By Michael Coe
There are hardly few, if any, competitive distance runners who have not had to deal with a serious injury. It is an athlete’s worst nightmare: You push your body to its breaking point, soon to discover it will no longer function without a long period of rest and rehab. The mere idea of prolonged rest and rehab contradicts our nature of pushing ourselves when it hurts. I commend those runners who have dealt with the frustrations of injury and bounced back stronger from it.

I have dealt with a few injuries in my roller coaster running career, with the latest coming this past spring when my senior NCAA season ended abruptly due to a stress fracture in my heel. Just like that, my college career over. Now, 6 months later, I am happy to say everything is intact and feeling great, but maintaining a strong and healthy body requires day to day maintenance.

The common definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. One of the key improvements for me has been proper nutrition. Not a drastic change, but a higher emphasis on frequent smaller meals to replenish the body constantly. More high proteins foods, whole grains, and vegetables added to the high carbs I have always had in my diet. Along with the multivitamins taken on a daily basis, a constant monitoring of Vitamin D, Calcium, and Iron intake has kept me feeling strong.

It is inevitable that when you are forced to take a break from running, you are going to get out of shape. This fear of being “unfit” destroys many runners who focus on the wrong things when seriously injured. As my coach puts it into figurative terms, “Fix the roof before it starts raining.” In other words, improve the things you can when you are running less. I spent 3 months of the summer improving flexibility in the ankles, toes, strength in the calves, better posture, more power from the glutes. When the intensity of training picked up, my body was prepared for it. It only took a few weeks of running before I felt my aerobic endurance follow suit. Sometimes being injured can present itself as blessing in disguise, because you learn body awareness that you may not have had before.

Coming back with a rejuvenated focus and confidence requires one to take complete ownership of mind and body and above all, to find a mental peace with your routine. Set small short term goals for yourself and when you achieve them, give yourself praise, then move on to the next goal. You will find yourself making progress and enjoying the process.

A quick fast forward to the present day, a couple days removed from my first competitive road race as a professional runner: This was the first year for me that Thanksgiving morning involved more than relaxing at home and preparing a family feast. This year’s Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 5k was a step above your traditional fun run Turkey Trot. By “a step above” I mean blistering 4:25 mile pace for 3.1 miles on the streets of San Jose in front of hundreds of spectators watching some of the best runners in the world compete.

Although my race did not go as well as I had hoped (14:01, 10th place) there were many positives to take away. First off, I got a taste for that racing feeling I had to deprive myself all summer and fall, and secondly, I felt no traces of injury. A sign that the body maintenance is working.

The best thing about completing a race on Thanksgiving is once you’re done, you have the green light to feast away with all of the delicious food, Mom’s home cooking, and watch some football.

Then Friday morning comes and it’s back to work.