Injuries and Overcoming

Sunday, July 09, 2017 · Mike Davis

Good afternoon!

Friday, I chatted about dealing with injuries and focused on “RICE” as a way of dealing with them from a physical standpoint. Today, I want to chat briefly about the mental aspect of injuries and the challenges that many of us face.

No runner wants to get injured and yet 2 out of every 3 runners, get injured at some point. In fact, there are very few runners that I am friends with, that have not dealt with an injury. As a runner, a running coach, and a running business CEO, I absolutely hate running injuries and yet, I must understand them, not only for me, but to help our runners. Addressing them physically is only part of that understanding, but as important, is understanding the mental struggles of being sidelined.

My experience with runners who are dealing with an injury (as well as myself), has shown me there are multiple challenges from being grounded, however I will chat about two that I see quite a bit. The first is the stress that comes from not being able to run and the fear that accompanies that. Becoming a runner is often a challenge that took a lot of effort and discipline, and internally most of us fear that if we must stop, we will lose all that we worked to develop and doubt creeps in that we will not get back there. This doubt may not be seen on the outside, but they are very real to a runner and with each passing day without a run, they grow. While those doubts are hanging out there, it often seems as if we see more runners out on the roads and this only frustrates our injured state that much more.

As a coach, I am always staying in touch with my injured runners and offering encouragement and staying positive about the running future. I get that runners struggle, no matter how much the encouragement is genuine, so I also try to keep them active doing what their bodies allow and is okay with their personal doctor. Often, this fear motivates us runners to try and get back on the road sooner than we should, and that will often drag out the recovery, if not create new problems. Understanding the big picture of the ultimate goal of running healthy for a long time, helps to curtail this, but not always. I am recovering from a torn soleus muscle in my calf and I am eager to get back running, but I also do not want to experience the frustration of start/stop, because I did not let the muscle heal sufficiently. Yes, I fear that I am losing my conditioning, and that I am missing the mental relief I get when I run. But, I have disregarded the big picture before and injuries have drug out much longer than they would have, had I respected the injury.

I have been strength training and while that is a good thing, I believe it was Kathy that mentioned the other day, that I should being doing something else, such as riding a bike, while I let the muscle heal. This is a very important point and one that will help not only keep the cardiovascular system stronger, but also fill the void left by the downtime from running. Becoming a runner initially, was a challenge both physically and mentally, however we can maintain some type of physical conditioning will benefit us when our body is ready to run again. The mental strength we developed as we became runners is something we will not lose because of injury. We may question it while sidelined, but it will come back when our bodies are ready to run physically.

I said I would chat about 2 matters that people struggle with when sidelined with and injury, but this first one took a bit longer to chat about. I will chat on Wednesday about the second challenge that we deal with. I hope you took away from today’s chat that while frustration is natural when dealing with an injury, if we keep our eyes on the big picture, we will not only get through an injury, but will be a better runner after. Stay positive!

Have a great Sunday!

God Bless!

Mike