Nope, running improved my life and made me who I am today.
-
170
-
The thread is from 2009, but I will reply because I think the message is important.
Running is probably one of the most difficult sports to get yourself crippled. Even if you don't know what you're doing. That's why I chose it. I was doing kickboxing and some basketball prior to getting into running. Even if you're careful and don't push yourself - it's a contact sport, you'll get injured from time to time.
Unless you have some very strong mind to be able to push beyond what you're capable of (or the pain) and thus getting injured, or have hidden medical issues that gets revealed with intense training - you're gonna be fine.
Crippled for life is if you're into motorsports, climbing, paragliding, contact spors, etc.
200 -
The problem wasn't running. The problem was there anyway and running just helped trigger the collapse.
131 -
I see a lot of young people (Like under 22ish) answering about how it hurt them socially/academically. Which I get, but they're young enough to bounce back from/live a good rest of the life. Seemed to learn the lesson young of how to not let running overtake your life
But I think the biggest issue I see is men ages 25-35 who don't know what to do with their lives after college, and just decide to focus on running, cause that's what they know/brings them comfort
The job market after school and figuring out what to do with yourself, moving to a new city and having to make real friends outside of a team possibly for the first time ever (they've made friends outside of the team before, but they've now lost the cushion of having that sure-thing friend group of teammates)
There's studies out there that more and more men in the early stages of adulthood are feeling lost and not knowing what to do. I've seen many of my male friends post college fall that way.
And instead of refinding themselves, bettering themselves, trying to excel upwards in life, etc they just go work the same comfort job that was easy enough to land, and go on a solo run after work most days.
Money and career success isn't everything. But it is something, and what you do with the first 10 years of your adult life can drastically determine how easy the rest of your life can be. Work hard now so you can take it easy later
But to these guys they do think they're working hard, but they're eggs are going into the basket of how to qualify got Boston and not how to land a job in the competitive field they got a degree in
Lots of people deff do both well. It can be done. But I see so many lost people putting off adulthood. Not cause they love running that much, but because they're not taking chances on themselves in other ways. It's scary to. But they know they can run, so they do that
163 -
Overdid it wrote:
I almost crippled myself. Over a year ago I strained my adductor tendon so bad that I had loss of power in my left leg. I couldn't sit up, lie down, turn over in bed or cough without pain for 15 weeks.
I also wasted a lot of time. I could be forgiven for running so much during the pandemic, plus I was new to the sport, but I let running take centre stage when I should have been doing other things. I regret that. Ironically I am fitter now despite running less.
how did you get over it? going through something similar but to a much smaller degree
00 -
My legs have been in pain since 2021 and I can't run with consistency for more than a few weeks. Lost all my speed and it's not coming back. I've tried everything and no doctor has been able to figure out what the source is.
Thing is my life wasn't great before running. My life is back to mediocrity, but with added pain. Running felt like my last hope.
00 -
No way wrote:
So you went from sedentary to all out running, ran through all of the soreness associated with such an act until your cartilage was permanently damaged and refuse to share a single detail about what actually happened?
He has to be trolling
20 -
fUrCeOsNhN wrote:
It hasn't destroyed my life but it has made day to day activities a bit harder. I went through a block of training where I basically ignored recovery and did a hard workout every day. I got a bit obsessive. I would wake up in pain, tell myself that I needed a recovery day, and cross off the day on the calander. Then by the afternoon I would convince myself to do at least an easy 5 miler, but 800m in I'd be hammering, and finish in more pain then when I started. Then later I would convince myself that a nice jog would help loosen up the muscles, hammer some more, and end up with 12-15 miles on the day. Rince and repeat.
Running is a strange paradox. Doing it increases ones physical shape, but doing too much running decreases it. Many people could do with a lot more of it, but a few would be better off with a lot less of it.
A few overly agressive workouts sent me over the edge, including a very hilly 19 miler on slushy roads, 25X200m hills all out and and a tempo which I pushed the downhills far too hard. My entire abs and hips were just a ball of pain. Over the holidays it got so bad I could not sit up in bed in the mornings. I had to twist to the side then crawl out, and it took a few minutes of stretching before I could walk without pain. Breathing hurt, and sneezing was the worst. I will probably need surgery but cannot afford it so I just do the strengthening exercises and take it day by day, waiting to get better. My first run back was 4 miles in 35+ minutes, and I was really, really sore the next day. Stairs, up or down, were impossible. Depressing as hell.
But mentally I haven't broken down or anything, and my social life is fine. The fire is still there. Just physically I was a mess, that's all. It seems to be slowly getting better though, which is the one piece of good news my running has had in the past few months.
I can relate. When this post started 16 years ago, I was 26
years old. I had a solid college race result.
600 – 1:19
800 – 1:48
1,000 – 2:24
1,500 - 3:45
Mile – 4:01
3,000 – 8:16
5,000 – 14:17
10,000 – 29:05
I joined the Navy in 2007 and wound up running for the All
Navy Team. I got to travel to different countries to race. I could never get in
a solid racing cycle. The Navy is not like the US Army in which WCAPs make you
basically a pro athlete that gets to train full time. I was training
sporadically on a treadmill. I would train for a month or 2 then be underway again.
It started to destroy my body.
My Naval athletic results:
3,000 – 8:28
5,000 – 14:37
10,000 – 30:18
Road 5k – 13:44
Road 10k – 30:50
Half – 1:08
Full – 2:23
By 2013 I tried to make a comeback again when I finally was
no longer on a deployable schedule. I ran a road 5k in 16:14. I noticed
breathing issues and wound up collapsing at age 32 in 2015. I was diagnosed
with a left anterior blockage of my LAD and needed to be stented open. I am 43
years old now I do stair master for cardio, but running destroyed my body but
also saved my life because without running I would have never felt the blockage
and more than likely would have died.
Do I think it is a waste of time to pass up great life opportunities
to run if you are not at like Nico Youngs level or something? Yes 100%. I have
a childhood friend that is 41 right now still living at home because he focused
more time on trying to look at the part of a pro runner than being a pro
runner. He trained, ran like 14:30’s for 5,000m and never got out of that accepted
prize money after high school which destroyed his college opportunities as an
athlete all because he wanted to accept $200 or $ 300 bucks here and there at
local road races. Today he is living with his mom and way behind the curve. I
can retire in like 2 years and move on to another career if I want, or I can
stay put.22 -
running improves lives! but I've seen some competitive people become depressed after not reaching their goals
00 -
Love what you're doing. And if it's running, find a way to make your love of running part of a rich life full of other meaningful experiences as well. It's as simple as that.
00 -
My Thoughts............... wrote:
fUrCeOsNhN wrote:
It hasn't destroyed my life but it has made day to day activities a bit harder. I went through a block of training where I basically ignored recovery and did a hard workout every day. I got a bit obsessive. I would wake up in pain, tell myself that I needed a recovery day, and cross off the day on the calander. Then by the afternoon I would convince myself to do at least an easy 5 miler, but 800m in I'd be hammering, and finish in more pain then when I started. Then later I would convince myself that a nice jog would help loosen up the muscles, hammer some more, and end up with 12-15 miles on the day. Rince and repeat.
Running is a strange paradox. Doing it increases ones physical shape, but doing too much running decreases it. Many people could do with a lot more of it, but a few would be better off with a lot less of it.
A few overly agressive workouts sent me over the edge, including a very hilly 19 miler on slushy roads, 25X200m hills all out and and a tempo which I pushed the downhills far too hard. My entire abs and hips were just a ball of pain. Over the holidays it got so bad I could not sit up in bed in the mornings. I had to twist to the side then crawl out, and it took a few minutes of stretching before I could walk without pain. Breathing hurt, and sneezing was the worst. I will probably need surgery but cannot afford it so I just do the strengthening exercises and take it day by day, waiting to get better. My first run back was 4 miles in 35+ minutes, and I was really, really sore the next day. Stairs, up or down, were impossible. Depressing as hell.
But mentally I haven't broken down or anything, and my social life is fine. The fire is still there. Just physically I was a mess, that's all. It seems to be slowly getting better though, which is the one piece of good news my running has had in the past few months.
I can relate. When this post started 16 years ago, I was 26
years old. I had a solid college race result.
600 – 1:19
800 – 1:48
1,000 – 2:24
1,500 - 3:45
Mile – 4:01
3,000 – 8:16
5,000 – 14:17
10,000 – 29:05
I joined the Navy in 2007 and wound up running for the All
Navy Team. I got to travel to different countries to race. I could never get in
a solid racing cycle. The Navy is not like the US Army in which WCAPs make you
basically a pro athlete that gets to train full time. I was training
sporadically on a treadmill. I would train for a month or 2 then be underway again.
It started to destroy my body.
My Naval athletic results:
3,000 – 8:28
5,000 – 14:37
10,000 – 30:18
Road 5k – 13:44
Road 10k – 30:50
Half – 1:08
Full – 2:23
By 2013 I tried to make a comeback again when I finally was
no longer on a deployable schedule. I ran a road 5k in 16:14. I noticed
breathing issues and wound up collapsing at age 32 in 2015. I was diagnosed
with a left anterior blockage of my LAD and needed to be stented open. I am 43
years old now I do stair master for cardio, but running destroyed my body but
also saved my life because without running I would have never felt the blockage
and more than likely would have died.
Do I think it is a waste of time to pass up great life opportunities
to run if you are not at like Nico Youngs level or something? Yes 100%. I have
a childhood friend that is 41 right now still living at home because he focused
more time on trying to look at the part of a pro runner than being a pro
runner. He trained, ran like 14:30’s for 5,000m and never got out of that accepted
prize money after high school which destroyed his college opportunities as an
athlete all because he wanted to accept $200 or $ 300 bucks here and there at
local road races. Today he is living with his mom and way behind the curve. I
can retire in like 2 years and move on to another career if I want, or I can
stay put.How can you retire at 43 unless you have inherited wealth or property.
05 -
youjizz wrote:
My Thoughts............... wrote:
I can relate. When this post started 16 years ago, I was 26
years old. I had a solid college race result.
600 – 1:19
800 – 1:48
1,000 – 2:24
1,500 - 3:45
Mile – 4:01
3,000 – 8:16
5,000 – 14:17
10,000 – 29:05
I joined the Navy in 2007 and wound up running for the All
Navy Team. I got to travel to different countries to race. I could never get in
a solid racing cycle. The Navy is not like the US Army in which WCAPs make you
basically a pro athlete that gets to train full time. I was training
sporadically on a treadmill. I would train for a month or 2 then be underway again.
It started to destroy my body.
My Naval athletic results:
3,000 – 8:28
5,000 – 14:37
10,000 – 30:18
Road 5k – 13:44
Road 10k – 30:50
Half – 1:08
Full – 2:23
By 2013 I tried to make a comeback again when I finally was
no longer on a deployable schedule. I ran a road 5k in 16:14. I noticed
breathing issues and wound up collapsing at age 32 in 2015. I was diagnosed
with a left anterior blockage of my LAD and needed to be stented open. I am 43
years old now I do stair master for cardio, but running destroyed my body but
also saved my life because without running I would have never felt the blockage
and more than likely would have died.
Do I think it is a waste of time to pass up great life opportunities
to run if you are not at like Nico Youngs level or something? Yes 100%. I have
a childhood friend that is 41 right now still living at home because he focused
more time on trying to look at the part of a pro runner than being a pro
runner. He trained, ran like 14:30’s for 5,000m and never got out of that accepted
prize money after high school which destroyed his college opportunities as an
athlete all because he wanted to accept $200 or $ 300 bucks here and there at
local road races. Today he is living with his mom and way behind the curve. I
can retire in like 2 years and move on to another career if I want, or I can
stay put.How can you retire at 43 unless you have inherited wealth or property.
Retirement does not come only with age. I retired early from the military due to an injury that deemed me no longer available for service. The injury was military related and there for they retired me out. This works in a couple of ways at the time I had a pending package to report to OCS (Officer Candidate School) after being enlisted for nearly a decade. At this point in my military service career they had understood I was making the military my career. The military related injury ended my service. I was retired out which provided $3,000 a month however I had had significant operations to correct the mitigating factors related to the injury which is now pending 100% which is $4,300 a month. This included spinal fusion, cardiac surgery, and shoulder replacement. The issues led to cauda equina syndrome in which I was going to the bathroom all over myself because I had no feeling. Also, after I was medically retired, I continued to work in the Civil Service, which I now have 18 years of service at 20 years you are eligible for retirement depending on service type and history. What this means is if I did choose to retire early and approved, I would be eligible for a percentage of my highest 3 years of service which would be $25,415 annually. Combined with my current military pension before pending increase this would be $61,415 a year, after pending increase $77,015 annually. Which means I would be then eligible to work on a third retirement from an additional career. Not to mention my wife works also and makes $95K a year.
For insight so people don’t assume I am on some free ride:
Academically:
BS: Criminal Just and Administration; with Mathematics Minor
MS: MSOL
MS: MBA
MS: Psychology
Post Grad Certification in Athletic Administration
Post Grad11 -
crippled runner wrote:
So I pretty much got myself crippled for life as a result of compulsive running. For 10 years I built my entire world around running and then lost it entirely, and suffered a total mental breakdown as a result. Has anyone else totally destroyed their lives as a result of their involvement with running?
Don't be ridiculous! Even if you're as crippled as you say, you can still be around the sport and enjoy it. Jos Hermens snapped his achilles in his prime and went on to become the most successful athletics agent in history (represented Geb and Bekele). Found enjoyment from the sport despite a career-ending injury. And I highly doubt he ever wallowed in self-pity and complained that running ruined his life.
01 -
Yes.
00 -
In high school one summer, I ran a bunch and got way too skinny and crashed my hormones and gave myself gynecomastia. Then a few weeks into September I got a stress fracture and my season was over (probably for the better as it forced me to recover).
00 -
00
-
Well it’s all I thought about, talked about and considered fun for nearly 50 years, club president, coach, RD it actually made my life but when it’s over and you can barely walk, the loneliness of the long distance runner becomes a little more lonely.
You gotta pay the piper sooner or later I guess
This post was edited 26 seconds after it was posted.10 -
My Thoughts............... wrote:
fUrCeOsNhN wrote:
It hasn't destroyed my life but it has made day to day activities a bit harder. I went through a block of training where I basically ignored recovery and did a hard workout every day. I got a bit obsessive. I would wake up in pain, tell myself that I needed a recovery day, and cross off the day on the calander. Then by the afternoon I would convince myself to do at least an easy 5 miler, but 800m in I'd be hammering, and finish in more pain then when I started. Then later I would convince myself that a nice jog would help loosen up the muscles, hammer some more, and end up with 12-15 miles on the day. Rince and repeat.
Running is a strange paradox. Doing it increases ones physical shape, but doing too much running decreases it. Many people could do with a lot more of it, but a few would be better off with a lot less of it.
A few overly agressive workouts sent me over the edge, including a very hilly 19 miler on slushy roads, 25X200m hills all out and and a tempo which I pushed the downhills far too hard. My entire abs and hips were just a ball of pain. Over the holidays it got so bad I could not sit up in bed in the mornings. I had to twist to the side then crawl out, and it took a few minutes of stretching before I could walk without pain. Breathing hurt, and sneezing was the worst. I will probably need surgery but cannot afford it so I just do the strengthening exercises and take it day by day, waiting to get better. My first run back was 4 miles in 35+ minutes, and I was really, really sore the next day. Stairs, up or down, were impossible. Depressing as hell.
But mentally I haven't broken down or anything, and my social life is fine. The fire is still there. Just physically I was a mess, that's all. It seems to be slowly getting better though, which is the one piece of good news my running has had in the past few months.
I can relate. When this post started 16 years ago, I was 26
years old. I had a solid college race result.
600 – 1:19
800 – 1:48
1,000 – 2:24
1,500 - 3:45
Mile – 4:01
3,000 – 8:16
5,000 – 14:17
10,000 – 29:05
I joined the Navy in 2007 and wound up running for the All
Navy Team. I got to travel to different countries to race. I could never get in
a solid racing cycle. The Navy is not like the US Army in which WCAPs make you
basically a pro athlete that gets to train full time. I was training
sporadically on a treadmill. I would train for a month or 2 then be underway again.
It started to destroy my body.
My Naval athletic results:
3,000 – 8:28
5,000 – 14:37
10,000 – 30:18
Road 5k – 13:44
Road 10k – 30:50
Half – 1:08
Full – 2:23
By 2013 I tried to make a comeback again when I finally was
no longer on a deployable schedule. I ran a road 5k in 16:14. I noticed
breathing issues and wound up collapsing at age 32 in 2015. I was diagnosed
with a left anterior blockage of my LAD and needed to be stented open. I am 43
years old now I do stair master for cardio, but running destroyed my body but
also saved my life because without running I would have never felt the blockage
and more than likely would have died.
Do I think it is a waste of time to pass up great life opportunities
to run if you are not at like Nico Youngs level or something? Yes 100%. I have
a childhood friend that is 41 right now still living at home because he focused
more time on trying to look at the part of a pro runner than being a pro
runner. He trained, ran like 14:30’s for 5,000m and never got out of that accepted
prize money after high school which destroyed his college opportunities as an
athlete all because he wanted to accept $200 or $ 300 bucks here and there at
local road races. Today he is living with his mom and way behind the curve. I
can retire in like 2 years and move on to another career if I want, or I can
stay put.I'd rather be your friend at least he can still run, if I was you I'd pay all that money you have to be able to run again.
00 -
Running destroys lives? LOL. Nah, Running is GOAT. Makes you fit gives your stamina. Just don't overdo it......
00 -
There's two problems that running has caused me, although one is more of a personality issue. The first problem is I became too focused on running. I was looking through my belongings the other day and realised I hadn't played my guitar in years. I've become too one dimensional. I have a one track mind and tend to focus on one thing intensely - probably autism related. The second issue is I ran too much and ran through injury. I have tendonitis which I am finding very hard to shift.
00
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