Here’s the difference:
—BEFORE THE RUN–As I’ve written before, often it’s about the attitude at the start. Joy and gratitude help!
—DURING THE RUN–How I feel during the run is the result of a good warmup and proper stretching. Dressing right for the weather and being properly hydrated (instead of overwatered.) And for me, very little in the stomach.
—AFTER THE RUN–According to Dr. Steven Jonas in the Merck Manual of Medical Information, there are two possible types of muscle discomfort after exercise.
—–Desirable: delayed onset muscle soreness (doesn’t start until hours after intense exercise) Usually affects both sides of the body equally, more or less. Goes away after 48 hours. Feels better after the warm up for the next workout.
—–Undesirable muscle discomfort: injury, usually felt soon after it occurs, is worse on one side of the body, does not disappear after 48 hours and becomes more severe when exercise is resumed.

—Novice runners often interpret all muscle discomfort, even good discomfort, as a sign of injury.
—Experienced runners often advise “running through” or ignoring the pain. But that only works if the “injury” is delayed onset muscle soreness. A real injury may stop you in your tracks and trying to “run through” it will not work. Keep going, but if it doesn’t go away in a short time, it is a real injury. Fortunately, you won’t usually do any more damage trying to “run through” the pain.
—For some, a true injury is an opportunity to quit running. For the dedicated among us, it is motivation to proactively rehab the injury and to take greater care in the future with stretching and warmup.

Need a break? A short vacation? Read a thriller “The Milk Market.”
—Read some short reviews first at
http://www.themilkmarket.com