Are runners the worst at taking advice?

Injuries - Annoying for everyone

I was out running last night with Mike (@mikew30) as part of our new regular #Tuesdayrunclub social run and we got to talking about injuries.

Now, I have been quite fortunate that over the 4 years or so that I have been running. I have managed to stay relatively injury free. Mike also commented that he had managed to dodge any serious injuries, although judging by some of the decisions he has made following a twisted ankle on the squash court, I can only conclude that he has some sort of Wolverine-like super steel running through his bones and joints.....only without the claws......and the beard....

We both acknowledged that we, as runners were far better at dishing out advice to other injured runners than we were at actually taking that advice and applying it to our own situations. I suspect most have us have been there at some point. I know I have had a couple of niggles and near injuries, particularly whilst preparing for marathons recently. And I whilst I have dropped the odd run or swapped out a tough session for something a bit easier, I do admit to finding any deviation from my training plan very difficult.

When running becomes so ingrained in our daily routine, it feels odd not to be running when you normally would or to have to substitute a run with a session on the cross trainer (something I did whilst training for the Brighton Marathon and absolutely hated!) You only have to look or listen to anyone who is tapering, or worse still, injured to know how frustrating it can be.

Your safe haven of Twitter, where you can share your exploits and talk to all those like-minded running buddies becomes a living nightmare as you see person after person logging run after run. Or worse still, those countless tweets from well-wishers with offers of useful (but ultimately frustrating) advice. Your timeline fills up with messages like "Chin up mate. You'll be back soon. Make sure you get plenty of rest and recover properly". (Something I am frequently guilty of!)

Mike was detirmined to bag a PB!

So, the moral of the story is, if you do feel a bit of a niggle in your ankle or a tight hammie. Think about what advice you would give to a fellow runner and more importantly, listen to that advice. Remember, we are not all Wolverine!