Pick your running coach wisely. That’s what we’re talking about on the Doc On The Run podcast.
Most of the runners who call me when they are inured have hired a running coach. Some of them don’t realize they have a running coach.
A coach is someone who one who instructs players in the fundamentals of a sport and directs strategy. When you sign up for online coaching, and get a marathon training plan, you hired a coach. When you go to the doctor and ask for help with a stress fracture you hired a coach.
Both of them are supposed to be helping you (in different ways) get to the finish line.
The biggest mistake I see runners make with coaching during an injury is that they are jumping from coach to coach. The doctor at the Urgent Care says I have to wear a boot. My primary care doctor says I should stop running. My naturopath said I should take turmeric. My podiatrist said I need orthotics. An essential oils expert said I should try lavender. My chiropractor says I need an adjustment. One of my friends in the Recovering Runners group on Facebook says I should try strengthening.
Some coaches are famous for brutal high mileage training schedules. Some coaches are famous for lower mileage quality of quantity approaches. You cannot do both.
If you hear nothing else here, you need to listen up and hear this… Pick your running coach wisely!
Anyone who helps you through an overtraining running injury is serving you as a coach. You think they are just helping your injury, but they are really helping you get back to running faster. Make a decision and commit to following instructions precisely.
It blows me away that virtually every day I get question which basically say…My doctor said to wear a boot. It has been 3 weeks, but I listened to podcast about how wearing a boot longer than really necessary can be seriously detrimental to my running fitness…do you think I should stop wearing the boot.
This is a perfect example of a running wanting to take parts of opposing views and hang on to them both. You cannot do high mileage and low mileage training at the same time. You have to choose.
If your doctor says you need to wear a fracture walking boot because you got a stress fracture, and you trust that doctor…do what the doctor said and wear the boot. If you are freaked out and concerned that you are wasting away and losing your running fitness while “resting” doing nothing and waiting for your injury to magically heal. Make a decision and do something different.
Listen to what makes sense.
Make a decision about what advice fits your goals and your plans and your situation best. Then decide to let the person, that coach, that doctor or that running buddy be your coach. Then, Listen. Do. Follow their instructions and stop searching for answers elsewhere. Sitting on then course wondering which direction is best will never get you anywhere quickly. The fastest path to the finish line is constant forward motion.
Check out the 12 Steps to Recovering form a Running Injury docontherun.com/12steps.
