An injury: what you CAN do

We’ve all been there. Rolling/running along the road to early season races and…BAM.

An injury.

At the worst possible time. Right when you thought you were going to kick off the season, it feels like the season just ended on you!

Before you start to count yourself out and/or head down the dreaded spiral of googling your own injury, take a breath.

Stop the panic (we know it’s hard!) and give yourself 24 hours. Skip the next workout. Keep the next few days easy and then figure out a course of action from there. Sometimes, things like rolled ankles or little tweaks just need a couple days. Sometimes it’s the start of something bigger brewing.

Focus on what you CAN do, not what you CAN’T. Lean into what you’re capable of, as long as it doesn’t cause pain.

Get an evaluation from a PT and/or a doctor.

Consider the ultimate goal here - is your next race an A race? Or just a local/favorite/training race? If it’s an A, it’s better to be immediately more conservative with your training, taking extra rest or leaning into the sports you CAN do. It’s better to rest the area and potentially perform better on race day. If it’s the latter, see if there’s another distance or category you could enter (IE, an aquabike instead of a full tri) or see if you can join a relay team to feel involved, even if the day looks different.

Talk to your coach/PT/Dr. and bring up symptoms even if they seem minor. Injuries are clues, and your team is here to do the detective work with you!

If you have to cancel the next race completely, make a plan B that you can get excited about, and makes sense with your recovery timeline.

And finally, be honest with yourself! Injuries never just vanish. Take some time to address the issue, stop when your body warns you, and learn how to build strength to prevent it happening again in the future!