- Jen Farmer
- Jul 2, 2021
- 4 min read
Things can feel a bit off when dealing with an injury; with areas like sleep, routine, and even nutrition feeling confusing to navigate. As athletes we've become accustomed to fueling our body in certain ways for high training loads and epic adventures, so when injury or a major life event sidelines us it's not uncommon to feel anxious about changes we think we must make to corresponding areas of our life like our morning routine, fueling/hydration needs, and rest goals.
So many of my day to day decisions are centered around the amount of training I do. Just finished a big workout-need to get in a quality meal, plans for a long adventure day in the morning-need to get plenty of rest, preparing for a race-need to place an emphasis on quality food and recovery; so when training volume shifts for an extended and unknown period of time those areas can seem to be sitting in the gray area. Having never been in this space before, the first few days were a bit challenging and certainly had their ups and downs. When an area like nutrition or fitness becomes confusing, I find it helpful to reflect on the advice I would give a good friend who is struggling in these areas. It's so easy to be be hard on yourself-not looking at the full picture-when it comes to your own life. While on a bike ride the other day, I thought through any area that was giving me anxiety or concern and reflected on what I would tell someone else in my position.
Love and Grace over Fear and Anger
I think our natural tendency is to initially approach something uncomfortable with a sense of fear or anger. In this case, my initial reaction to this injury was annoyance that my body wasn't performing to it's potential with a dose of anxiety over how I would make adjustments to my nutrition. Now if this were happening to a friend and they were concerned with the adjustments to their nutrition, would I recommend they express hate to their body and restrict. NO! I would first encourage them to exude gratitude and grace to their body, reminding them that for years those legs and (heels) have supported them on thousands of miles of running and maybe just need a little extra love right now. Remember, the mind talks to the body. There is truly zero benefit in trying to will the body better-stemming from a place of anger-in fact that mindset will only slow down the healing process and keep you miserable in the mean time. This also ties to nutrition. One key way to speed recovery is through proper nutrition. Our body craves healing and nutrient dense foods and one way we can show love is by providing as many healing nutrients possible. I would tell this friend, instead of thinking, "Oh I didn't run 90 miles this week I should skip meals", think, "In order for me to stay strong and get back to the start line as healthy and fit as possible I should continue to fuel appropriately." Because, news flash: you don't have to run 90 miles a week to eat:)
Understand You'll Feel a Multitude of Ways
Similar to an ultra in which one moment you're running high and the next you would rather do anything but run, you're going to feel many different emotions about the healing process. One moment you may actually be thankful for some downtime, and the next freaking out that you're losing all your fitness and shouldn't be indulging in anything apart from broccoli and kale salads. Now again, it comes back to what would I tell a friend if they expressed dealing with such thoughts. At the end of the day we are going to deal with an onset of differing emotions-they key is coming back to truths. 1. Your body needs food to do this little thing called-survive. 2. You won't really lose that much fitness in the larger picture of training. 3. You are more than just a runner. 4. This time is a small blip in the grand scheme of things. When those emotions and thoughts swing to a negative place stop and remind yourself these truths. Oh the lies we can tell ourselves. Stop those dead in their tracks, acknowledge you are working through a gray and difficult space, and remind yourself of the truths.
Focus on the Additions not the Subtractions
As athletes we tend to do better if there is something to work for. If my friend was struggling with maintaining a healthy relationship with food in a down season I would suggest they focus on the additions instead of the subtractions. For example, instead of thinking, "I need to eat half what I normally do and restrict my portions", focus on what needs to be added. Did I get my 5-7 servings of fruits and veggies, half my body weight of water in oz, adequate protein, fiber, fats, and complex carbs? At the end of the day, our body is pretty awesome at working things out if given half a chance. Focus on crowding out those negative restriction thoughts by adding in as many delicious, whole foods as your body needs!
Trust me, I fully acknowledge it's far easier to tell a friend these things than try to convince our own brains. When struggling with a similar setback, or really any difficult area of life, stop yourself, write down what you're struggling with and write the response to those struggles as if you are writing a letter to a dear friend. It's so easy to be hard on ourselves, but of course we want to show grace to our loved ones. Just remember, you are loved and sometimes need a bit of gratitude and grace too:)
