Monday, October 19, 2009

Pain is weakness beating the crap out of the body

epic fail pictures

What is it with the macho slogans? On the 10k last week, I saw slogans like "Pain is weakness leaving the body." Um, no. It's not.

Why do people have to make pain seem like a grand and praiseworthy achievement? It's a sign you've pushed the body farther than is healthy; that's not something to praise. Sometimes you need to cross the border before you can realize your limits, fine. But there's no need to rhapsodize over it.

Pain is your body trying to slap you upside the head to get your attention already.

If I'd listened to my body when I first hurt the shins, instead of ignoring the problem and forging ahead, I wouldn't have managed to injure the tendons to the point where they're still complaining a week later.

I think pain was designed to teach us patience. Supposedly, shin pain is something beginners encounter when they try to do too much too soon. Sounds 'bout right. (It would help if I got my car fixed so I didn't have to walk so much. Pain is trying to make me an organized person. Yeah, good luck with that.)


Exercise du jour:
Week 6 of the (full) 100 push up challenge
Day 1
(60 seconds rest in between)
Set 1 - 25
Set 2 - 30
Set 3 - 20
Set 4 - 15
Set 5 - 40

Update du 7:44 pm: Look, I really don't want to do these push ups. I'm whining about it here in the hopes that this will shame me into doing it anyway. If I only exercised when I felt like it, I would be Jabba the Hut's body double.

Update du 8:10 pm: Okay, no star today. Maybe half a star. Got halfway through set 4 before the arm pain became unreasonable. I can take a hint when the body becomes unsubtle about it, and this is one of those times. Off to fraternize with Mr. IcePack.

A belated Quote du jour:
"Finish each day
And be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and
Absurdities have crept in.
Forget them as soon as you can."

- Emerson

6 comments:

Dr. J said...

This is your weekly Florida weather report, Merry! Cold!! It hit the upper 30's in my area this AM! lol!

Charlotte said...

Hahah! So true about the stupid t-shirt maxims at races. "Pain is trying to make me an organized person" - not as pithy but SO true, lol!

messymimi said...

I agree with you that pain is not something to try to achieve, it is a warning sign.

As my father the doctor says, when you are in pain, do something about it early, while it can be treated with one small dose or a few days rest. Don't wait until it gets so bad you have to call in the big guns.

The Merry said...

Dr. J, brrr! That doesn't sound like the Florida you see on T.V.

Charlotte, what is it about races and silly slogans? Do they make people feel better?

Messymimi, yes exactly. If I'd rested my legs this week, instead of walking/running everywhere, they'd be all better by now.

Marste said...

My dance teacher used to say, "Pain is your body's way of telling you that something's wrong. Your job is to learn to distinguish between the minor wrongs (like muscle soreness) and the major wrongs (like sprains and tears)."

She was a wise lady, in my personal opinion.

McB said...

If your body was an SUV, Pain would be the light on dashboard telling you that your oil is low and your battery needs checked.

whismus ... that other holiday