Embrace the Emotional Rollercoaster
Firstly, expect some emotional upheaval. This is normal, natural and to be expected, particularly early in the process. If we have devoted time, money and energy into our training and made sacrifices along the way, then we have invested a lot of ourselves in the outcome. If an injury then means we don’t get the result we were chasing, a range of emotions could arise, such as anger, frustration, sadness, and regret. These feelings are much less pleasant than the hoped for post-race satisfaction of a job well done, but they are valid and important to feel, nonetheless. In fact, when an injury stops you from getting where you want to go, or doing what you want to do, there is essentially a ‘loss’ in this. We actually have an in-built process to go through when we have lost something important – the process of grief. And one gnarly part of grief is feeling the whole range of emotions that show up when there’s a mismatch between what we hoped for and where we ended up.
When you’re amid these strong emotions, it might be easy to interpret them as a sign that you aren’t coping but this isn’t the case. Keep in mind that you are feeling what you are feeling in order to cope with what has happened. Your task isn’t to move on as quickly as possible and feel happy and motivated again. Instead, it is to experience those emotions for as long as your mind and body think it is helpful to do so. Something that can help take some of the heat out of these emotions and make them less ‘sticky’ is putting them into words. Talk to somebody about how you’re feeling or spend some time writing it down, if that is more your style. And do this on multiple occasions. Better out than in is a cliché, but it really is true!
Find New Ways to Fill Your Cup
Secondly, for the majority of us, running is more than just the physical act of placing one foot in front of the other. Have a think about what running does for you more broadly… Do you enjoy being out in nature? Is the dedicated time away from being needed by your family important? Is there a social element that fills your cup? Whatever it is, have a think about how you can still achieve a similar result but through a different avenue. For example, can you still get out into nature even if it’s just to sit and listen to music, watch your family muck around, or sunbathe? Can you still retain that boundaried time to yourself, but instead do another restorative activity such as meditation? Can you still attend any post-run catch-ups, or even be a race marshal?
Whilst continuing to be involved in the running scene while injured can help you to remain connected to others and maintain your identity as a runner, it may sting a bit. It can be tough to see others doing what you want to be doing and what you’ve invested so much into – cue some of those aforementioned, uncomfortable emotions... So go gently with yourself and try to be ok with feeling conflicting things. It’s fine for a part of you to be envious of the people that you are cheering on, while another part enjoys the camaraderie that comes from being around your people. You don’t have to feel just one way about something, and it doesn’t always have to be ‘positive’. Giving yourself permission to have mixed feelings can be hugely freeing.
Set Goals, Just Like You Would for a Race
Thirdly, (and no sport psychology blog can be published without it) is goal setting. It can be comforting to return to what you know and if you are familiar with planning out how to build-up to a big race, go ahead and apply those same skills to your rehabilitation programme with gusto. Your physiotherapist plays an integral role here – get clear with them on the specific exercises you need to perform to achieve your next rehabilitation milestone and find ways to measure your progress along the way. As you progress, don’t compare yourself to where you were pre-injury or where other, non-injured runner are currently at. Comparing yourself to what you could achieve at the start of your rehabilitation can help you celebrate the wins and stay motivated.
Use This Time to Grow in Other Ways
This final point is for when the dust is settling from the initial upheaval and your brain is naturally starting to consider the future more. Are you able to take advantage of this enforced time away from running? Is there anything you can do with the time that you would have spent running, that will make you a more complete athlete when you return? The options are endless when you consider that a runner is more than just their physical output. Look for ways to build up any of the physical, technical, tactical or mental components of your running, such as updating your nutrition knowledge, getting into yoga, or developing a mental skill like mindfulness or visualisation. And this need not be limited to running-adjacent activities. Spending the time cultivating any non-running pursuits, interests or hobbies brings balance. It allows us to be more than just a runner, and having more things that make up who we are is good for our overall resilience.
Recovering from an injury is a process that, like most things is life, is unique to the individual. But through emotional awareness, flexibility in your actions and good planning, you can recover in a way that will have you back running with even greater resolve than before.
