When Injury Strikes…
Ouch! I started to feel some pain in my left hamstring around November time. I can’t recall for sure whether it coincided with my fast half-marathon, although this is a possibility. In insight I had not had time to warm up properly and started at a pretty fast pace. Regardless, I am where I am. It was after the Christmas break that I realised that this pain (which I had been happily ignoring for the past two months as it was not painful enough to prevent me from running) had not disappeared. I also realised that I had not even mentioned it to my coach, which shows that I was in denial. The pain got gradually worse to the point where I had to alter my gait to keep running as I couldn’t fully extend my right leg. Clearly something was wrong and I had to face it. I let my coach know and I have had to stop running, and cross train instead.
This is not ideal preparation for the Edinburgh marathon, but this is what my body needs. I still have some time ahead of me to train, and I certainly don’t want to risk a more permanent injury. Sometimes things don’t go to plan, and you just have to roll with it. So, if you find yourself in that place, how to make the most of it?
Well, first don’t dwell on it. If the injury is there it won’t go away by you just ignoring it. Sports people can be very stubborn, so driven by achievement that they don’t want to acknowledge any hurdle in your training. Especially not if you’ve been training for months and made made good progress towards your goal (an upcoming race?) and pausing your training means your goal is just slipping further away. Frustrating it is. The end of the world? Not if you don’t persist and just stop to listen to your body needs. Ultimately you don’t want to make the injury worse and risk it becoming permanent. So it is time to assess the situation and come up with a plan of action. First of all you may want to see whether cross training is an option. It depends on the type of injury and the crosstraining you are able to do. Ideally you want to be able to maintain your fitness. In my case, cycling is a possible alternative. Swimming is, also. So there is something I can do to mitigate the damage. Mentally cross training is also recommended. An injury is always a big blow, but if you can keep on exercising at least you’re still able to work towards your goal and that brings some satisfaction. So if you are physically able to cross train, the question is really about what cross training you have access to, and you have to work with what you have. In my case, because I was focusing most of my efforts on running I had cancelled my gym membership. I performed all the injury prevention/ strengthening exercises at home using just a yoga mat and a couple of dumbbells. Because I suffered an injury last year I had bought a hybrid bike to do some cross training so I had this at my disposal. However, for safety reasons I’m unwilling to cycle in the dark around my place (especially if it’s going to be in the range of an hour or longer) so that only leaves the alternative of the gym for cardio. That’s when I discovered a great app that I think is truly a wonderful solution for anyone not wanting to pay for an annual gym membership when only planning to use it randomly, called PayAsUGym. I signed up, chose my plan and that very evening I got to the gym, grabbed a towel, showed my pass and was on a bike in less time than it takes to say ‘cross training’. So no excuse not to exercise because it’a too dark or I don’t have access to a gym!
So, as you may have gathered from previous blog posts, the gym is not my preferred environment to exercise. However, it’s still about 1000% better than wallowing in self-pity on the sofa. Just look around you. Injury does occur, and can strike anyone regardless of fitness level, age, sport practiced, socio-economic factor. Even people like me who are avid adepts of Chi Running with fewer odds to get injured may still get injured. Chances are, they are some exercises you will be able to do. Even if it’s only with your upper or lower body. Or using lower impact (like running in a pool). Or with decreased intensity. Just discuss with a physio or coach before proceeding to ensure you will not be making your injury worse, setting you back even further.
At the end of the day my injury is also for me a good reminder to work at maintaining a strong body. Running itself is not enough, injury prevention exercises are a must to keep your body balanced and your gait optimal. If any injury arises, this is a symptom that something is not quite right somewhere and this needs to be addressed, don’t just ignore it.
As for me, I’m hoping to be back running (and blogging!) soon. Until then, just remember to listen to your body as it is a clever thing!
Happy running!