How To Keep Your Spirits Up When Dealing With Injury

You’ve been training for months, everything is going great, and then one day … BAM! You are struck with an injury, seemingly out of the blue. Now you need to face up to the difficult task of not only dealing with the fact that you are injured, but the healing and recovery process as well. Depending on the type of injury you’ve incurred this could take weeks or months. How do you keep your spirits up when something like this happens? You look on the bright side!

It just so happens that I have been sidelined for the past five weeks. If you didn’t know that, you do now. This isn’t the first time this has happened to me, I AM a runner after all. Runners are infamous for “running” ourselves into the ground, only to end up injured at some point.

The first time I sustained an injury which kept me off the roads and trails happened three years ago. Coincidentally, it was exactly around this time. I was training for my very first marathon (Philadelphia) and when I switched to a new brand of shoe, a shoe which ended up being entirely wrong for me, a stress fracture began to take root. In two weeks time (I kid you not) what began as shin splints ended up as a classic hairline fracture of my right tibia. Typically, when my shoes have broken down I will start to develop shin splints, so they were already there when I started running in the new shoe.

I missed my first marathon and was out of the running game until the following spring.

This time my injury was not self-sustained, which is in some ways worse because it’s almost impossible to pinpoint how and why it happened. Unbeknownst to me, I had been running with a herniated disc, the symptoms of which began last February and quite possibly even earlier. It started off with unexplained pain while laying down, but slowly snowballed into such intense pain not only when running, but doing everyday tasks such as walking or laundry.

I have an amazing team of doctors and experts who are working to get me back into running shape. I fully expect to be out of the game for the rest of the fall, and I’m okay with that. Let me say that again … I am okay with that.

You might be questioning how someone who trains intensely, someone who lives, eats and breathes running, can be okay with taking a prolongued and unexpected break from the sport. Let me share with you some of the things I have learned, not only in the four short years I have been running, but in all those years I participated in other sports, as well.

1. Don’t dwell on the past. Sitting around loathing the situation isn’t going to do you any good. If you want to enjoy running for the rest of your life, you NEED to allow injuries to heal correctly. If you don’t, you could do more damage and end up never running again. Do you really want that? As the doctor told me when I learned I had a stress fracture: “You could end up with a steel rod in your leg if you keep running. It’s your choice.”

2. Accept the injury and move on. All of the anger, tears, and self-pity in the world aren’t going to make you heal any quicker. It is what it is. Once you accept this, you can start the recovery process which WILL get you back to running a lot quicker.

3.  Learn from your mistakes. Learn to listen to your body and the warning signs it sends you. Back off your training and treat the aches and pains as soon as they appear. An extra day off now will not ruin your training. However, if you continue to run and end up injured worse, you may not toe the line on race day. By tapping into the messages your body sends you, you will learn to determine whether an ache is serious or not, and how you should treat it. It will also help you develop smarter training habits in the future.

4. If you are allowed to do so, cross train. Cross training will enable you to maintain your fitness level by continuing to work out. It’s also nice to switch things up now and then, cross training has many benefits such as conditioning other muscle groups and giving your running muscles a rest while still working your heart. You may even decide that incorporating more cross training into your running routine will help you become stronger and get over the boredom that creeps in from time to time during our running.

5. Look on the bright side. Months and years go by, the distances grow and let’s face it, you’ve been prioritizing your running over some other things in your life. That’s okay, it happens, and fitness, exercise and healthy eating habits are very positive priorities. But, every now and then instead of running, maybe you should include some of the other areas in your life that we sometimes tend to ignore. With injury comes a lot of free time. Use that time wisely by focusing on some of your hobbies that have been forgotten, enjoying sleeping in for a change, or spending more time with your family.

While I don’t wish injury on anyone, if you run long enough you will inevitably deal with some sort of injury at some point, however minor or major. Bear in mind that stepping away from running in order to heal is temporary, and a necessary evil if you wish to maintain a long running career.

If you have any further tips or advice for fellow runners who are facing injury, feel free to share it below.

Images: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net