Whether it’s a weekly parkrun or a marathon cycle, the daily rhythm of a training plan is one of the joys of running. The peaks and cutbacks, the rainy slogs and sessions that flow; they all frame the seasons of the year. Consistency, though hard won initially, becomes habit and brings with it improvement and experiences that quickly form a key part of our lives. So when that rhythm is broken, how do we handle it and what does it mean for the future of our running? What do we do when running doesn’t go to plan or has to stop all together?
I came to running late in life and would never have imagined I’d be someone who would feel that insatiable urge to pound the roads every single day. Over 20 years, I’ve fallen in love with marathons and have worked my way to a reasonable time. I get a buzz out of racing, but it’s the training process that I love the most. The daily achievement of having completed what was on the plan and being able to pore over the stats has become an immutable part of life. So much so that when 2023 threw injury, family illness and pregnancy at me, derailing my goal of running a spring marathon PB, I had no idea how I would handle it.
A painful hiatus
It’s unlikely that any of us will make it through our running lives without injury. When a niggle strikes, it can be hard to know whether it’s okay to ignore it or whether we need to take action. Sometimes, it can turn out just to be an oddity and after sending panicked messages to our friends (don’t deny it), we go out the next day and, after a few tentative steps, curse ourselves for overreacting.
But there will be times when that’s not the case and it’s time to take a break or significantly cut back. As a starting point, anything which increases in discomfort during a run is a red flag and needs to be addressed.
In my case, the injury hit in an instant. On 22 March 2023, I was flying through one-mile reps in the peak of marathon training and hitting paces I’d long dreamed of. Then, from nowhere, there was a stabbing pain under my foot, followed by a limp home and the start of my journey through the stages of injury…
• Denial. In my case, this stage didn’t last long. The pain was bad at the time, but when it was still there the next morning, it was clear there was a big issue. Still, I thought that maybe if I could work out what it was and rehab hard then I’d still be able to hit my goal. Maybe if I suddenly started doing all those conditioning exercises that I should have been doing all the way through, it would be okay.
It is at moments like these that having a coach who is able to speak to you one-toone is invaluable. They can take the guesswork out of what to do next. Acoach will be able to reassure you that you won’t lose fitness in the space of five days and can provide sensible, structured tests to work out the extent of the issue.
I was flying through onemile reps and hitting paces I’d long dreamed of. Then, from nowhere, there was a stabbing pain under my foot followed by a limp home…
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