New motto

[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.

[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....

[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

[bluejellybean]

Here, here!! I love the complete physical exhaustion kind of pain!

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

[Catrin]

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

My default assumption is that all pain is from working hard - my pain threshold is very high. Of course there is a difference, but I developed micro-tears in my Achilles tendon last summer because of of being stubborn

So now I am trying to pay more attention to what kind of pain it actually is... and it has been helpful working with a personal trainer. He really pushes me to my boundaries, but he does keep me from pushing TOO hard. I've been physically inactive for many years due to my job so last summer I just plain overdid it. The combination of being out of condition, stubbornness, and a high pain threshold can be a bad combination.