Dealing with an Injury
Whether it started as a niggle or it was a freak accident, most runners have been in front of a physio who is telling them they need rest and rehab. Two words any runner doesn’t want to hear. Whilst none of us want to be injured, it’s unfortunately part of the risk that comes with any sport, and well, life. There is simply no knowing what life might throw our way, this we cannot change, but what we can certainly control is the way in which we react.
“Why me?” is often the reaction for many; suddenly feeling stripped of their hobby, goal, passion, or routine. It is natural to think these things only happen to you, and that everyone else is busy living their best lives on Instagram or Strava, but it’s far from the reality.
As opposed to branding yourself as a victim to injury, use the “why me?” to try and understand literally why it happened; a physio or coach can often help here too. Were you over training, do you have an imbalance, have you been skipping your warm-ups and mobility? Then, get out of this “why me” space, and move onto “what now”.
You might have left the physio with a list longer than your arm of rehab and strength exercises; if so, perfect. You now have a blueprint of exactly where you need to be focusing your time, attention, and energy. Yes, such exercises are not necessarily going to give you the same buzz or endorphin hit as going for a run, but they are your pathway back. Maybe you look at the list of rehab work and think that you don’t have time. I recommend that you reconsider this assumption, because if you have just been stripped of X hours of a running a week, you do have time.
So, the first week of being injured plays out with little or no running, and your motivation to do your rehab is low (likely due to lack of endorphins). If this is the case, you're probably back to the “why me” mentality. Try saying out loud, “I cannot be bothered to do my rehab, because I don’t want to be able to run pain free again.” Chances are, this will help you shift back to the “what now” mentality instead. You might even discover a love for cross-training, which in turn will allow you to reframe your next training block.
Another common trait of injured athletes is the lack of routine. You might be used to waking up at the crack of dawn to train before work. No one has actually taken this away from you, apart from yourself. If Track Tuesday if your favourite session of the week, stop depriving yourself of this. No, I am not suggesting that you ignore your return to run program/rehab and jump into a track session, I am merely stating that you do not need to pull yourself out of your community due to an injury. Recently I stood on the finish line of our track session, and watched every single athlete finish their session with a 200m max effort (prescribed 1km pace, but no one stuck to that!). Witnessing our athletes dig deep for 200m, dip across the line, and hustle for “1st place” brought me so much joy. Something that I would not have seen if I had actually been running in the session myself. My face hurt from smiling that morning. Cup full.
There is always something that we can be working on to better our running, and better ourselves. There is no right or wrong here, we are all different. But the moment that you let your mindset take over your injury, you’re in for a long road ahead.
If you would like to be coached through your injury, please reach out to me: SH@innerfight.com
