Pain: Hurt vs. Harm

Pain is inevitable.  It's a part of growth.  I don't necessarily believe that pain is bad.  There's a difference between pain that hurts and pain that harms.  Years ago I met with a counselor while working through depression.  Those of you who have ever worked with a counselor know how emotionally painful it can be to talk about all the things you've buried over the years.  It's hard to dig those things up, look at them, recognize them for what they truly are (whatever that is for you) and then to finally let go and move on.  The counselor often used stories to help me face my pain.  He told me about a time he worked at a rehabilitation hospital.  One of his duties was to help patients into and out of the therapy pool, and depending on what was going on with their bodies, this could be very painful for them.  He told them, "This pain may hurt but it won't harm you."

Pain that hurts is temporary and is often a part of the healing process.  Recognizing that pain is a part of the healing process helps me to face it more readily.  As part of my training towards running a marathon I also incorporate strength and core training with a personal trainer each week.  The exercise can cause pain, but once the pain subsides I realize I'm stronger.  It's so much fun to come back to the exercise that caused so much pain a few weeks later and now find I can blast though it.

A few weeks ago the long run was 11.5 miles.  My strategy was to run 3/4 mile and walk 1/4 mile and focus on one mile at a time.  It was a gorgeous day and we ran through some of the most beautiful scenery in our city.  The first 7 miles went really well.  I was feeling good and ready to tackle the remaining 4+ miles.  Then something unexpected happened.

When I hit mile 9 my body began to freeze in pain.  Not due to cold.  Everything from my neck to my ankles froze in pain, and my feet hurt excruciatingly.  Then the battle in my mind began to rage.  Can I push through?  Should I stop?  I thought about a woman in our running group who was suffering with a stress fracture.  I wasn't sure if I was injured or merely fatigued.  I tried to run and then got really dizzy.  So, I decided that I would walk the rest of the way back.

Let me tell you, even walking was painful.  Everything hurt with every step.  At the point it became most painful, guess what song came on my iPod?

There may be pain in the night, but

Joy comes in the morning

Perfect!  I still hurt everywhere, but I was grateful to God for using this song to show me that this was not the harmful pain of injury...just the temporary hurt of fatigue.  

A few days later I read an article in Runner's World magazine: Survival Training (link below).  It was about a newbie runner who completed a training run with a Navy SEAL.  He experienced much the same pain as I described above.  Then the SEAL whispered in his ear:

 "You ran long and hard to feel this pain—embrace it, let it go through you. This pain is your reward!"

This is something I'm going to remember as my mileage progresses.  It's a good lesson to learn, and it's one you can only learn from experience.  Is the pain I'm experiencing harmful or is the hurt temporary?  Pain is my reward and will make me stronger in the end.