Nobody wants to be injured, but unfortunately if you workout regularly there is a chance you will be out injured at some point (even if that injury was a sprained ankle from tripping over a shoe at your front door!). I’ve had my fair share of injuries over the past few years, one in particular that had me off running for 2 months – and let me tell you, it was the l-o-n-g-e-s-t 2 months!

Here are my 5 strategies for coming back from an injury.

1. First and foremost, be kind to yourself. Getting angry or upset at yourself or the situation won’t help. Try to keep your mind positive and remember that this is a temporary situation.
2. See this as an opportunity to get back to the basics and into good habits. Perhaps you previously didn’t do a proper warm-up, or you’d skip the cool-down in favour of a post-run coffee with friends. Identify what you weren’t doing and what you know you should be doing, and promise yourself you will do them.
3. Be realistic with the distances and paces you can do. Just because you could do a 25 minute 5k pre-injury, it doesn’t mean you can do that now. Try not to see it as getting back to what you once were capable of doing, but instead slowly build up your mileage and pace as though you are starting from scratch.
4. Keep a log of your runs including pace and distance – this way you’ll be able to see your progress. And progress doesn’t always need to be faster paces, but it could be that you are now able to run twice a week, or that you’ve gone from comfortably running 2k to 3k.
5. Consider getting a coach to take the guess work out of your training. A qualified coach will be able to create a plan unique for you, your goals and fitness. They’ll be there to guide you, support you, help you stay accountable and encourage you.

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