One year out - The most valuable lessons from injury

Exactly one year ago today, I suffered a stress fracture in one of metatarsals in the middle of a long training run. I know exactly when and where it happened (and, yes, I did finish running the next 4 miles because I refused to accept that there was a major issue).

The year that followed was the hardest and best year of my running career. I had been in fantastic running shape when the injury happened. Then, for weeks, I was not able to walk or run. I had to slowly work my way back to running even just 10 minutes as a very slow pace.

I put in a lot of time, effort, patience, and tears over the following months. Focusing on building strength, learning when to push and when to draw back, and accepting that I had to change some of the patterns in my life.

The result? A PR in the half marathon during my training block on my way to a marathon PR and Boston Qualifying time.

This past year taught me a lot of things. Here are the most important things that I have learned:

Don’t ignore red flags- Your body is telling you if things are starting to go off the rails. We may want to ignore them and hope they go away. But chances are, if nothing changes, things are going to reach a tipping point. Your body will make the decision for you.

Running cannot be your everything – For many of us, running is a fundamental source of things in our life: stress release, entertainment, self worth, identity. Running is an amazing sport that gives us so many things, but it’s important to have other things in your life that fulfill you as well. Not as a substitute for running; as another place that you find happiness and satisfaction.

Patience and balance are key – Nothing teaches you patience like coming back from injury. There is no way to make it go faster. In fact, pushing harder can easily set you back. The only way to get to the other side is through it, in a careful, methodical way. It also highlights the fact that running is really only a piece of the puzzle. Other fundamentals like strength training, nutrition, and recovery, play an equal part in your success.

Find the joy – Sometimes when we get really into training, especially if we have big goals, we can get caught up in the numbers, hitting the paces, working so hard, that we lose sight of what we started in the first place. The day that I first was able to run again, for exactly one minute, I cried. The true run back where I ran for 10 minutes was overwhelming. Now on the days where I get frustrated about running, I think back to when I couldn’t run. I also take moments during runs to just enjoy and appreciate the fact that I can run.

Sometimes it takes tough times to teach us the lessons that we need. This experience made me a better runner, a better coach, and reminded me of the resilience that each of us possess.