Pain Management

I find it very important to do a lot of mental preparation for the pain in the days before the race. Tell youseself that you're tough. Tell youself that you're not going to stop when it starts to hurt. I always create a phrase or two that I say over and over again before and during my race, something like: "I will not walk. I will not walk. I will not..." Thay way, when I feel like walking during the run, I have told myself over and over again that I will not walk, and so I'm better prepared to face the pain of running. Adjust this mantra to your specific goals. Find something realistic, but useful.

I honestly just used this quote this morning while running! I only noticed it on the site yesterday, and today I remembered it when my knees started aching. I worked!

Kelly

Recently I came across this "If you think you can or cannot, you're right. "

I am always in pain, whether I am training or in a triathlon. I just tell myself that when the pain stops, I will be dead! The option is not that appealing to me.

some mental immagery sometimes does the trick as well...

i can imagine myself 200lbs overweight and on a couch w/ a big bowl of chips
then imagine myself with a toned hard, finely tuned machine-for-a-body.....

i figure its hard to achieve the second picture if i stop running/biking/swimming....

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I know this will sound very strange, but when in pain, I try to think of myself in 2 components like a rider and a horse. The horse is my physical body that is experiencing the pain. The rider (my mind) is that part of me that understands what the horse is going through and what it is capable of doing. The rider understands the pain, but pushes the horse through it.

It has worked in the past to get me through painful situations.

I've never really thought about it I just carry on. Even now while this collar bone is mending. I just don't think about it. Pain? This isn't pain. Go to the dentist and have your teeth drilled without anaesthetic. Now thats pain.

Ian

Remember the scene in Rocky where he is being pulverized, the round is over and he goes back to the corner all bloodied and disoriented?

The trainer keeps yelling at him "No Pain....No Pain... No Pain!"

I visualize that scene when the going gets tough

I do something similiar to the horse/rider thing, though different. :-)

I learned years ago, for me, pain is %100 mental. Knowing that, I can make most pain go away for short to long periods of time, depending on the nature and strength of the pain. I can get rid of any headache in seconds. My wife hates me and thinks I'm crazy at the same time. I figure pain is just the body telling the mind it hurts, I just use my mind to tell the body I know, now shut up.

Now, the above is hard for me to do sometimes while training; but, here is what I do when running and hitting a tough spot. If my body wants to quit I check two things first, am I breathing too hard and are my legs just killing me. If both are true I'll take a walk break, if its only one of the two I fight through it. Another trick for me is I have had an injury. I appreciate just being able to run(bike, swim too). I figure I am cheating myself if I don't run when I CAN, because soon enough I won't be able to. That pushes me through.

Edited by Tri4life 2004-07-06 5:41 PM