Montage of sunrises during Angela’s morning runs
Today’s post will feature one example of an exercise enthusiast who has had to deal with an injury. My close friend Angela was in the middle of training for her first marathon and was sidelined by an unrelated foot injury (specifically, while playing recreational softball). Injuries are common among runners, so I wanted to share Angela’s situation and positive perspective on injury, as her patience has enabled her to heal appropriately and eventually sign up for another marathon. Enjoy!
Question: You were playing softball when the injury occurred. What happened?
Answer: A collision at first base and not a typical softball injury, but accidents happen! I fractured the distal end of my fourth metatarsal, just about where the toes meet the footbones.
Question: What was your post-injury rehab/recovery program like?
Answer: It was a minor fracture and I was in the boot about 6 weeks. I wasn’t given a rehab plan except to wear the boot all day every day for 6 weeks. I had little pain after the first few days so it was very tempting to do too much or not wear it – however I listened because I knew the last thing I wanted was a problem with my foot not healing correctly. I was told to use pain as an indicator for how much I should/shouldn’t do. Pushing it was not going to help me reach any goals so I might as well be patient.
Question: After the injury happened and you were told that you couldn’t run for a couple of months, how did this affect you emotionally? How did you deal with the news?
Answer: At first I was really upset because I had worked hard and felt like I had committed a lot of early mornings to fit in my training before the news. I didn’t want to be forced to quit. Exercising also keeps my stress level down and was bummed out from an all-around health standpoint. After the first few weeks though I did realize maybe I was trying to fit too much in at a busy time. I had several weddings I was in with weekends away from home and I was stressing about when I would be able to fit my longer runs in with these commitments.
Question: Any tips/tricks for other athletes who are facing an injury in terms of staying optimistic? Any tips on staying fit while unable to exercise?
Answer: I didn’t do a very good job at exercising during my 6 weeks in the boot. I probably could have done some upper body work or maybe some rowing, but I didn’t have a regular gym membership at the time and I didn’t feel very motivated. Ultimately I think the break was good for me. I accomplished a lot of other things on my ‘to do’ list – decorating my house, cooking new recipes, and slowing down a little. It wasn’t such a bad thing to be forced to focus on other things in life for a while.
Question: You are now running again, slowly but surely increasing the miles. What are your running goals?
Answer: It took me about another month to get back into running regularly. After completely stopping I also wanted to ease back into it as it felt right, not rush right in just because I was given the ‘OK’. I’ve been slowly increasing my miles and I’ve also been doing some heart rate training to increase my aerobic fitness – based on the MAF method.
During my downtime I reevaluated how I was training before and decided I was probably running my easy runs too fast – a common mistake from what I understand. Right now my goals are to increase my mileage and do almost all my running at a very easy slow pace. Slowing down so much is challenging and I have to have a different mindset but so far I am enjoying it. I plan to run through the winter and hope to run my first marathon in May. I also incorporating yoga and light strength training into my routine, as I generally feel better with more variety.
Being injured was frustrating but I am thankful it was minor and that I am healthy enough to be able to go out everyday and exercise now. Not everyone has this freedom and regardless of my goals I try to remember that, especially when things get tough!
Readers, have you ever been set back by an injury? If so, how did you handle being sidelined from running/exercise?
Anyone have any holiday/festive plans this week? My neighborhood in Boston is having a holiday stroll tomorrow night- looking forward to meeting my girls and checking it out! #winenight
Jane Runs Wild 
Great idea for a post and glad that your friend is back to training. Like almost all runners, Ive dealt with injury…calf muscle strain and tear forced me to completely stop for 6 weeks a couple of times. Also battled plantar fasciitis during marathon training that I ran through…running wasn’t bad but getting up and walking was excruciating.
Great morning picture gallery!
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Thank you for sharing! Good to hear that you’re back up and running marathons again!
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I run too slow to get injured, ;)
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Gosh, so am I!
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Hilarious but it might not be true. Injuries happen more often to slow runners, I think because more time in contact with the ground = more opportunity to get hurt (injuries don’t happen when you’re airborne).
The best way to prevent injuries is to maintain good running form, wear the appropriate gear, and stick to a good plan that includes adequate time for rest, and not over exerting the body.
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Thank you for sharing. I was injured about 6 weeks before my first marathon. I took that time off and then ‘ran’ my first marathon injured. I finished, but it was miserable and it took a long time to get healthy after that.
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Sorry to hear that! What was the injury? Sounds like you’re back up and running now which is good! :)
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no worries- it was a good lesson on the benefits of doing things like stretching / foam rolling. I hadn’t been doing much of that. The injury was my IT band – pain due to muscles around it not being flexible enough. The more I ran the worse it got until I started hurting the other leg by over compensating.
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I’ve been fully trained for marathons the last 2 Springs then a stress fractured tibia and micro tears IT band. It really sucks! especially after training thru Canadian winters. I’ve written about it in my blog Marathon Quest and Run Karen Run. This Winter, I have a personal coach and I WILL run Ottawa :-) Glad your friend Angela is back at it. Cheers!
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What lovely pictures.
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Great post. I’m actually injured now because I had a monster year of races. Sometimes we take for granted what our bodies can do.
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Sorry to hear that Cathy! Hope you feel better soon and are able to get out and run more races! Congrats on all of your accomplishments this year!
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Not to advertise or push my own blog by way of yours, but you can get the whole story of my mishap a couple of years ago on my blog. I am not as smart as Angela. I have always had weak ankles. I sprained my ankle on a Tuesday and ran a 5k that Friday night and a 10k Saturday morning. The physical therapist said she knew she couldn’t talk me out of running the races, but that I should pay attention to the pain, as Angela talked about, and not push too hard. It wasn’t my best 10k, but it was my 1st official 10k.
Thanks to Angela for sharing your experience.
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enjoy the holiday stroll in Boston — that sounds lovely!
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Thanks so much! ‘Tis the season!
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Injuries are not fun but they are definitely humbling…thanks for sharing! I’ll be enjoying some of Christmas in paradise on the islands ;) Cheers!
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Those are great pics. I love the one on he bottom left best. I’d get up early to run there for sure.
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Thanks, it’s worth it!
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