This has taken a while to come to terms with and put down in words. Two separate things prompted me to think once again of this. First, the coming big kid moment that is the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, which I will run in. And a online news article in the Daily Mail that reported that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes striker Daniel Sturridge has to learn more about the difference between ‘serious pain and what is only pain’ in order to conquer his injury problems.
Did I know the difference between serious pain and what is only pain? I think now I know.
In the recent TNF 100 in early October, I suffered my first ever “Did Not Finish”. The ego took a beating and I was left pondering if I should have soldiered on and continued.
Around the 12km mark just as the route comes out onto the railway corridor behind Hindhede Walk, I landed on a loose rock which shifted making me lose balance and twisted my ankle. It did not feel overly painful then and I did not give a second thought and pressed on. I was making good time and feeling pretty good. The railway corridor is a flat piece of corridor but the ground was uneven, grass, dirt and pebbles. The uneven and in some places hard, pebbly ground soon took its toll on my ankle. The slight discomfort grew by degrees and as I made the u turn just shy of the Tanjong Pagar railway station, the discomfort had grown into an almighty nuisance of a pain.
I began to think about resting to inspect the ankle and a slight suspicion that I might not finish dawned on me. I began to think about how I would feel? Would I be able to run the year end Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon? What of my belief that I should always finish what I started?
The almighty nuisance became excruciating and what Herr Klopp calls ‘serious pain’. I stopped for a self assessment. A medic came by to assist and I was advised to stop. And so I stopped and did not finish.
At that time I felt really small. But I now know that if I had not stopped to fight another day, it would have turned a slight twist into a major injury. Future races and quality of life may be affected.
I am now fit and looking forward to the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.
Life lesson learned is that while we should look to soldier on and complete what we have started, we should consider the bigger picture and the ultimate goal.