[One Thousand Characters a Day] Ordinary Running <3> - You Must Stop When the Signal Is Sent

Editor's NoteWhile running, I kept experiencing pain in different places. One day it was my ankle, another day my knee ached, then my calf tightened and wouldn't loosen, and on another day, I felt pain on the outer part of my thigh. Suddenly, my foot dorsum and shoulder also hurt. Overcoming these persistent injuries, writer Kang Juwon made a resolution: never ignore the signals my body sends again. Not to collapse by trying to leap too high at once. To build up slowly, step by step. And above all, to run joyfully. Word count: 847.

When running 30 km, the thing that troubled me the most was the iliotibial band on my left leg. The pain that constantly bothered the outer side of my thigh extended down to the outside of my knee, tormenting me. Still, I safely completed the targeted distance, and the pain disappeared after a day.

Then, a few days later, I ran about 20 km again. That day, my condition was unusually good, so I picked up the pace. Running at a 5-minute pace wasn't difficult, so I decided to extend the distance beyond the originally planned 10 km. However, after turning the turnaround point, the pain on the outer part of my left thigh, which had hurt before, started to annoy me. Still, it wasn't bad enough to stop running, so I kept going with the complacent thought that the pain would disappear if I just kept running.

But the pain gradually worsened, and I couldn't even complete the planned 20 km, having to stop at about 16 km. I thought that if I ate well and rested, I would recover quickly. However, the pain lasted for about five days, and as a result, I couldn't run for five days.

(Omitted)

Because of the obsession with reaching the target point, even though we know we should stop, we think we must not stop, so we ignore the signals our body sends. But what happens if we keep ignoring those signals? If I had taken the signals from my thigh lightly and pushed myself to complete the target distance, what would my leg be like today? Probably, I would have had to rest for several more weeks.

The best thing is to stop immediately when the body sends a signal. If it is not a situation where stopping is impossible, slow down. And if you safely get through the day, take enough time to recover and take care of your body. That way, you can last longer. You must not ignore the signals your body sends to endure long-term.

- Kang Juwon, Ordinary Running, Biroso, 16,800 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.