Injuries happen, and more often than not, motivation takes a big nose-dive. I’ve never been a big fan of cycling, whether it be outside or on an indoor bike, but I’ve learned to appreciate the benefits they can give, so let’s look at how you can keep motivation levels high when you’re unable to run.
Find an alternative
Now it depends on your specific injury, and what you’re able to do of course, but if you’re able to swim, cycle, use a rowing machine or cross-trainer, you can make adjustments.
Like I mentioned before, I really don’t have a good relationship with cycling. On the roads and paths as a child, with a perforated eardrum and resulting poor balance, I had my fair share of nasty accidents, but more than anything, my legs have always burned within minutes regardless of how easy I took it.
With a couple of mild injuries/issues this year, I’ve had to throw myself into cycling to keep fitness levels up though, so I’ve been thinking a lot about translating what I do when running into what I do on the bike, and it’s helped change my mindset in a big way.
What’s your competition preference?
Although I’ve moved closer to the front of races than I used to be over the last few years, I’m still not a massively competitive person in general. It’s nice to run well, but I don’t particularly care if any one person finishes ahead of me, especially if I’ve run as well as I can. It’s much more about self-competition, which I feel helps keep us focused on what’s best for our progress, and avoiding the distractions of what other people are doing. Strava segments, club challenges and non-target races can all serve as fun things that actually make us feel worse in the long term.
With an internal competitive focus, we can look to progress training, and make activities that we don’t inherently enjoy, tolerable if not actually enjoyable.
When I had ankle pain in early March 2023, as soon as I knew that running would need to be reduced, I bought a spin bike for £85 from Facebook Marketplace within 3 days. I wanted one with a monitor to show distance and speed, as I’d used a studio style spin bike before and hated working to effort only.
Track your training
Most people I speak to who’ve had or have injuries aren’t tracking what they’re doing. It’s important, if we want to get the best out of ourselves, that we track training at all times, not just when things are going our way.
By tracking the distance, effort pace range, easy cycle pace range, turns of the resistance dial and heart rate data from my spin sessions, I’ve always got something to focus on to keep me working hard.
By doing this, I’ve so far been able to maintain fitness levels, and have begun to enjoy these sessions almost as much as running effort sessions. What was initially my hard effort speed, is now my easy spinning speed. I’m covering further distances per session every week. During tempo rides I regularly use the calculator on my phone to predict the finishing distance, then try to keep my speed above that, and maintain or increase the projection by the next 10 minute marker.
The drive to work hard and achieve improvements in some domain is more important than sulking about the need to be careful with how much I run, which for someone who’s been used to running 5-6 days per week for the last few years and hates/hated cycling, has come as a big surprise.
Watching others can also be a big motivation to work hard. I spend most of my rides watching YouTube videos of past elite races from track, cross-country and the roads. Studies show that watching someone closer to your own level is more beneficial for motivation. That said, based on conversation with people I know who’ve had injuries and watched others train and race, I’d argue that seeing people you know succeeding when you’re injured can do the exact opposite, leading to further feelings of isolation and bitterness. Personally, I’ve never found that as I love seeing people reap the rewards of their hard work no matter what, but that’s probably why I gravitated towards coaching in the first place, so it isn’t necessarily the norm.
If you can’t do cardio
If your particular injury rules out any cardio training, look for what you can work on rather than what you can’t do.
Yes, it would absolutely suck to not be able to get that feeling of exhaustion that cardio training brings, but if you were to work on your strength for instance, you can come back so much stronger when you do begin to run again, as well as reducing the chances of re-injury. Monitor the number of sets, repetitions, the resistance you use and how hard you find the session so you really appreciate the improvements you’re making.
Light cardio, such as pool running can also be incredibly challenging on the whole body, as well as being a great tool for running gait retraining, to make you a more efficient runner when you return.
Set targets
With your health professional (if you’re working with one to remedy your injury as quickly and safely as possible), or on your own, set targets for when you can realistically expect to return to partial running training.
Think also about the following questions:
What will the first week involve (distances, number of runs etc.)?
What will you assess (think pain scales, rate of perceived exertion for the runs)?
What will be a successful week (only full completion, or a percentage of that total amount)? What challenges might you face?
I’ve always found the planning process a really enjoyable exercise. It sets you up for being mentally prepared, it’s exciting to think about running and gives you a better chance of returning in a way that’s enjoyable and limits your risk of re-injury or disappointment.
Attack what you can do
Whether you can do cardio or not, whether you like strength training or find it a chore, think about the long term goal and work hard at what you can do to make that happen when you return to full training. Track what you’re doing throughout to stay motivated, and plan your return.
Most of all, don’t give in. This is a short term set back and doesn’t have to determine your entire running future. Although not the situation you wanted, it IS an opportunity to develop other parts of your athleticism which will serve you well in the long term.
Written by Kyle Brooks, Running Coach based in Norwich, Norfolk