Running is more than just tracking miles or getting in shape. It is a process of self-exploration, where you experience the highest highs and the lowest lows. It's easy to stay optimistic and positive when your training is going well and you're stringing together back-to-back races. However, the strength of your character is truly shown when you are faced with setbacks. In this post, we will discuss setbacks, their emotional impact, strategies for coping, developing a comeback plan, and the lessons we can learn from them.
Defining Setbacks
Most of us view setbacks primarily as injuries, but there are many forms of setbacks, with injuries being only one part of the bigger picture. Setbacks can be placed on a spectrum, from minor to major.
While this list isn't exhaustive, and everyone's definition of a "minor" or "major" setback varies, the diagram roughly illustrates how setbacks can affect both training and mental well-being.
The Common Setbacks
As mentioned, there are various types of setbacks one may encounter on their running journey. These can be grouped into three categories:
1. Physical Setbacks
2. Mental Setbacks
3. Lifestyle Setbacks
Physical Setbacks
Physical setbacks are the most common types of setbacks runners encounter. These include overuse injuries like ITB syndrome, runner's knee, and plantar fasciitis, as well as chronic injuries like Achilles tendinopathy and patellar tendinopathy. Acute injuries such as sprains, cuts, and grazes also fall under this category. Additionally, illnesses can significantly impact your training. Common physical setbacks include:
- Post-surgery recovery
- Fatigue
- Injuries
- Nutrition and hydration issues
- Environmental factors
- Equipment and gear issues
- Sleep deprivation
Mental Setbacks
Mental setbacks are more challenging to tackle as they often require a multidisciplinary approach, such as sports psychological counseling and physiotherapy. These can include:
- Burnout
- Performance anxiety
- Loss of motivation and desire
- Mental fatigue
- Self-doubt
- Depression
- Boredom
- Fear of injury recurrence
- Perfectionism
Mental setbacks often overlap with physical and lifestyle setbacks. For example, burnout can stem from pressure to perform and can manifest physically through overtraining.
Lifestyle Setbacks
Almost all runners can relate to lifestyle setbacks, which involve challenges related to balancing running with other aspects of life such as work, family, and personal commitments. These setbacks can include:
- Time constraints
- Family and social obligations
- Work demands
- Other hobbies
- Financial constraints
It's essential to understand that no one setback is necessarily worse or better than another. All have implicit issues that affect individuals differently. Physical setbacks can be frustrating due to the lack of control, mental setbacks require a unique individualized approach, and lifestyle setbacks affect runners trying to juggle their busy schedules. While this article won't dive into each setback and how they affect training, we will discuss how to manage the stresses they present and develop a comeback plan for the future.
Emotional Impact of Setbacks: The Importance of Acceptance
In the early phases of facing a setback, whether physical, mental, or lifestyle-related, we all process tough times differently.
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a Swiss-American psychiatrist, developed a model for describing the emotional expressions observed in terminally ill patients. This model has been adapted to describe grief, although it was initially developed for dying patients. You may have heard of the model:
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance
Source: On Grief and Grieving: Finding the meaning of grief through the five stages of loss, Elizabeth Kubler Ross & David Kessler, 2005
The problem with using this model for grief is that it is linear, expecting that an individual will first experience denial, move into anger, then try to find meaning, lull into depression, and finally accept the situation. However, grief and emotional setbacks are often more complex and layered than a simple linear model. The Kubler-Ross Grief Cycle can be used as a descriptive model to increase understanding of a scenario, but it shouldn’t be prescriptive for understanding grief.
The process of grieving, whether from a setback in training or more sinister is more nuanced:
One of the most important aspects of dealing with setbacks as a runner is to accept and validate your own experience and expect the grieving process to be non-linear. No matter how trivial or minor your setback may seem, if you are experiencing grief and frustration, you need to acknowledge your feelings to develop an action plan moving forward. Once you accept your emotions, you can begin the process of moving forward.
You may validate your emotions by talking to a loved one, journaling, or simply saying to yourself, “Okay, this is the situation I’m in, and I’m angry and frustrated.” If you are struggling to process the extent of your setback, counseling can be a good option. Sports psychologists are often a great resource for athletes as they tend to have a better understanding of the setbacks an athlete may face.
Strategies for Coping with Setbacks
When faced with a setback, we must endure it, even if that means stopping running or adjusting our perspectives. We can deal with setbacks in numerous ways. By categorizing our ways of processing, we can better understand them and how to make an action plan moving forward.
1. Recognize and acknowledge the setback
2. Analyze the cause
3. Focus on what you can do
4. Develop a recovery plan
5. Adjust your goals
6. Strengthen your support network
7. Set new goals
8. Learn from your setback
Analyze the Cause
We’ve spoken about the importance of recognizing and acknowledging the setback to move on to the later steps. The next step is analyzing the cause of the setback.
Depending on the setback, the cause may not be entirely clear. For example, you may be suffering from burnout but can't pinpoint what tipped you over, whereas an acute injury like a sprained ankle is much easier to analyze. Analyzing the cause helps see where things went wrong and hopefully prevents recurrence in the future.
No matter how short your entries may be, keeping a record of your training can be invaluable in reflections.
In this phase, it can be useful to have a log of your training to review it and identify any issues. I regularly encourage my athletes to keep a training log with basic notes to help them see where things are going wrong and where things are going right. It can be difficult to recall a workout from three weeks ago, and this is where a log comes in handy. Once you've figured out the cause of your setback, you can move on to phase 3.
Focus on What You Can Do
Depending on your setback, you may be out for weeks to months. In this phase, it can be useful to reframe your mindset to focus on what you can do, rather than what you can't. While this may seem trivial, focusing on what you can do gives you power in a situation where hope feels lost. If you can't run, can you swim or ride? If not, can you walk? These activities may seem insignificant compared to what you used to do, but they shift you from a sense of hopelessness to a place where you can still be consistent.
If necessary, get medical clearance before starting any activities similar to running to avoid worsening your injury or further setbacks.
Cycling and swimming are excellent cross-training methods as they can keep your cardiovascular fitness up without the ground reaction forces from running.
Developing a Recovery Plan
With the help of a medical team or a coach, you can begin developing a recovery plan. This can be as basic or thorough as you like—the more information you include, the more motivation and drive you will have to get back to running. It can help to mark on the calendar when you plan to return to running and create steps to get there. Working backward is ideal, as you can analyze how to reach each "checkpoint." For example:
1. Heal up runner's knee injury—return to running (FINAL GOAL)
2. Do necessary strength exercises
3. See the physio
4. Book an appointment with a physio (FIRST GOAL)
This is a small checkpoint system, but you can get as detailed as you wish. The more checkpoints you write, the more likely you are to achieve your end goal. Cross off each checkpoint as you go to get a sense of achievement.
Adding when you plan to return to running can help build your motivation and boost your mood every day you get closer.
Adjust Your Goals
Similar to focusing on what you can do, adjusting your goals helps you feel more empowered. Your goals could be as simple as "do my physio exercises" or "ride the bike to maintain fitness." This helps with staying on track and maintaining consistency. Creating milestones on a larger-term plan can be a big motivator and show your progress on the recovery journey.
Strengthen Your Support Network
Depending on your connection to running, it can be tempting to disconnect from the sport to avoid the fear of missing out or getting upset. However, it can often help to stay involved in the sport in another way. Can you pace friends for a workout while on a bike? Can you still go for coffee after a run club?
For many, running is a social sport, and disconnecting from your social network can do more harm than good. Staying involved with a positive mindset can motivate you to get better and help others develop.
Equally important is spending time outside of the sport. If you spend a significant amount of time running, it can help to mildly disconnect and spend more time with your non-running community and family. This can give you a much-needed mental break from the demands of eat, train, repeat.
So, while it's important to keep your social network strong within running, it's also important to make time for rest and recuperation away from the sport.
Spend time with those you love to keep your hopes high.
Set New Goals
During the recovery process, setting new goals can be beneficial. Whether these are goals for when you're healthy and back to training, such as a marathon, or if you're still injured, setting progress goals like "run 5 minutes today, run 10 minutes next week," can help maintain consistency and satisfaction.
When you achieve small goals, progress to larger, more ambitious ones, and track your progress. Record your achievements and regularly check your goals to see if your approach is working. If not, refine your process or goals.
No matter how small your goals may be, they are forward progress in the right direction. Keep your head up and tick those goals off as you go.
Learn from Your Setback
Perhaps the most important lesson of all is to learn from your setback. Sometimes, it may feel out of your control why a setback occurred. You may have gotten sick or somehow rolled your ankle jogging on a flat road.
The point is to try and prevent it from happening again in the future. While it won't be impossible to stop all setbacks, reflecting on why they occurred can reduce the likelihood of recurrence. If your setback was related to changing your training plan or ramping up intensity too quickly, be more conservative during your training. If life events take over and your training falls behind, try to create a schedule to fit your training in.
Equally important is considering the good that came from setbacks. Often, we forget to see the positive outcomes, but usually, there are lessons to be learned and new opportunities that arose. Keeping a regular journal when injured is a great way to monitor your thoughts and track daily activities. You may find that you spent more time with family and friends, and that counts as something positive from a setback.
Journaling is a great way to reflect on a regular basis on how your mental state is tracking, along with the progress of your setback.
A non-conclusive conclusion
Running is more than just tracking miles or getting in shape; it is a process of self-exploration, where you experience the highest highs and the lowest lows. It’s easy to stay optimistic and positive when your training is going well and you string together back-to-back races, but the strength of your character is truly shown when you are faced with setbacks.
Setbacks are an inevitable part of the running journey, whether they are physical, mental, or lifestyle-related. Recognizing and accepting these challenges is crucial for growth and development as a runner. While they can be frustrating and disheartening, setbacks offer invaluable opportunities to learn, adapt, and come back stronger.
Throughout this blog, we have explored the various types of setbacks runners may encounter, their emotional impact, and strategies for coping with and overcoming them. By understanding the nature of setbacks and developing a proactive plan, runners can navigate these challenges with resilience and determination.
Remember, setbacks do not define you as a runner; how you respond to them does. Embrace the journey, with all its ups and downs, and use each setback as a stepping stone toward becoming a stronger, wiser, and more resilient runner. Your running journey is not just about reaching the finish line but about the growth and transformation you experience along the way. Keep moving forward, and never lose sight of the joy and fulfillment that running brings to your life.
If you are interested in learning how to build a training plan, execute races well, and improve your performance, check out my coaching options on my website. There is a plan to fit all budgets!
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