This week we are going to start a series on lessons I’ve learned dealing with a stress fracture over the past few months.  This week is about paying attention to warning signs.

Many of you might remember that I started doing obstacle course races last year.  Originally, I had planned to do more races April through July, but that didn’t quite pan out.  Here is what happened.  I had been training hard for months.  I noticed that my shin hurt when I ran.  It was inconvenient.  I just kept running.  Soon, it went from being inconvenient to hurting.  I ignored it and just kept running.  Soon, I got to the point that my shins were hurting even when I wasn’t running, and if I did run the pain would be sharp.  I ignored all this, and just kept running.  Finally, I got to the point where my shin hurt bad enough that I saw a doctor.  I was diagnosed with a stress fracture.

Looking back, I wish I would have paid attention to my body earlier.  At the first sign of pain, I wish I would have stopped to better understand the situation, so I could have made adjustments to help me recover before it became a substantial problem.  However, I didn’t pause, so what likely started as a shin splint became a stress fracture.  What started as a minor issue, became something more intense that sidelined me from running and physical activity for 3-4 months.  Luckily for me, the leg has healed and I’m back to running and things again.

What does this have to do with anything?  How often do you keep “running” despite the pain and all the warning signs telling you that you need to stop and figure out what is going on?  Maybe the “running” is working yourself to the point of burnout and not functioning well.  Maybe the “running” is continuing to operate in a culture where there are signs that something isn’t quite working.  Maybe the “running” is continuing to press forward with the project even though there are signs that people aren’t exactly aligned.  Maybe the “running” is doing everything else on your own and not having the right support around you.  I’ve done all of these things.  Have you?  In all those situations there are initial signs that indicate that things might not be going well.  If we can pause when we first see the signs, we can often fix things before any real harm is done.  However, far too often we put our head down and keep pushing, believing that pausing is weakness.  We keep pushing, ignoring the warning lights until something finally breaks.  I know I’m guilty of this and am trying to do better.

The challenge: Will you listen to the initial warnings when they come?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry