I read what I considered a pretty useless article on how to deal with being injured, but then again maybe it's just me. It didn't resonate with me that being injured involves stages of grief similar to the loss of a loved one. Seriously? Yeah, sure there's a bit of denial and anger, eventually followed by acceptance, but come on. Nobody died!
But then again I've had my share of injuries over the course of 25 years of running, so my perspective may differ from most. Races have come and gone and the world didn't stop turning, in fact, when I look back on past injuries and what followed I have found that everything seemed to work out for the better. Or at least what happened was that I had experiences that differed from what should have or could have happened. Some examples: I was injured in 2010, resulting in a DNS at Boston, when Toby ran it on his birthday. That year David and I rode the train out to Natick and saw our significant others on the course, which was pretty special, and when I deferred to 2011 I had a great experience with Laura and her sister, which would not have happened had I ran the race in 2010. My Kansas City marathon DNS in 2013 worked out for the best because I was key in the navigating of the course that day; trust me when I say Zelda got to see Mark finish because of me. Plus, had I ran Kansas City in 2013 I wouldn't have had the great experience I had running it last year with Ginna and LSP.
Boston 2017, yes, a few days ago, didn't happen for me because of a hamstring pull. Some people think I missed the race because I broke my foot a week before the marathon. I did, in fact, break my foot a week before the race, but I had already lost about a month of training for Boston, so I wasn't going to run it anyhow. After picking up my Boston friends at the airport and hearing their horrific marathon stories (it was ridiculously hot and miserable), I can honestly say I am at peace with my hamstring pull. ;)
As for the broken foot, I'm still working on that...
So what kind of advice would I have to give? The first thing is you have to get over yourself and put the fact that you are injured in perspective. For me, that involves what I call having a "pity party" where I allow myself to wallow in it for a bit, but then that's it. Time to move forward. If you've been training for a marathon, which is usually the case, I can assure you there are "things" you've neglected, such a loved ones, flower beds, your home, errands, lunch with friends who don't run, etc...
People who get injured tend to google their injury, primarily looking for a "recovery time", in the hopes of finding the shortest possible time posted. If someone says they were back to running from a compound fracture in a week they will hang their hat on that one week possibility. A 6-8 week recovery means 6-8 week recovery, not 4, not 5. Stop googling. Live with your injury day to day. Every day you play the game, "Better, Same or Worse". You may be trying to come back too soon. So how did it feel today- better, same or worse? It doesn't matter what the calendar says. The INJURY DICTATES WHEN IT WILL GET BETTER.
Every day I ask myself what can I do, cardio wise, and if the answer is nothing, then I ask myself what can I do, period? During the first week of my foot fracture my goals involved taking a shower or putting my boot on to walk around the house and yard. My second week involved getting out and running errands or meeting friends for lunch or cleaning or picking my friends up at the airport. ;)
Non-running cardio is a good time to try new things or get back to things you used to do. With my hamstring injury I went to what I called, "gym-rat status", doing the stair master, elliptical and weight lifting. I'd like to get back on my bike this time around.
Yes I miss my running friends and my running life. It's a great life and I want to get back to it as soon as possible. I never forget my first runs when I come back from injury. They are some of the best runs of your life because no matter how slow or winded or sore you are you are just so grateful to be running again that nothing else matters. And this to me, is key. I feel so grateful already. At 56 I have won the lottery with regards to running experiences already! Maybe I didn't have this gratitude when I was younger, and that's understandable.
I don't know what advice would have resonated with me 20 some odd years ago, but I do remember one thing that Dale Smith (PT) once said to me when I was dealing with a really long term pelvic fracture. He simply said, "Bones heal". That fact helped me then and is helping me now. Ok so this doesn't help so much if you're dealing with a muscle or tendon injury, but they heal too! Maybe you just have to trust that you WILL return to running and find solace in that fact. Until then ENJOY YOUR LIFE!
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