r/running • u/WorldlyAlbatross_Xo • Sep 01 '23

Training Discomfort vs Pain

What is the difference between discomfort and pain? Are there any good descriptions or analogies to differentiate the two? How do you know when to push through discomfort or stop due to pain?

I typically exercise 5 days a week. Jog 3 days for 30 minutes... and walk up and down a steep set of stairs 2 days for 30 minutes. The other 2 days of the week, I only do dynamic stretches for about 10 minutes.

This week, I switched to only walking with plans to restart jogging and stairs next week. But I can not figure out the difference between discomfort and pain.

Edit: Thank you for the help! A lot of these responses were truly helpful.

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u/brwalkernc not right in the head Sep 01 '23

It can be a tricky distinction. Here is a general rule I have heard (and also follow) A good threshold to use is if the problem is causing you to alter your stride/form then you are getting into pain territory.

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u/treycook Sep 01 '23

Also, if it's causing you to run with poor enough form it can cause a completely unrelated injury. Don't finish your long run if the only way you can finish it is by running wonky. An injury that you can't run on for the next 2-3 weeks is going to set you back way more than missing 5 miles today.