Well, this has easily been the worst training stretch of my life. Four months of constantly off and on running, never more than 45 miles in one week. No workouts, no races; no summer or fall season at all for me.
But you know what? That's okay. I've been very lucky to (prior to this) never have missed more than three weeks at a time for injury. I suppose I was due for something more serious sooner or later, and I'm at least happy that it came immediately after the Olympic Trials instead of before.
Now that I'm slowly getting healthy and returning to jogging (not quite running yet, and definitely not training), there are a few lessons I've taken from this experience that I want to share.
Listen to your body. When you feel something wrong, stop running -- don't try to run through it. My threshold for something wrong is this: does it change your stride? If so, then you're injured and you should not run. If not, then you're probably just sore or achy...very easy running will probably help you work through this.
I first noticed my Achilles injury in late-March, early-April. I knew I was injured, I was altering my stride to accommodate it; and yet I kept pounding away for another month on it. I knew this was wrong, but I was stubborn and ran more anyway. I knew I was doing damage and I knew the recovery process might take a while -- turns out I was right. Don't be like me. I know I won't in the future.
Learn about your body. What does it respond to? What doesn't it respond to? What helps keep you healthy? What should you do in moderation? Only through experience and practice (and, yes, getting injured from time to time) can you learn what training approaches are best for you.
It turns out that my downfall might actually be a weak and uncoordinated glute; Achilles pain is just the symptom of that structural deficiency elsewhere. Basically, my entire posterior chain is weak and tight, which when overused can cause injury problems. I've found that hill training is the most reliable method of building strength and coordination in that part of my body, which helps keep me injury-free. Unsurprisingly, I had done very little hill training in the months leading up to my initial injury. So now I know: hill work needs to be a regular part of my schedule.
Additionally, nearly every time I've been injured has been when I've been trying to extend my season past a certain goal race. This case is no different: I trained fairly intensely for 6-7 months, peaking for the Trials in mid-February...and then I tried to pile more on top of that afterward. No surprise, six weeks later I was injured. So now I know: I respond best to a traditional 5-7 month periodization. Now that my chase for an OTQ is over, I'm really looking forward getting back to that type of training.
When returning to fitness, be patient. Slow, steady progress is progress nonetheless; it's much better than the alternative (aggravating the injury and missing still more time). We see this all too often in a scholastic setting: runner gets injured, returns to jogging during the season, and then pursues an aggressive training schedule to get in shape for end-of-season championships. What happens? Almost invariably, the runner gets re-injured and then falls into a nasty cycle where he or she just can't get healthy.
I finally made a physical breakthrough when I psychologically accepted that I wouldn't have a fall season. I had been trying to rush back into shape for some fall racing, but I keep aggravating my injury. Once I gave up that fall season and committed to a long-term, patient recovery, I started making real progress.
So that's where I am right now. Mostly out of shape, running very little, but at least on the way back up. I'm finally excited to get back to some consistent training.
But you know what? That's okay. I've been very lucky to (prior to this) never have missed more than three weeks at a time for injury. I suppose I was due for something more serious sooner or later, and I'm at least happy that it came immediately after the Olympic Trials instead of before.
Now that I'm slowly getting healthy and returning to jogging (not quite running yet, and definitely not training), there are a few lessons I've taken from this experience that I want to share.
Listen to your body. When you feel something wrong, stop running -- don't try to run through it. My threshold for something wrong is this: does it change your stride? If so, then you're injured and you should not run. If not, then you're probably just sore or achy...very easy running will probably help you work through this.
I first noticed my Achilles injury in late-March, early-April. I knew I was injured, I was altering my stride to accommodate it; and yet I kept pounding away for another month on it. I knew this was wrong, but I was stubborn and ran more anyway. I knew I was doing damage and I knew the recovery process might take a while -- turns out I was right. Don't be like me. I know I won't in the future.
Learn about your body. What does it respond to? What doesn't it respond to? What helps keep you healthy? What should you do in moderation? Only through experience and practice (and, yes, getting injured from time to time) can you learn what training approaches are best for you.
It turns out that my downfall might actually be a weak and uncoordinated glute; Achilles pain is just the symptom of that structural deficiency elsewhere. Basically, my entire posterior chain is weak and tight, which when overused can cause injury problems. I've found that hill training is the most reliable method of building strength and coordination in that part of my body, which helps keep me injury-free. Unsurprisingly, I had done very little hill training in the months leading up to my initial injury. So now I know: hill work needs to be a regular part of my schedule.
Additionally, nearly every time I've been injured has been when I've been trying to extend my season past a certain goal race. This case is no different: I trained fairly intensely for 6-7 months, peaking for the Trials in mid-February...and then I tried to pile more on top of that afterward. No surprise, six weeks later I was injured. So now I know: I respond best to a traditional 5-7 month periodization. Now that my chase for an OTQ is over, I'm really looking forward getting back to that type of training.
When returning to fitness, be patient. Slow, steady progress is progress nonetheless; it's much better than the alternative (aggravating the injury and missing still more time). We see this all too often in a scholastic setting: runner gets injured, returns to jogging during the season, and then pursues an aggressive training schedule to get in shape for end-of-season championships. What happens? Almost invariably, the runner gets re-injured and then falls into a nasty cycle where he or she just can't get healthy.
I finally made a physical breakthrough when I psychologically accepted that I wouldn't have a fall season. I had been trying to rush back into shape for some fall racing, but I keep aggravating my injury. Once I gave up that fall season and committed to a long-term, patient recovery, I started making real progress.
So that's where I am right now. Mostly out of shape, running very little, but at least on the way back up. I'm finally excited to get back to some consistent training.
Comments
Post a Comment