Has an injury ever been a turning point for the better in your life?

I was like this for a lot of years. Everything in my life was focussed around running - including jobs. The bad thing about it was, due to how obsessed I was, if I look back it's with regret. Some summers I never saw my friends, never did anything fun. I wouldn't go out in the evening and didn't truly live. The funny thing is the obsession isn't necessary. A lot of it wasn't time spent on the track, it was time spent thinking about it, and online discussion/reading about it. I didn't do anything outside of running because I thought it would be detrimental to my running. I was wrong. When I think of how many invitations and opportunities I turned down it's nuts, and those evenings out wouldn't have harmed my running either. It didn't take an injury to make me wake up to this but I can relate to everything else in your life being things you do on the side. Life isn't much fun like that.

im kind of gettin this right now. have been so full on for soo long, keep gettin bad lower back, which comes back every few months, plus now am reeeally struggling with some breathing problems and its doing my head right in. at the mo i just cant be arsed with running so full on, am concentratin more on a career - which 2 years ago i wud never have jepordised my training, but there is more to life. i still want to be the best i can but constant injuries are sometimes too much. soon as my breathing gets better (if it does) i will get bak into it more, but am takin a break - or at least chillin out a bit more and learning to appreciate other social aspects of me life

Absolutely. I have been "injured" for ~3yrs (w/ multiple comebacks) and, I think, I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am coming out of this experience with no real ambition to really start running again. I will be _extremely_ happy if within a year or so I can run a mere 30-40 mi/wk. There is so much more to life besides running.

Holy shit. I seriously wondered if I had written this myself, gotten high and forgotten about it.

The sacrifices you make to become a better runner should be seen as making you a better person and athlete.

If you look at them as a negative, that is why you fail, my young padawan.

Ask any Kenyan runner...

For me it was that i used to beat the shit out of myself for not being faster. I would look at a 15 or 16 minute 5K or a 4:30 mile in disgust, and just dwell on how how much faster Alan Webb was than me. I had serious self-esteem issues because I couldn't do better at something that was such a huge part of my identity. It was like I hated myself for not being faster.

Three years ago I went down with a serious knee injury and was out for nine months. At the end of that time, I thought my running career was dead and buried, and didn't feel so much presure. I basically started doing it again just to regain the mental health that I lost while I was injured. Two years later, I'm running in the 14's, and I feel really good about it. I enjoy my training so much more now that I'm not trying to take over the world. I'm so comfortable with it that I could even leave it, now. I've actually had thoughts about quitting competitive running in order to pursue a more strength-training oriented lifestyle. I would still run everyday, but I would train in a 400m type fashion to make it compatible with lifting.

Anyway...

I was too obessive about it until injuries finally took their toll. I was way too slow to be putting in the amount of miles that I did. I honestly wish I would have picked a different hobby other than running. Now, I jog 3-5 days/wk for the health-related benefits, that's it.

it doesn't always make you a better person. it is a negative if you're unhappy and you miss out on a more balanced life or job which would have made you happier. after all, what's life about if not your level of happiness and those around you? i put more time into friendships, family and relationships now. each to their own.

however, i do agree that it works for some people (maybe the Kenyan athletes you're referring to but they mostly have different circumstances and motivations for running).

I competed for a state track title my junior year of high school, then got hurt, then sucked during my senior year. As a result, I went to college with thoughts of achieving a solid education, not solid PRs. Now I´m applying to Ivys and enjoy running as much as I ever did before, although at times I miss my circle of concern being only as large as a 400-meter track.

I always had crap state meets then my redshirt year got hurt. All I did was play WOW and drank. It sucked bad but finally got better, makes you appreciate good health

Please clarify Joe Runner. You say that prior to injury you had "serious self-esteem issues" an that you hated yourself for not being faster. Then you started running again after a knee injury to "regain the mental health that you lost while injured"??

So, now you have regained the self-esteem and loathing issues? And that it is working for you?

I guess sometimes a little self-loathing is good for the soul.