A Guide to my Future Injured Self
It’s been almost 2 months since I last posted. Honestly, things were feeling pretty grim (as probably evident in my previous posts). My knee was still bothering me. I was running more, but not at the pace I wanted, and not pain free. I was trying to find this balance of remaining fit, but also not overdoing anything to make my knee worse.
Turns out the solution was time, and a structured PT plan. I met with a running-specific PT in Oakland, and she was able to give a leg/glute strengthening regimen that wasn’t too complicated. Banded work, glute bridges, stuff that I could have found easily online. But having my knee pain diagnosed appropriately and being prescribed the right exercises was something I should have done sooner. Since insurance doesn’t always cover PT, it’s hard to pull the trigger on seeing one. But it was absolutely worth it.
After about 2 months of doing the PT work, I’m feeling basically back to normal. I’m increasing my mileage, increasing my pace, even incorporating intervals, all mostly pain free. I have to be careful still, but I’m keeping up with my PT exercises, and finally feeling some relief.
Now that I’m getting back into the swing of things, I wanted to reflect on what it was like being injured for 3+ months. I don’t just want to reflect, but use this as a guide for my future injured self, who undoubtedly will come back to haunt me one day. So, here it is:
Suck it up
Injuries happen. They happen when you push yourself. When you find the limits of what you can do. When you have lofty goals. When you try. Learn from it, and accept it as part of the process.
Reset Expectations
Create new goals. Instead of a specific time or distance goal, track the progression of your injury. Examples could include:
Did you see a PT?
How many times this week have you done strength work targeting the injury?
What was your pain level during runs? Is it going down?
Respect the injury, but don’t let it be the boss
Just because you’re injured doesn’t mean you have to be on the couch or bedridden (unless of course it’s super serious).
Movement is crucial to healing, but you need to find what the right/productive movement is. It might mean slowing down, running less, adjusting goals. It doesn’t mean you have to stop, and you probably shouldn’t stop completely.
You have goals. But what’s your real goal?
Sub 3 marathon. 2,025 miles. Qualify for Boston. Sub 1:30 half. Sub 40min 10k. Sub 20min 5k. All these are aggressive goals that I’ve contemplated or am actively working toward. But when you’re injured, those goals can seem so far out of reach and unachievable.
It’s important to categorize your goals into two different groups.
Group 1: Milestones
Group 2: Lifestyle
Group 1 Milestone goals are the goals you can set for yourself to track your progression as a runner. Running longer, faster, stronger. Those are all easily measurable. You can track your progression just by looking at data coming from your running watch. You can also track things more officially, by achieving certain times during races. They’re great to have and make running fun. But, it’s actually not the the most important.
Group 2 Lifestyle goals are the ones in my opinion to focus on when your injured. Milestone are great, but if you only measure your success in running by what you achieve in certain milestones, it’s easy to lose motivation/purpose when injuries get in the way. Running for me is much more than individual races. It’s joy, health, wellness, strength, perseverance , therapeutic, and on great days, even euphoric. Those elements of running are achievable even when injured, and will outlast any specific training block.
You are not limitless
You’re probably not going to be winning any races any time soon. There’s a limit to your capabilities
You got injured - you found a limit. It’s hard to know what the limit is without reaching it. Take note of it, and heal, and move on.
Those who are fitter and less injury prone than you don’t have carte blanche on pursuing fitness
You might see people out there who are not getting as injured as you. Who can run seemingly with no rest and not get injured. That’s not you. That’s okay.
Even when injured, you still deserve to pursue fitness in the same way as others
You can take up floor space at the gym to do banded exercises when the jacked person next to you needs more space for heavy deadlifts or whatever
You can make the person who can throw hundreds of pounds on the leg press wait while you crank out a few light weight recovery sets on the machine
You can take up space on the trail when you’re jogging at a slow speed while the gazelles next to you are forced to maneuver out of your way.
Injuries suck. They’re inevitable, and will absolutely happen again. I’m glad to be on the other side of my knee injury (for now), and excited to keep progressing.
