Don’t it always seem to go. That you don’t know what you‘ve got ‘til it’s gone?
Being injured as a runner sucks! You see people everywhere running. Everyone’s a bloody runner. It doesn’t help all that much when you work in a running shop and you are passionate about helping and supporting runners all day long and want to inspire and motivate the community to get on their daps and go for a run.
And from the song Big Yellow Taxi “Don’t it always seem to go. That you don’t know what you‘ve got ‘til it’s gone?” Sometimes we take our running for granted. Yeah, it might not always be easy, we might faff and procrastinate about getting out there and we might even not want to go out but ironically, as soon as we know we shouldn’t go out it’s the only thing that occupies all of your thoughts. All you want to do it run.
I was watching a YouTube video recently and they were talking about a running injury being like the stages of grief.
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
I’m not sure I ever get to that end one. I don’t think I’m ever willing to actually accept that I am injured. I rage between the middle 3. I get annoyed that I can’t. I try to convince myself that I maybe could. I’m sad that I actually know that I need to recover.
An injured runner should always be approached with caution. An injured runner is not functioning under their usual tolerance and personality. The injured runner is angsty, cross, snappy and irrational.
So, what do we need to think about when we are an injured runner;
How Did I Become An Injured Runner
What went on? Critically analyse how the injury came about. Did you see it coming? Where you an arse and just kept running through something? Is there something that you can take forwards, post injury, to ensure that it doesn’t happen again? I know that the injury I have at the time of writing this is an injury I have had before. I’ve obviously not learned the lesson. I did initially. I was a bobby dazzler when it came to S&C to work on my weaknesses & mobility. I have even spoken recently about working on my weaknesses but haven’t followed through with it.
What Do We Need To Do As An Injured Runner?
Stop training before you make it worse! We all do. We just keep trucking. Particularly if we have an event coming up that we want to do or we are mid race. We just keep going. It’s like we are waiting for our body to get to the absolute brink and scream NO MORE at us. The sooner we stop and let the injured area rest & recover then the sooner we can be back running. I know it’s easier for me to type this than it is to heed these advice and act on it. I’m doing this to remind me! STOP, if the stove is hot you don’t keep poking at it until you burn yourself!
The fast track to recovery is identifying things early.
EVEN if that means that your Strava graph will take a hit or Garmin will say that you are detraining or you won’t hit the planned workout.
Does Your Injury Need Treating?
Well, the frustrating answer is always – it depends! A good physiotherapist is worth their weight in goal. I have always found that a sports specific physio is always your best option. Someone who specialises in the demo-graph of the population who are fit will have more understanding and experience of a runners injury.
It never hurts to get it checked out!
What Can You Do?
Rather than focusing on what you can’t do (running), it’s time to focus on the stuff that you can do. Think about curating your training plan for the next block (with a flexible start date). Think about rehabilitation exercises – then think about prehab that you will add to your routine moving forwards. Think about where those weaknesses are that you’ve identified and write a plan to fix them and commit to yourself that you will do it. Cross train if you can.
Start Steady
You need to be pain free and walking ok before you even think about running. People often say once you feel ok give it a couple more days rather than race back to it.
Start off tentatively.
If you’ve been off for a prolonged period then you might want to start with some jeffing (walk/run) sessions. Be incremental in your increase in mileage and if there’s anymore than a 3/10 pain score then stop!
When your injured or have a persistent niggle trying to be a hero often leads to you being an idiot!
