Runners will always get injuries. Whether they’re caused by overtraining, the idiosyncrasies of the person’s movement or an accident along the way. Everyone’s returning to running will look different, but what are some common themes and pitfalls? Let’s find out.

 

Avoid negative comparisons

It’s tempting to look at the paces you initially achieve when returning to running, and feel deflated by comparing that pace to how fast you were running before the injury. Try to cut yourself some slack, and remember that you weren’t always as fit as that. Know that you’ll progress back there if you’re patient and consistent.

Comparison can be useful though, particularly if you’ve had the same injury previously, as it can form as a framework of your return. If you look at comparison with a motivational mindset, it can also be inspiring.

 

Have a plan

I strongly recommend planning your return when you start to run again. When I had a grade 1 ankle ligament sprain in 2020 following the Peddar’s Way Ultra, I took 2 weeks completely off, and began with just 400m of running for the first run. Progressing to 800m, 1 mile, 2 miles, 3 miles and so on, I didn’t increase the distance unless the last run was pain-free or had very little discomfort. When it was sore, I took a rest day, and set out on the following run to complete that distance again at least, with the A goal to run 1 mile more.

Map out your desired, but realistic, progression for 2-3 weeks. This way you have something to look forward to, and can see light at the end of the tunnel. This is often more motivating than planning day by day, which can leave you feeling a little lost in the bigger picture. Keep in mind that you need to be flexible though, and that it’s almost inevitable that you’ll have a couple of runs which hurt when you don’t expect them to. Healing and progress are never perfect or linear. 

 

Externally written plans

If you’ve had help with recovery from the injury, and have had a plan put together for you or suggestions made for how to return to exercise at your full capacity, it’s important that you follow these instructions really closely, or speak with the person who set this guidance to negotiate any changes you feel are necessary as you progress. If you were to only part stick to their advice and then become re-injured again we don’t really know the cause of this and then have to make the same assumption, starting the process again and delaying your return to full training.

If however, you follow their guidance and become injured again then you have a much clearer idea of the appropriate training load and/or any changes that may be needed in future.

I’m aware that having told you to be flexible with your own plan, I’m slightly contradicting myself with my advice about externally written plans, but experience has shown me that on their own people often hold back better than when working with someone on injuries. Presumably a solo effort leaves people less confident, so they perhaps undersell themselves. When working with a therapist or coach however, it seems the desire to be a good patient and make a miraculous recovery take over, often leading to more risk taking by running too far, too fast or changing plans on a whim.

 

Keep to sensible paces

Listen to your body to a degree, but don’t abandon your plan for any individual run just because you’re feeling good. There’s a high probability that you will feel fresh and want to push on due to running low mileage at this stage, so don’t assume you should run faster if it feels easy, because it should do unless you’ve not done any cardiovascular exercise for quite some time.

When returning to running, the point isn’t to work the cardiovascular system as hard as possible, it’s to challenge your muscles, ligaments and tendons to adapt to the stimulus of training. Overdo things here, and you’ll delay rather than speed up your recovery. 

 

Track your progress

Within your plan, I highly recommend keeping detailed notes of each run, and even each day in general, depending on the type and severity of injury. Notes can help you, or the person you’re working with, to determine patterns and refine what you do to speed up recovery.

Note down the distance you ran, average pace, elevation of the run, how you felt, before, during and after the run. For knee injuries in particular, it’s often worth noting your average cadence.

 

Other training tips

To keep this blog a sensible length, I’ve detailed some of the larger ideas below without going into great depth for each.

  • Add replacement cardio if possible. 
  • Add strength training, both “corrective” and general training.
  • Taper any new cardio and strength training as you return to running, making a gradual swap.
  • Use routes close to home in case you need to stop a run early. Out and backs can leave you miles from home, forcing you to cover the distance in pain and posing a higher re-injury risk.
  • Increase overall distance OR intensity, not both in the same week. Add a few miles, spread across the week, or take up the paces a notch, but don’t try to do both. A good method is to increase distance one week, then increase speed the following week for those same distances. This of course depends on the injury and your goals over the coming months as you return to racing.

 

So there you have it. A non-exhaustive, but slightly deeper dive into how to get back on your feet after an injury. It’s a horrible experience, and one that we can all blow out of proportion at times, but have faith in yourself and be patient with your body. It will get better, and most of the time you can get back to where you were, or even further with the right work.

Think of it like a project. It’s better to start slow with a solid plan, than rush in with your head down and no idea of the direction you’re going in.

 

Written by Kyle Brooks, Running Coach and Sports Massage Therapist based in Norwich, Norfolk