After Bournemouth Marathon I took a couple of weeks off doing anything too active. I got hit by a cold that left me unable to get out of bed for a couple of days and then another cold. The signs were all pointing to submitting to a few weeks of recovery. So that’s what I did.
I knew going into Bournemouth that either way, my leg was going to need a bit of time to sort itself out and that would mean no running for a couple of weeks.
Running is many things to me; it’s a hobby and something I enjoy, it’s an escape, a stress reliever, my preferred mode of transport, it’s part of my identity and part of my job. So not doing it for a while can cause a few issues, practically and emotionally.
Once upon a time not running for weeks on end would have made me anxious, and I’d probably have been stupid and tried to get out running sooner than I was able. But not this time. I didn’t run for more than a month, and everything was fine. In fact it was more than fine.
I went to the gym. I lifted weights. I balanced on things. My balance improved. My coordination improved. I got stronger.
I went to the pool. My friend Katie (who is also a swim coach) sent me instructions. I swam up and down. I did drills. I swam in time to a beep. I swam faster, I felt more comfortable in the water and I swam more than I have since Ironman training last year.
I went to a couple of fitness classes. I tried new things and had a bit more time for the things in my life that aren’t running. I baked bread, sat on the sofa watching Netflix and went out to the cinema a few times. I also wrote A LOT of training plans for runners in October.
It’s not fun to be injured and not be able to run, but this time I haven’t been counting the days until I can run again and poking the bit of me that hurts to see if it has stopped hurting yet. I didn’t stare at the race calendar and worry about not making races. I shrugged, worse things happen.
I’m going to start running again now. Very slowly, very tentatively I’ll start building up the miles. And I hope there’s still time to do all the things I’ve been doing for the past month as well.
I’ve just started lifting weights at the gym too – it’s very hard but very rewarding. Glad to see you kept your emotional and physical balance whilst off of running!
Steph – http://nourishmeclean.blogspot.com
I hear ya Laura! I have not run now since July due to injury (my first ever). Although I am not in the public eye for my own running I do work in the running / sports industry and could not imagine not being able to do the thing I love while everyone around me was in the midst of race plans and not being able to take part in the run club I’d been working so hard to build. I made the immediate decision to throw myself wholeheartedly into all of the things I sacrifice for running and concentrating on just getting better and stronger. I haven’t bashed myself over the head with it and it’s made it a lot more manageable. I won’t lie, I have got very itchy feet but healing and not making the same mistakes are a lot more important to me than anything else. In short… solidarity and speedy healing to you : )
I recently had to stop running due to injury too and weirdly I was really glad to be forced into a break. Having spent most of the past 3 years training for something, my entire being breathed a sigh of relief, and I found out how much of my life isn’t about running – it turns out that I’m not so dependent on it as I’d assumed. I’m back into it now and enjoying it more than ever, with the precious new perspective of having been injured, over-tired, over-dependent and too strict on myself in the past. I wrote about it here, if you’re interested : https://runningnaturally.wordpress.com/2015/10/08/what-happened-when-i-stopped-running/
I always enjoy reading your blog – wishing you a speedy road to recovery 🙂
Hi Laura,
you did not run and that was good after a hard marathon and a cold and along training year and …
Everyone should wear off his/ her trainers for a couple of weeks once in a year. Alternative You can train cross .I recommend to use a mini- trampoline: you can balanced on it , you can improve your coordination and get stronger . Last but not least you have more time for brain jogging.
Bye for now , Cle
This has come at the perfect time for me, Laura. After building up to a fantastic September – a three day trail event in Sweden, a 50-mile week in Menorca, and a Metric Marathon with a 5 min HM distance PB – I pushed one run too many on tired legs and I couldn’t run for five weeks. After several chiropractic treatments, and a couple of 2 mile test jogs, I’m finally back doing strength and balance work with my regular PT instructor, and utilising the gym for some cross training. That’s certainly helped my mindset, and reading this post has made me take stock properly and focus on the positives I can take from the next couple of months rehab. Thanks!