New motto

[ny biker]

From Robbie McEwan on twitter:

suffering=>fitness

This joins "pain is a sign of weakness leaving the body" and "pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever." Also, "pain heals, chicks dig scars, glory lasts forever." Even though I'm not trying to impress any chicks with my scars.

And of course there's "harden the f*** up." I need one of those wristbands.

[Zen]

"pain is a sign of weakness leaving the body"

I've always hated that one.
Pain is the body's 'check engine' light. It's trying to tell you something.

[ehirsch83]

"pain is a sign of weakness leaving the body"

I've always hated that one.
Pain is the body's 'check engine' light. It's trying to tell you something.

I don't agree Zen

Sometimes things hurt, but you learn you can push through them and push your body that extra mile. Just b/c you feel the burn of the lactic acid, doesn't mean you need to give up- push harder then you think and you will be amazed at what your body does.

Pain isn't always connected to injury

[Zen]

I don't agree Zen

Now we must fight.

What you describe is not pain. It's suffering but not true pain.

[OakLeaf]

I hear ya and I hate that catch-phrase too, but really, the kind of sensation that's analogous to a "check engine light" is likely to be only moderately painful. Knee twinges letting you know to roll out your IT bands. Angina. Etc. The kind of thing that says "your body is still driveable but you need to fix something." Pain from fatigued muscles in the last stages of a race or a hard interval is often more uncomfortable than those important, niggling little signs of injury.

I think what you're calling "true pain" is more like those big red exclamation points on your dashboard, followed by bizarre noises and a stalled engine.

[Eden]

hmmmm gotta agree with Oak and Emily on this one.

What Emily describes certainly is pain (and in any case suffering is just the state of enduring pain, physical or otherwise). Lactic acid, burning lungs - indeed can be awesomely physically painful, though not physically harmful.

The trick is learning what kinds of pain are safe to push through and which ones are telling you something is truly wrong. Pain is not always necessarily commensurate with injury.

[Becky]

Pain is the body's 'check engine' light. It's trying to tell you something.

I tend to agree. The trick, IME, is to figure out whether it's good pain from working hard or bad pain b/c you're on the verge of an injury.

If it's good pain, then HTFU and keep going

[kermit]

My favorite motto is from a friend who was an Army ranger. He used to ride mountain bikes with me and my husband and then he would run the trails with a 40lb. rucksack. "Suck it up, drink water".

[Zen]

Lactic acid, burning lungs - indeed can be awesomely physically painful, though not physically harmful.

I know what that feels like but would describe it as painful only in a hyperbolic sense.

I think I have a high tolerance.

[Eden]

I know what that feels like but would describe it as painful only in a hyperbolic sense.

I think I have a high tolerance.

Maybe so, but then maybe you have never pushed yourself that hard either.

Lots of cyclists, especially racers, have a high tolerance for pain, otherwise we wouldn't do it. I have a high tolerance for pain - had a physical therapist tell me that "usually this makes people scream". Best he could do was get me to wiggle my toes a bit.

That doesn't mean I can't push myself to the point of real physical pain on the bike. At the end of an uphill TT I can be to the point where I can't even stop and get off the bike without fear of toppling straight over. I assure you that it hurts and it is not hyperbole, nor am I a sissy about hurting myself. The sick thing is that it not un-enjoyable....

[Crankin]

I have mixed feelings about these types of expressions. I know the "pain" of the burn and of feeling like my legs are going to give out. A lot of the time I work past this and other times I choose not to. I have climbed some painful hills that others would definitely avoid! On the other hand, I agree with Zen. I have had chronic pain that was a warning, like the niggling pain in my right lower back. I ignored it, ran through it, and now it's a big pain. I also have some chronic things that if I push it, I'll be complaining, seriously. In fact, I spend a lot of my riding time with my DH complaining when he "pushes" me.
I also agree that competitive cyclists (or other competitive sports) do have a higher pain threshold. I saw what my son went through and I know he could tolerate stuff that most mortals could not. This is why he's in the Marines, too. It's a certain type of person. I am not one of them... although I do think that compared to my "regular" friends and acquaintances, I am pretty tough. I have more than a few friends that don't even like to sweat, even though they are perfectly capable of exercising.

[ny biker]

Okay I meant this all in a lighthearted way. Of course there is a difference between injury and working hard.

Never mind.

[redrhodie]

My motto is, "let's eat chocolate" even though it turn me into a scary b!tch.

[Librarygirl]

I think also sometimes that mental pain can be as bad as physical pain. I have suffered from an anxiety disorder on and off for many years. It recently 'flared up' again over the last few months, and while not exactly a catalyst for me starting to ride again after not riding for several years (that's a whole other story) , I think it gave me the motivation to keep on with it rather than giving up like I always have before with exercise.

I think I realised that the release from the anxiety (and depression) that cycling gives me outweighs the physical 'suffering' that I experience when I really push myself on the bike. It is also teaching me to challenge myself, to do stuff that scares me - I recently got clipless pedals, have fallen over and bruised myself, scabbed elbows, but know that I need to keep doing it until it gets less scary and easier.

One thing I'm not so keen on though - a few weeks ago I had food poisoning and now I find that I feel a bit pukey when I go up a difficult hill. Has only started happening since I got sick. Anyone else had this? Will it maybe go away soon?

[Zen]

Maybe so, but then maybe you have never pushed yourself that hard either.
.

You have no idea.