Running is a difficult sport to partake in; there’s all that hard work of getting yourself into shape with no quick fix, just regular, consistent training, which involves hard work and some sweat along the way. Then, once you’ve got yourself into great shape (and usually just before the big race day) along comes an injury and you’re out of action, worse still the fitness level that’s taken months to build is gone in days. Well this has occurred in my recent running career many times and it’s always the same injury – a chest infection.
The most recent I’m still trying to recover from – a chest infection which got into my lungs. At first glance it doesn’t sound too bad: no pulled muscles or broken bones but this nasty little injury kept me out of action and away from running for 6 weeks. With numerous visits to the doctors and a couple bouts of antibiotics, the ‘little simple’ injury took some time to heal. Within the frustrating 6 weeks there was a lot of moaning, in fact a hell a lot of moaning and no running. My ability to do the sport I love was unexpectedly taken away. I even took to being a spectator at the FLM and it was so disappointing not being able to run.
Whilst laid up, I controlled my weight by cutting back on my food intake, but there is no substitute for training. Now, 6 weeks later I’m gladly back on the road to recovery and out running, but the major downside is the impact on my fitness. I’m gradually getting back into the training rather than jumping straight in – the pace is much slower, I’m over 2 minutes per mile down on my usual training pace and the number of miles I’m doing is down significantly.
But this all pales in comparison when you compare it to the last 6 weeks of no running at all. Now, at least, I’m back out running and remembering why I enjoy it. Nothing feels as good as getting up on a Sunday morning, having toast and a cup of tea, then pulling on my running kit and heading out the door for a long run. It’s the freedom it provides, the sense of achievement, whilst helping balance my life.
As time goes by, the minutes per miles will decrease, the mileage will increase but the trick is to slowly build up. I know I need to be careful with my training but patience has never been a virtue for me, yet listening to my body is crucial in reclaiming my former fitness. I thought I might be frustrated at this relative slowness, but what I see ahead is the opportunity to roll up my sleeves and enjoy some hard work.
The injury might have stopped me from doing the sport I love, but it’s reminded me the reasons for enjoying running in the first place.
VN:F [1.8.2_1042]
Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
Other Recommended Reading
- Injury Clinic: Help with sore shins
- Injury Clinic: Achilles Tendinopathy
- Injury Clinic: Sprained Ankle
- Great North Run build up – part two
- Injury Clinic: A pain in the bum!
About the author
Name: Kirk Dodds
Age: 27
Lives: Norwich
Occupation: Marketing
Years running: 7 years
Favourite running shoes: Mizuno Wave Creation 8, they are the daddy.
Pet hate: Bananas before a race - they make me feel sick when running!
Greatest achievement: Great North Run 2008 in 1 hour and 30 mins, knocking 13 ½ minutes off my previous pb and last year’s time.
My running career started slowly, about 7 years ago, when I realised my general fitness was poor plus, if I’m honest, I was carrying more than a few extra pounds. My weight suffered from fluctuations - mostly related to the football season.
So I did the usual thing; off to the gym where I realised I wasn’t too bad on the old treadmill. But I also realised running on a treadmill is no fun, and in my book, it’s cheating, so I opted for the great outdoors. I started off with small, slow runs and gradually built them up. I was enjoying running and my secret was out. It was time for a challenge – and my first half marathon. I entered the Great North Run and some family rivalry surfaced as my old man regaled me with stories from his good old running days and the pb time he set in the Great North Run of 1hour 58 mins - when Hi-Tec Silver Shadow were top of the range running shoes! My training increased, and for the first time became more structured, and come race day I am pleased to say I managed a time of 1 hour 56 mins. Two minutes makes a world of difference when it comes to family rivalry.
I liked the first challenge and wanted more, and so my passion (some say obsession) for running was born. I’ve now taken part in numerous races ranging from 10ks to full marathons. The challenges still exist, the times maybe a little quicker, but the family rivalry continues, only now it’s my brother that I step up to the start line with.
This season has been successful with my first marathon; the act of finishing was an achievement in itself (4 hours 4 minutes), as well as a much improved 10k time of 41 mins and 11 secs ( 4mins off last season) and finally a half marathon time of 1 hour 30mins and 56 secs (13 ½ mins off last season).
I look forward to next season in which I will set myself new challenges; dipping under the 40 minutes mark for the 10k and 1 ½ hour mark for the half will be the biggest.
Read more from Kirk Dodds
and subscribe with RSS
.
Tags: coping with a running injury, returning from a injury, Running injury
