How To Comeback From Injury

On NYE 2019, I was attacked by a large breed dog during a long run in the Altadena residential community. I made an animal report and hoped I was ok; however, the next day, I was in an extreme amount of pain bruised in colors I hadn't seen before and bodily shock with skin reactions. I took myself to the ER on NYD 2020 and spent the entire day at the hospital going through tests.  

My physical wounds of torn and punctured tissues caused extreme physical pain. Additionally, I began to suffer night terrors severely disrupting my sleep like I had never experienced before. I developed a deep ingrained fear of German Shepards, even though I love dogs and animals to this day. I respect all breeds and their personal space. The topical wounds healed, the deeper wounds took longer and left biomechanical imbalances. The psychological wounds were a more complex story and worsened as more trauma collected throughout 2020. The combination of trauma physical injury and psychological injury took its toll on my body and nervous system. 

I was determined with rehab, physical therapy, modified training to return to racing and in March 2020, I came back to the LA Marathon to run my fastest marathon in seven years. I finished in 3:17 as 44th female in a field of 22,000-- my 75th Boston Qualifier and 145th marathon. With my physical therapist and sports med professionals, it was a grind for three months to arrive to the start line relatively healthy. Then and now, I am eternally grateful for every step I take.

There are two main causes of injuries in sport: overuse or trauma. The most important approach to come back from an injury is: 1) allow the injury to fully heal, 2) maintain a plan of movement, strength, and recovery strategies with your coach, PT, manual therapist, etc, and 3) listen to the cues from your body to return gradually from injury to not re-injure the same injury.

There are many ways to approach endurance training as we are inspired by what our peers and professionals accomplish in their training or races. It is great to be inspired by our community. However, it is important to remember there is only one YOU. Your body and mind are unique. There is a unique formula on how to train your body type, your lifestyle, and your mind to reach your goals.


THREE PRINCIPLES TO AVOID INJURY

At age 12, I started running as conditioning for my first sport: boxing. At age 14, I ran my first marathon then ran competitively in high school. Adolescence and 20s are amazing for exploring performance with maximal recovery rates. My body did some amazing things in those sixteen years. When I turned 30, it was like I ran into a brick wall. I needed to adapt if I wanted to keep up with my athletic ambitions.

Each year and decade, the human body goes through a variety of physiological changes, especially at age 30. Some cellular processes do not operate at the level as they do in our younger years. This is partly why we need more time between harder sessions, need more sleep, need to be more mindful of our daily nutrition, etc. The beauty of the human body is there are ways to adapt in order to evolve into a stronger, newer form. With endurance sports, the body can go the distance for years and potentially decades to come with the proper adaptations. As we have observed, we can also find our peak performances in endurance later in life. We need to accept if we want to be in this sport for a lifetime, we must be: PATIENT.

How one cares for the body outside of the sport tremendously impacts how the body recovers, rebuilds, and gets stronger. We need to be more mindful of our quality of sleep, biorhythms, recovery strategies, eating lifestyle, mobility practice, cross training, strength training, meditation, mental visualization, stress and emotional management regularly. Who has time for all that other than professional athletes? The secret is finding a rhythm where we can be mindful of each of these components by taking small steps for each one until we create habits and then it becomes a lifestyle. The beautiful thing is when we take care of these things, we are actually investing in our longevity. We need: BALANCE. 

As an athlete, educator, and coach, I aim to balance the needs of my body and mind in small ways each day. The more we invest in these aspects of ourselves, the more we have to offer in our relationships, family, and work life. When we strengthen ourselves, we are better equipped to be of service for others. The greatest distance reached, the fastest runner, the strongest triathlete, all started with a first step. What got them to their big goal was they kept going, even when times got difficult. The third principle is we must be: CONSISTENT.

TIPS IF YOU HAVE AN INJURY

1) STOP running if you're having any continuous joint or muscular pain (outside of minor muscle soreness), especially if it begins to exceeds a 4 on pain scale from 1 to 10. Get it checked out by a medical professional such as your physical therapist, sports medicine chiropractor, or GP. Ignoring it or hoping it will go away may not allow it to heal properly. I have some athletes come to me with injuries from the past that we need to address and work through before I help coach them to reach their goals. 

2) STOP the negative self-talk. This is challenging because our joy to move pain-free is gone. Reframe this as an opportunity where you can focus on strength exercises, mobility, drills, cross training, etc. Our emotions are highly tied to our physicality of moving. Everyday will not be easy. Allow yourself the time to release the negative energy in a healthy manner then refocus your mind into a positive space. The positivity is what will help you remain patient and consistent.  

3) START rehab, recovery, and strengthening strategies guided by your coach, physical therapist, sports med chiro, etc. Rehab then becomes prehab--adopt the philosophy that your body deserves to have these regular recovery and strengthening modalities. It is about prevention as much as maintenance to help you remain balanced. 

4) START cross training once cleared by your medical practitioner. Cross training includes non impact cardio, strength circuits, mobility, core, yoga, etc. These in the end will help you become an overall balanced and more powerful runner. Then the guidance of an endurance coach can help guide you through the proper training cycles that are periodized for your body and lifestyle. You don't need a coach; however, a coach is here to do all the leg work for you and optimize your time with their experience, care, and scientific knowledge. You may hear often others say to the injured: "Rest and you will come back stronger." This is partly true. The complete statement is: Rest from what caused the injury, while you work on your weaknesses/imbalances then you will come back stronger.

5) START a customized training plan and training log. A plan will help you create a rhythm to be balanced in your training. I tell my athletes who want to achieve their goals: there is a difference between working out and training each day. Training each day usually has a very clear performance goal; therefore, you should follow a training plan that fits your body and lifestyle. 

A training log will help you reflect what is working and what is not. Whether you have a specific time goal, qualify for Boston, or rediscover a new fitness routine while avoiding injury, a plan and log will help you reach it in a balanced and consistent way. If a results-oriented training plan is too time consuming to create, hire a coach to help you. A coach can help you create the right habits, achieve results, and provide accountability on what to do, when to do it, and in what doses for an optimal performance for you. No matter what: give yourself the gift of movement of at least 30 minutes / day for your health. A walk is better than none at all.

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An injury can be extremely difficult emotionally. We become afraid of the injury to resurface. We become deflated throughout the healing process. Be patient, balanced, and positive. That is what will get you out the door, even when it's hard. Need the guidance and accountability to you get there? Email me your three goals and let's get started on your journey to health, clarity, and mental growth to your dream fitness goals.