says:

    For sure! There are times when I pushed myself when I really shouldn’t have it I’ve always regretted it.

  17. Margo says:

    I am so happy you posted it because I detest that “said no one ever” meme in general but especially about never regretting a workout. Drives me nuts because people do not need to feel guilty for taking a rest day.

  18. Gosh, don’t we all wish we had that crystal ball that told us when to quit or enough is enough. I am guilty of saying this all too often “Listen to your Body” But that is so hard, you mind gets to thinking this and then that and you really don’t know what to do. I sure hope a few days rest will help your foot Coco! Thanks for the reminder about Runfessions, how is it that time again???

    • Coco says:

      Yes, a crystal ball would be good. Better than a Magic 8 Ball at least! Time is flying! I guess 2016 is almost 1/4 done.

  19. Oh no!!!! I’m so glad you posted this because I may have to throw that meme out the window now! Hope you’re healing quickly!

    • Coco says:

      Thanks. Hopefully it’s not just wishful thinking, but it is feeling a bit better now. I still regret the angst that workout caused!

  20. Jenn says:

    Aw 🙁 I’m sorry you got hurt.

    There are times when something will hurt and I will push through to reevaluate. Most recently, I’ve had to take a break to actively rehab and recover, which is exactly zero fun. 🙁

    Feel better!

    We went from 80s last week to 40s this morning. No, thank you!

  21. Dang it Coco I hope this is nothing serious and a few days of rest will take care of it. Feel better!

  22. Cassi says:

    I get so many aches and pains I never know what’s real until it doesn’t go away or happens again.

  23. Last week was great! This week -cold! i do try to listen to my body and give it a chance to shake it out per say but if somethings lingers to long I will stop- better safe than sorry 🙂

  24. I hope your foot feels better soon, especially with Cherry Blossom right around the corner. Its so hard to listen to our bodies when they’re screaming for rest, but it sounds like you really need to give your foot some TLC right now.

  25. Tamieka says:

    Oh no 🙁 ….I hope you feel better and figure out what is wrong.

    Brrrr..yes! Ran the Charlottesville 10 miler this Saturday…I was FREEZING never warmed up during the entire race!!

  26. Agh! Sorry to hear about your foot! I hope it heals soon! I’m notoriously bad about ignoring injuries. Right now, I have a pretty bad finger sprain, which has not kept me from setting 3x a week (plus two tournaments) in volleyball since I first injured myself a couple of weeks back. 😐

  27. Kim Hatting says:

    It depends on the injury as to how I choose to acknowledge it LOL If it’s a “familiar” ache or pain, I go lightly. If it’s something out-of-the-blue (and painful), I get overly cautious…to the point of extreme rest. Neither approach is probably ideal. It’s a total Catch-22 trying to figure out the random aches/pains….never knowing if it will go away on its own, or if it needs complete rest. Hope your foot feels better!

  28. I’m getting better at stopping when there’s pain, except in a race. Fingers crossed that it’s something minor and heals quickly with a little rest.

  29. Lauren says:

    Ugh no fun….here’s to a speedy recovery!

  30. steena` says:

    YES!! I hate those inspirational images all over. Especially the ones that imply to quit your job & move to an island. WTF? Just not realistic.
    Sorry about your foot, hope some ice helps!

  31. Rachel says:

    Oh no! I hope this is nothing to really worry about. I also wear Mizunos and Newtons and I honestly love them both. I had zero issue switching between the two, and I’ve since added a pair of zero drop shoes into the mix. Fingers crossed for you that the pain is gone ASAP.

    • Coco says:

      Oh, interesting! I hate to give up on the Newtons, but right now I’m scared! Maybe I’ll try them again after my spring races.

  32. I feel like that’s such a common theme for a lot of runners – pushing through pain and being proud of it (until later we realize we just injured ourselves and that it was silly to push through any pain). I know I need to remind myself that when something hurts, I should stop. I can always go back the next day and do the workout again if needed, but it’s silly to bring on an injury out of pride.

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  34. Oh no! Not the foot! I hope everything is ok. Glad you took off the shoes that were bothering you but hopefully nothing serious has happened!

  35. I honestly would have done the same thing (switched shoes). We runners can be stubborn sometimes and never think to just finish a workout 🙂 But I hope your foot is ok and you’re back at it in no time!

  36. Do you even know me? Of course I push through injuries. It’s who I am. Everyone was so surprised when I stopped running 2 weeks ago with that hip pain. But I know my body pretty well, and I know when to push and when to pull back.

    Most of the time, that is…

  37. I hope your foot is feeling 100% really soon! I have had my fair share of injuries so I am overly cautious. As soon as I feel something wrong, I back off! I had a similar situation as you! This past Wed. I finished a speed workout on the treadmill, cooled down, and then did a 10 min walk. During the walk I felt a pain in my hamstring. I was so pissed! I took the next day off and luckily it went away, but I was so worried it was going to be something huge. I was proud of my workout, but then when I felt the pain walking I was angry that I pushed myself so hard.

  38. Darn those Newtons! I just finally sent off a pair that I wore a few years ago that ultimately led to my stress fracture…bad memories. I hope your foot recovers soon! Can’t wait to meet you this weekend!

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