by Perri Williams
It is not unusual on your athletics journey to hit a blip on that road to success with an injury. Athletes like Thomas Barr, Sharlene Mawdsley, Sarah Lavin to name but a few have all experienced injury and its consequences. At first there is denial, and you run through those niggles. Not all niggles turn into a full-blown injury – or at least that is what you try to tell yourself. The niggles persist and finally the pain to run, walk, jump or throw becomes greater than the activity itself. It is time to stop. Those of you who have ever had a longer-term injury often report feelings of initial hope (the injury won’t last long), then frustration or anger, as the injury progresses. Then there is the emptiness, the isolation, helplessness and often demotivation. When the body does not function, your mental state can often find itself in a new territory.
This article explores the challenges faced by athletes when injured and provides practical advice on how to regain control during what is often a vulnerable and challenging period for an athlete.
Patience
In the words of Jake Wightman (2022 1,500m World Champion who sat out 2023 and ultimately missed the 2024 Olympics); “Patience is probably your biggest friend, throughout this whole process”. If you rush things just to get back quickly, there is a high risk you are just going to get injury again. Listen to your physio. “Give your body as much time as it needs to recover properly and make sure you do all the right things that your physio is setting” suggested Wightman. Take things one step at a time. Don’t look all the way to the top of the mountain you have to climb, instead focus on the individual steps to get there, one by one. Patiently acknowledging the achievements each step brings.
You are allowed to grieve but be optimistic
Given that running often brings more positiveness into our lives, it is an oxymoron to tell an athlete to try and stay positive when they cannot run. Feeling low or negative is a natural response to an injury. Recently Ciara Mageean stated; “It really is a grieving cycle. It’s a loss, the loss of a dream”. Like other instances where you grieve (a death for example) there will be moments when you wallow in self-pity and experience the lows, and you just have to accept that there will be those moments. There is no shame in feeling low. However “treat it with as much optimism as possible” suggested Jake Wightman. See the light at the end of the tunnel.
Coaches can help in this respect too, knowing what to say and when. An athlete of mine recently told me his injury was getting worse. He was in a negative warp. Rather than issue optimistic statements like “look how far you have come and what a strong athlete you will become” which would be wasted words for his state of mind at that moment, I performed some of the simple tests the physio did at each visit. He passed all the tests. And gave a faint smile and his words of “I guess I am getting better” reflected a more optimistic state. There was no pain, the only pain was in his mind and his lack of patience regarding the healing process.
Relax and mentally reset
Being injured often makes you feel like a failure. Sometimes you need to experience failure to appreciate the ordinary things in life. Being injured gives you an opportunity to relax. You can see it as an unexpected gift to mentally reset. To clear your mind and focus on the correct way for you to reach your chosen goals without the noise of competitive athletics standing in the way.
To relax and mentally reset was one of the things Jake Wightman suggested as a mechanism to cope with injuries. “I don’t often get the chance to switch off from running completely,” said Wightman. “I managed to use the time not being in pain…. and be able to relax and enjoy a little bit of summer and not think about running and do the things I need to do …. and I can get back running and enjoying it, which I had not been doing for a lot of the year”.
To mentally reset is essential. Doing the same things the same way is obviously not getting you the results you desire and probably led to your injury in the first place. Look at why you are injured – perhaps it is your running technique, over-training, not getting enough sleep or even your nutrition. How can you make changes that will see you come back stronger than before. Take a leaf from the books of Sonia O’Sullivan.
Back in 1997 Sonia O’Sullivan’s world came crashing down when after a below par performance at the Atlanta Olympics the year before, she failed to advance from the heats in the 5,000m at the 1997 World Championships. Poor performance can also have the same effect as injury. Like injury, athletes see it as a failure.
“Sometimes you also need to experience some failure, to appreciate the ordinary, and to understand and appreciate again what it takes to reach certain heights in sport. It can easily come crashing down like a house of cards, particularly when the foundation isn’t solid and things aren’t aligned mentally and physically to deliver the relaxation that is required to rise to the challenge, ” said O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan took time out, went on a holiday without her running gear. She used the period away from the sport to learn how to find a new way of achieving greatness in her sport. She examined other aspects of her commitment; her sleeping, her eating and her attitude to her sport. A year later she won the World Cross-Country, short and long course in Morocco.
Evaluate your relationship with your sport
Research has indicated that the more an individual identifies with athletic performance (high athletic identity) their individual identity and self-esteem becomes less stable. Your identity or your happiness is neither performance nor participation dependent. Your athletic identity can trap you. You cannot base your true identity on something that can be as inconsistent as your athletics. It is how you deal with adversity that defines you. Think of yourself not as a runner or a jumper or a thrower, but of a person who runs, jumps or throws.
You can use your injury time to reflect on this and begin to separate who you are from what you do. You can use this period of adversity as an opportunity for self-growth. Sometimes talking to someone can help. Maybe a sports psychologist or just friends. Talking is as important as reflection. A period of injury helps you think about this and in a weird sort of way is a positive step for preparing you for ultimate athletic retirement, years down the road.
A word of caution: Finding your true identity will only be hindered by filling your time with constant social media scrolling; strava, instagram or facebook posts of other athletes doing well. Put your phone away.
Move forward
Ciara Mageean knows all about major injuries. Her college career was dominated by them. Just last year she had to pull out of the Olympics and face surgery. I will leave you with Ciara’s words; “The hard facts are, you just need to get over it (the injury). You can either carry this thing around on your shoulders and let it burden you and be a weight going forward, or you can say, ‘D’you know what? Life’s not fair sometimes’. Sometimes you just need to get over that, and say it isn’t fair, but what you’re going to do is make a plan and move forward.” Mageean did and is now making plans for LA 2028. If she can do it, so can you.