Running Injuries: four tips to stay positive when you’re sidelined by injury

If you’re a runner, it is highly likely that you’ve had to deal with a running injury. Perhaps you started off with a little too much enthusiasm and found yourself side-lined early on in your running journey. Maybe you’ve been at this for a while and you’ve experienced overuse injuries. Or maybe, you’ve found yourself in and out of physical therapy more times than you’d care to mention. 

Wherever you are in your running journey injuries are difficult to manage and I’m not talking about the physicality of an injury, I’m talking the mental and emotional effects of being unable to run. 

For so many of us, running is the habit or ritual that anchors our day. It’s the thing we do that sets everything in order, without the run we feel a little foggy, a little lost. And so when that activity is taken away it can be hard to find a similar outlet for maintaining our mental health. 

In the years that I’ve been coaching athletes, leading running retreats, and facilitating run communities, I’ve found four things to be especially helpful when it comes to maintaining a positive outlook through a running injury: 

Focus on What you Can Do

You can’t run, but what can you do? More serious running injuries can sideline you from weight-bearing activities, but more common injuries will still allow you to be active. Hiking, walking, biking, swimming, and strength training might all be options. And you can always double down on the rehab routines your physical therapist or sports doc has assigned you. 

In the instances that I’ve been sidelined by either a full-blown injury or a niggle, I’ve found that hiking and long walks do the trick. And more recently, I’ve fallen in love with riding the ElliptiGO which is an amazing substitute for running. 

>>Learn More about the ElliptiGO HERE<<

See the Big Picture

When injured, it is easy to get granular about what you could have or should have done differently. You can walk around with a bit of guilt and shame about your injury, which can often be hard to manage. Something that can be helpful is considering the entirety of your running journey. 

When I’m talking with the athletes I coach after a disappointing race or workout, I often point to their running journey being a trajectory on a graph. You’ll have some high data points and some low data points, but overall the trajectory is up and forward. A running injury is definitely a low data point, but it doesn’t erase the work you’ve done up to this point and even though there may be an initial loss of fitness, you’ll return to where you were sooner than you think.

Distance Yourself

Oftentimes when we are discouraged or disappointed, the healthiest thing we can do is distance ourselves from the situation. This distance can often provide a new perspective, talking with friends or immersing yourself in an activity unrelated to running can be helpful. 

I’ve found that service to others, whether that’s volunteering, making a meal, sending a random note, can instantly bring perspective. Service might be the ultimate anecdote to any kind of setback. 

Stick to Routines and Habits

If running is your daily ritual, keep that same time set aside. You may not be able to run, but allocating that time for yourself is important. The longer I run, the more I realize that it isn’t necessarily running that is the powerful thing (sure the endorphins and adrenaline are helpful), but it’s the act of setting aside a specific time to do something for the sake of myself that makes it so important. 

I don’t run because it’s my job. I don’t run because I’ll be in the Olympics one day. I run for myself. Continuing to set aside that time for yourself is critical, even when you can’t run. Fill that time with a walk, journaling, your rehab work, or some other activity. But try to stick to the same time and duration that you would if you were still running. 

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-Sarah