After June’s race, my focus shifted to recovering from the two injuries and giving my body some much-needed rest. The last two and a half months have gone by really fast. It feels like just yesterday that I participated in a race. The recovery itself took longer than I had expected.
Month 10 – July
In July, I covered a total of 65 km. All of my runs were essentially tests to see how my body was responding to the rehab work. Most of my time went into strength training, physiotherapy, and stretching.
This phase is particularly difficult because once you stop running, it feels like everything else starts to fall apart too. Maintaining the right diet becomes harder, you naturally start leaning towards comfort food, and somewhere along the way, your goal can begin to lose its sharpness.
This time, though, I was aware of that trap and made a conscious effort to stay on track. I made sure I ate well and followed all my recovery exercises as planned. That discipline paid off and helped me a lot in August, when I slowly started running again.
Month 11 – August
From August onwards, I started adding small distances to my running schedule alongside my regular strength work. On a few weekends, I did push myself and headed out for longer sessions on the trails, although most of these were more walks than runs. I knew I was probably pushing it a little, but sometimes you just can’t resist the urge.
By mid-August, I could sense that my recovery was getting faster. I could still feel some pain after the runs, but it was manageable. Initially, I kept the runs easy and did my long runs with my running group, something I generally miss when I’m training for a particular event.
Only recently have I started adding longer Z3 interval sessions. I can also feel that all the time I’ve spent on strength work is starting to pay off. I’ve gradually increased the load in my strength training as well, and so far, my body seems to be responding well to it.
What’s Next
I have an upcoming event on Saturday, the 19th—a Backyard Ultra. Beyond that, things are still a little uncertain because of my project timelines. I’m hoping to run a solid 50K sometime in December or January, but I’m not going to rush things or punish my body just to get there.
The recovery is still not 100%, and I can still feel the old sensation when I run longer distances. So, for now, the plan is to continue with the strength work and slowly build back my running fitness, which has taken a pretty big hit during these last few months. There’s no point in rushing the process; I’d rather give my body the time it needs and build things back one step at a time.
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I am a trail running coach with over four years of experience working with runners across different levels. If you’re interested in structured training and would like to take your running further, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram to connect and take it forward.
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Read my previous blogs here
Month 1, Month 2, Month 3, Month 4 & 5, Month 6 & 7, Month 8 & 9
