The Virtue of Patience in Running

In January this year, I strained my calf during a group personal training session, as I was preparing for my first goal race of the year, the Mount Buller Skyrun 45km ultramarathon scheduled at the start of April. I immediately began rehabbing my injury. I was really keen to do this race as it was my first time racing up at Mt Buller and the added bonus of racing with my sister and two friends. Nothing like some competitive spirit and banter to add to the fun of racing!

The calf injury really interrupted my training for about 6-8 weeks, leaving me little room for error and preparation down to a concentrated short window of only a few weeks. Unfortunately this rapid build up didn’t go to plan with my last long run I did on the Sunday prior to race day I pulled up sore. I saw the physio that Thursday, with the hope of it all being of ok but to no avail. This was extremely frustrating as I had been training quite consistently for a period of months prepare for this ultramarathon (other than the injury phase). In the end my initial calf injury was truly a discovered, a damaged nerve in my calf.  I was now back to square one.

I had gone through months of frustrating short runs and many physio sessions to try and get my body right and get back consistently running after months of limited training to begin the year. I consistently get asked 'what's your next race?' and to be 100% honest I don't know. I thought about entering a half marathon a couple of weeks ago just for fun but I didn't feel ready and maybe it was the fear of missing out (fomo) driving me want to race.  

It's been hard and frustrating to not to run and you may say there are people worse off than you, yes that's very true. Does running define me - maybe? Do I love running absolutely, and when you're pushing your body hard to get right but dealing with setbacks and you're not sure when your body will be right for the next event. I've now been training consistently for quite a few weeks, my learnings and the virtue of patience in running I have taken from my injuries this year is about finding a better balance between trying to push your body but also sticking to a plan (but being flexible too) and seeking more enjoyment in the training ( I've added street orienteering to my weekly runs to change up running sessions) that you are doing when focusing on a bigger goal and not the short-term reward of racing so sometimes you need to take a step back to take two steps forward sometimes it might be about taking a day off training, get a massage, doing an extra Yoga or Pilates session.

For now, running is just for fun with an eye on a bigger and better on 2018.

How do you deal with patience with your running?

Related Reading

Why I Run

The Fear of Missing Out

Tips for staying motivated when injured or unable to run

Unfortunately we have all been in this situation. You’re training is going well and preparing for some upcoming races and we get thrown a curve ball and we get injured or sick.

The past 9 months have been a frustrating period for me, I have been struggling with a unknown left foot injury and despite many doctor appointments, scans, cortisone injections it is still unknown the cause of the pain in my foot. I have tried multiple different approaches including rest with no running (stopped running for over 2 months), rehab exercises, massage and physio. It has been a really challenging time especially for someone who likes to be on the go all the time!

I guess what doesn’t kill you can make you stronger and it is a reminder these things are a way of testing you and to not take the ability or the joy of running for granted.

This has given me a great opportunity to re-evaluate things and I hope I can offer you some suggestions and encouragement should you be faced with a similar situation.

Here are some tips to stay motivated when injured or unable to run.

New opportunities arise

With less time specifically dedicated to running, it has provided more time to spend with family and friends and all the important things I cherise. It has also provide me the opportunity to explore new activities, I have started both pilates and yoga this year and have already started to see some improvements including increased strength, presence of mind and improved sleep.

Learn from it

Find out what was the cause of the injury and learn from the experience to help strengthen and balance your body to become a better runner. Being proactive will keep you motivated and positive. You might also like to seek out others who have encountered the same injury and see if there is an new approaches you can take to assist and improve your injury.

Don’t focus on the negative  

It’s a good idea to remember you are not running due a specific reason, by being sick or injured. So despite it being frustrating, take the time to allow your body to recover. Subject to your doctor’s recommendations you might be able to try some new or alternative activities like swimming or cycling to keep active.

Set some new goals

It may be challenging to start with especially when you lose your level of fitness but when getting back into training to keep you motivated it’s good to set some goals and maybe pick a race or two to build up for in the coming months once back training.