Think of the free time you'll have! - said no runner ever I’ve had a non-existent running season this fall. First I had piriformis issues, which took me out of running for two weeks. Then I developed tonsillitis, which kept me out for another week. Finally (I hope) I incurred two tears in one of my retinas and had emergency eye surgery, which has so far kept me out of running for two weeks. Meanwhile, I’ve watched every race I had looked forward to run past me while I play way to much Candy Crush Saga. I can feel the urge to start running again - and hard - once I’m cleared by the physician. Suspecting that might not be a good idea, I researched training after injury to make sure I don’t have yet another set back. Here’s what the experts all seem to agree on:
Know when your body is ready. You should have no pain when resting or doing normal, every day actions. The injured area should not be tender to the touch.
Obey the ‘pain threshold’. Once pain occurs during the first workout, note the time and/or distance. Stop your workout for the day. That length of time/distance is your ‘pain threshold’. Your next workout should be just under that time/distance, and increase from that figure each week.
Use the 10% increase rule. Once the starting distance/time is set, increase your distance ten percent each week, assuming the pain is now in check. If you experience pain before the goal distance of a workout, repeat step one above.
Stop skimping. Now is the time to start practicing the safety measures you may have been secretly ignoring so far. Get a properly fitted pair of shoes at a specialty running store. Start warming up and cooling down religiously. Invest in foam rollers and compression wear and use them.
Practice patience. It’s typical for recovery to take weeks and sometimes months. Professional trainers assume the recovery training will take at a minimum the same number of weeks that you were sidelined. Try not to view your recovery workouts as a penalty, but as an investment in longer and stronger workouts in the future.
Think of the free time you'll have! - said no runner ever I’ve had a non-existent running season this fall. First I had piriformis issues, which took me out of running for two weeks. Then I developed tonsillitis, which kept me out for another week. Finally (I hope) I incurred two tears in one of my retinas and had emergency eye surgery, which has so far kept me out of running for two weeks. Meanwhile, I’ve watched every race I had looked forward to run past me while I play way to much Candy Crush Saga. I can feel the urge to start running again - and hard - once I’m cleared by the physician. Suspecting that might not be a good idea, I researched training after injury to make sure I don’t have yet another set back. Here’s what the experts all seem to agree on: