- RUN! Who am I kidding? I know that you’re going to try to do it anyway. 🙂 Seriously– if many years of running has taught me anything, it’s that continuing to run when you are battling a running injury will only make your recovery longer.
- Sign up for every race you can find __ weeks out from your projected return to running date.
- Spend your yearly budget for running gear.
- Obsessively stalk your running friend’s training and race performance on social media and Strava.
- Refuse to exercise at all. Even though you can’t run, there may be other cross-training exercises you can still do. Continuing to exercise aerobically can help preserve fitness, making it easier when you return to the roads.
- Don’t ditch your running friends when you’re injured. Try catching up with your running partner or running group for coffee after a long run, or another non-running related event. Running can be an important social activity, and you will miss it if you neglect your running friends altogether!
- Refuse to attend a race you are missing due to your running injury. Cheering on other runners, especially running friends, can be A LOT of fun. It can be a very emotional and rewarding experience to spectate or volunteer at a local race. Not running will give you a chance to give back to the community you love so much!
- Give in to negativity. One of the hardest things to avoid when you are dealing with a running injury is feeling like you will never get back to where you were in training or that it seems like a lifetime of non-running. Try visualizing yourself out on a run, feeling good and pain-free or imagine yourself in a comeback race. Never underestimate the power of your mind and its role in healing, both physically and emotionally.
- Let stress build and build. Running is a stress release for a lot of us, and you will likely need to find an outlet for stress now that you aren’t running. Try yoga or meditation as a way to let go of stress and anxiety while you are side-lined. Not only will they help you cope with not running, both activities will help you tremendously when you start back again!
- Do too much too soon when you are given the green light to return to running. As tempting as it is to jump back into training where you left off, make sure you increase your mileage safely! You can thank me later. 😉
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