Trust Your Body After Injury

Coming back from injury is a golden opportunity to build a stronger relationship with your teammate for life - your body.

A friend who was down almost six weeks with an injury, told me she needed to get her mind back to a race mentality.

“How do you do that without letting the fear creep in and tell you otherwise?”

She was still a bit cautious because she was nervous the injury would return as she started to ramp back up.

She said, “I cannot simply "pick-up" where I left off. I need to ease into the routine.”

It’s a great question because recovering from injury seems like the big deal…until you recover and find yourself facing a new, unsure relationship with your body.

So here are a few suggestions for making it a better relationship than before.

Let’s start by getting one thing straight - it’s you, not your body, you need to trust.

If you’ve given your body time and everything it needs to heal, it’s healed.

Really think about that.

It’s your decision - not your body’s - to start back again, so take responsibility for that.

Don’t make your body the bad guy.

Next, face the possibility the injury could return.

It might.

If you’re nervous about that like my friend was, you’ll listen to your injury. You’ll watch for the smallest hints, tense up in worry, and run awkwardly…creating conditions that almost invite the injury back in.

Or you can listen to your body. You can simply back off if it starts to bother you and recalibrate.

There’s a lot of room between 100% injured and 100% healthy.

Then, watch where you’re working against yourself.

You’ll say have to ease in, but you’ll be tempted to push your body so you can feel better about getting back faster to race mentality.

Don’t betray your body or yourself that way.

Accept that you’ll feel tempted to force things while you give your body and mind time to get race-ready. It’s normal and…you don’t need to act on it.

Last, the fear will creep in and try to get to you to distrust your body and make it the enemy.

Decide now whose side you’re on - fear’s or your body’s.

Like two people that have weathered a storm together, injury can bring you and your body closer.

It did its part and healed. That in itself is an amazing feat.

And you got to know it better - you learned what it needs and how it heals.

What if you two are actually stronger together now?

What if you can trust your body more, now that you know it better?

That’s the golden opportunity hidden in the injury…and it’s worth taking.

If you want help doing this injury mindset work, I get it.

Injury is one of the most challenging circumstances we face in ultrarunning, and maintaining a good head space takes daily work.

I’m here to help you navigate your that journey and come out stronger.

If you’re injured or curious, use this link to sign up for a consult call.

It’s free and we can talk through your specific situation, fears, and how you can take control of the process.