Since I’ve been injured, it’s a good time to reflect on injuries and talk about things that have helped me personally through this particular injury. It’s much easier to talk about injuries when you are actually injured versus reflecting upon it when you are completely healthy.
I’m not a doctor, expert or coach, but I do have personal experience in being injured. (What great personal experience that is…). Thinking out loud, It’s important to remember, every injury heals at a different rate and every person recovers differently.
So in summary, what works or has happened to me, might not for you. But if you’re anything like me, you enjoy reading about other people and what has worked (or not) for them.
So here is a timeline of my injury:
Early to Mid May:
I began to feel burnt out with running. I wasn’t injured, and I ran several races including Broad Street, the Newport 10k, and the Track Mile. Both Broad Street and the Newport 10k went well and I ran Personal Bests, but I felt eh after the mile. I didn’t feel good, but I didn’t feel bad. I didn’t feel injured either (which is important). I began to read signs that I felt burnt out and decided to take some time off.
In late May I got a bad case of food poisoning. It forced me to take five days off no questions asked. When I went out for a short run on day six something in my ankle felt off and weird. It wasn’t sharp, but it was a dull ache. I thought I had rolled my ankle, but I just decided to rest and take a 2-week break.
During that period my foot progressed and felt worse. Finally, I decided to go to the doctor and get an MRI. Since I have a special form of insurance, I was able to book someone in network (Who I wanted to see) without primary care approval.
Early June: MRI and Diagnosis
My MRI concluded I had fractured my ankle. I was ordered into a boot for a week. I was allowed to spin and swim but nothing weight bearing. So for a week, I did just that. I was still burnt out from running, so the rest didn’t bother me.
Mid June:
Mid June hit me pretty hard. There was a half marathon I wanted to do, The Odyssey half, that I had to skip. I wasn’t in pain, but I knew it would be idiotic to run knowing I had a broken bone. I could have probably run through it but who knows what sort of bones I might have shattered…running on a broken bone is dumb. Plus I probably wouldn’t limp but I wouldn’t feel great either. I spent most of June in a funk. I didn’t feel good and I mentally struggled with not being able to run.
Late June:
I was ordered for four weeks of rest and by the time I knew it, the end of June was here, and I was allowed to attempt a run. (Run being .25 miles). I ran, and it felt like a typical first run back: awkward and awful. I didn’t expect a magical run but I had hoped to feel a little bit better.
July:
I spent July slowly building my base. Slowly being key. I ran every other day and only ran a few miles at the most. By the end of July, I worked up to my first race back: The Run for the Hill of It. Luckily it was scorching that day and took all of the pressure off of me. I didn’t feel in shape racing but I was injury free.
August:
August was both the best and worst month for me. How? I logged a lot of miles, and I felt as if I *finally* got over my injury.
So how could it be bad?
I raced frequently enough that I wanted more, and wanted to be where I was previously. Before my injury, I was running 2 minutes faster in 5ks. My half marathon pace was faster than the 5k pace I was struggling to keep. Running a 20 minute 5k just felt like I was starting over.
September:
Here I am just over 100 days since my initial injury. I feel like I’m recovered. I hate declaring that because you never know what could happen but I do feel as if my injury is in the past. Am I in shape? No, but I am injury free which is the first important step.
100 days ago and I was injured but who knows where I’ll be in 100 days?
100 days isn’t a long time in the grand scheme of things. I know my fitness will come back.
Questions for you:
What was your last injury?
Where do you see yourself in 100 days? (December time frame)
Hi there hollie,in glad to see you running again.
Well my latest injury came around July,but I think it started late May.
I also took time off ,i felt burned out and had no motivation.I took 2 weeks off,when I began to come back that where I notice my knee felt odd while warming up.So I took more time off and ran ran every other day,we’ll July hit and that where it began my knee was very sore and I liked for weeks at work, I got and xray, and it showed little swollen in my cartlidge between my knee cap. My knee was getting better but I went and got an MRI and I have medial meniscus tear in my left knee. So I get surgery the 12th of Sept and start my PT WEDS.
Well that where I am at. So my time line maybe 2nd week of Oct I can start running,but slowly get back into it I’m not in race shape.so I’ll have long way to go.
Sorry for long story hollie.lol
Happy running hollie.
Ah I know the feeling! I’m so glad you are feeling better!!!!
I was injured on my last race June 4th! It has been a battle since. I was told I could take days off when it felt bad but if it felt okay I can stick to recovery runs. So I have been just doing recovery runs trying to build mileage and then pulling back for a bit to make sure it doesn’t get worse. I highly dislike chronic injuries! I was told it could take up to 12 weeks until I don’t have to worry about it anymore. And I just started to feel like I can run recovery runs without any pain in my hamstring/glute but now I feel some knee pain. So I am going back to really focusing on my strength training and working on my weaknesses.
It’s so frustrating how quickly you can feel like your fitness is set back after injuries… the last injury I had was right before I got pregnant with J, and that whole year was not an ideal year of ‘training’ so it’s been two years since she was born of rebuilding and trying to find that original fitness again without getting hurt! So far so good, but it’s always a delicate balance.
First off, its great you feel recovered. I have learned that with injuries the mental part is just as important as the physical part. Hopefully that continues for you.
My last injury was plantar fasciitis. It kept me out of running consistently from April of last year until roughly December. Very frustrating experience. Just when it feel better, I would go run and it would come back with a vengeance. Because of that, it took me a while once it was healed to fully engage with running again. Even when running the Cherry Blossom in DC my mental state was lagging behind my physical state. Around June of this year I got it back fully. I have been training hard 5 days week, mixing in cycling and weight training in the gym am about to run my first 10k of the year this weekend. Hopefully if that goes well I will be hitting a 10 miler in October and a half in November. The good thing about mixing in the cycling and swimming is now I have thoughts to train for a triathlon sometime next year. The love of the run seems to lead me to good places when I let it!
You read my mind as I was going to message you and ask about your injury timeline. Thanks for writing this and sharing. Even if we don’t end up having the exact same experience, it really does help to set some expectations for coming back. I didn’t blog much after I recovered from my last stress fracture 5 years ago… mostly because I was traumatized and dealing with disordered eating (that I didn’t recognize at the time). I’m glad you’re recovered and I hope you get back into the fitness you want to be at soon.
Darn! I had a semi-long comment that didn’t post! Well all that counts from it is that I am so happy you are feeling better!!!
Ha, I hate when that happens and thanks for stopping by 🙂
I fractured my tibia and fibula completely back in July in a motorcycle accident. I like reading your blog because you inspire me and show me what is possible for healing as an active person. I am now at 7 weeks today after surgery, and am finally standing and bearing full weight, and in a few days I will attempt to walk. I know that if I can take one step, I can take two, and if I can take two, I can take four etc. In December, I don’t expect to be 100%, but I do expect to have 80% of my range of motion back, and be able to run.
I read a lot of other’s injury blogs and videos, and I think the people who do better tend to not focus on the injured foot/ankle. Some people always talk about their ‘bad’ ankle, and they seem to have problems for years after. I believe your mind makes a big difference in injury recovery. There is a point where your injury will be physically healed, but people seem to get stuck inside their heads and still baby that foot/ankle. The people who recover better do the activity that they like, and expect the healed part to fall in line and streghthen itself.
Thanks for this post!
Wow that sounds painful. You are truly inspirational with how positive you are. Keep me updated with your progress and thank you for stopping by 🙂
Oh no! So glad you are able to run now. It’s tough coming back and feeling like you’re not in shape. It’s a step forward so there’s still a light at the end of the tunnel! My last injury came at a bad time and was just frustrating because I rolled my ankle on a stinkin pine cone. I felt so dumb but my ankle swelled so big I had no choice to stop all activity. I’m feeling great now!
So happy to hear you’re injury free again, Hollie!
My last injury scare came this past May. I did well in the Broad Street Run, but a little after that, I went on a bar crawl where I walked 5 miles in really uncomfortable shoes. The next day, I had this giant, painful lump on top of my left foot. I was terrified it was a stress fracture! I took about two weeks off, but it was still hurting, so I went to a sports med doctor who said she thought it was just an inflamed tendon. She said to ice 2-3 times a day over the next week and then try running again. I did that, and things felt better!
Buttttt by then it was summer and hot and running kind of sucked. So I gave myself a break, took things fairly easy through June and July, and got back at it in August. Being in Seattle now helps tremendously, too – it’s amazing to have 50 degree mornings!