This is the time of the year where there seems to be a bubble up in increasing numbers of injuries and niggles for athletes. It isn’t the change of weather, but typically related to the shifting focus in training, and the rising load and strain as races begin to emerge. As things begin to get ‘real’, injury frequency becomes a challenge. I had a sneaky feeling that we might collectively face a rise in injuries this season, not because of poor training prescription and execution, but due to a ramp in underlying stress that many folks are feeling in life and the world.  In fact, I wrote a very important piece about stress, that serves as important background reading for my thoughts below. Please take the time to read this blog, it is a must-do for every ambitious Purple Patch athlete.  I should add, feel free to share with friends and associates, as you certainly don’t need to be any sort of athlete to learn from the message. I also encourage you to listen to last week’s podcast, around the same subject.

With the backdrop of greater stress for many folks, a few important reminders and tips around preventing and managing niggles. This should be a non-negotiable set of practices to deploy for you.

• Know when to show up.  I always talk about being present and focused in training, and this is important, but I do believe we need to be pragmatic on when that focus is important. Each of us only has a set ability to focus, and a certain reservoir of willpower. We focus on work and life constantly, and I don’t see athletes benefit from viewing every training session as something that demands complete mental engagement. I encourage you to have complete mental commitment and focus on the more specific sessions of the week, it is the only way to execute with intent and yield results. For some of the more supportive sessions (example: an easy soul filling run), you might benefit from taking a different approach. View these sessions as ‘decompressors’, and a little ‘me-time’ to facilitate a dishwasher effect on the brain and escape the ‘always on’ mindset. Go ahead, chat to friends, keep it simple, listen to a podcast.  Enjoy being outside. Ensure that a good percentage of your training is additive to life and allows a mental recharge. On a personal note, no one is going to come and take me away from a joyful Wednesday and Friday trail run when I trot along looking at streams and listen to my audiobook, it is my ‘me-time’. We all benefit from a little bit on that in our training life.

• Meet yourself where you are. Don’t allow any looming event to drag your current training beyond the place that you are at this time. As the race day gets closer, many athletes ignore patient progress and start chasing performance too aggressively. This is why the months and months matter, so remain patient and aim for layered consistency.

• Don’t forget the basics.  Most athletes under-eat relative to training demands, leaving tissue unable to repair and adaptations limited. It is also a course of over-fatigue and injury. It is time to dial in nutrition and prioritize other habits such as sleep and downtime. Any training you do will only be as effective as your fueling and recovery. Commit to it, and if you need support in this area then it is a perfect time to dial in with FUELIn

• Maintain pragmatism.  If you are faced with amplified logistical and emotional stress, due to work, commutes, kids activities or any other recipe of stressors, then double down on pragmatism. As soon as you consistently force a training program into life that doesn't have capacity, your injury risk skyrockets. Even if you have to compromise readiness a tad, you are vastly better to nail consistency with health than being derailed with injury.

I hope this perspective helps. On final thought. If you do find yourself in a cul-de-sac of struggle then please reach out. This is what coaching consultations are for, and we can set a path for you that will facilitate a journey back to health, while optimizing your situation as you go through it. A niggle is never an end, it is just a detour from the dream path.

Cheers,

Matt