I’ve been injured since July 25, 2024.

It is now October 14, 2024.

In that time, I’ve done two races, and tried testing the waters time and time again to get back into regular training.

It wasn’t until three weeks ago that I decided to forego the finale to my season, and cut the final two races from the calendar.

It wasn’t until then that I reduced my cross-training time, and stopped testing the waters. (Even literally – 🏊).

In previous posts, I called that damn knee ‘unsolvable’ and ‘mysterious’ – even outright saying ‘nothing’s working’. Now, finally, something’s started to work.

I’ve stopped trying to make it better.

For weeks, under both the common wisdom and the advice from trusted others, I had it in my head that I needed to strengthen the injury to make it better.

Throughout that time, it only got worse. It only became more unsolvable.

The only real progress I’ve made with this injury chain has come in the last two weeks. After about a month of rest since Harricana, I noticed insurmountable progress for the first time after taking four complete days of absolute rest – thanks to commitments with XACT Nutrition. I literally did no exercise for four days straight, and my knee suddenly started to feel better.

This would normally drive me crazy. But from having the distractions of work and travel, I didn’t miss exercise one bit. Not only that, but taking that time off helped remarkably. I focused on other things that mattered to me. In the process, I stopped focusing all of my attention on that damn knee, and how to make it better.

After that period of rest, hiking has started to feel remarkably better – even on the downhills. After a bit more progress, for the first time today, I was able to safely test the waters and try lunging motions that I haven’t been able to muster since early August.

It seems as though the only real progress that I’ve made with this injury since July has been my decision to stop caring about trying to get fit again. To waive the remainder of this season as forgotten, and focus on getting healthy for 2025.

The hope of cutting the two October races off the calendar was exactly this. That I would heal throughout the month, and that I could start training toward a healthy 2025 in November. November, at the earliest.

I haven’t given myself any deadlines or timelines. Instead, just timelines I hope to meet through adequate rest and recovery.

This, I think, is a careful recognition that injured athletes may need to recognize.

It goes against common wisdom and it’s properly a dangerous statement to make. But sometimes the best results come when you stop trying.

When you’re in the thrust of the season, injuries quickly become a stressful part of the training process. This can lead to not only more stress, but trying to push the body past the point of pain either through continued running or cross-training.

This is what I did for months in order to try and end my season on a high. Ultimately, mission accomplished ✅.

But truthfully, I’ve also ended my season on a low. A low that will serve me well for the future, but still a low nonetheless.

If it’s the middle of the season, cross-training can often make sense. Taking 2-3 days off has always been my secret to success in quick injury recovery in the past few years. Regretfully, it isn’t something I did on this occasion. I kept on trying to rest on my ideal timeline, rather than my body’s ideal timeline.

So instead of spending the majority of my days running outside this year, I fear that I’ve actually spent more on the uphill treadmill.

This worked for months in maintaining fitness and allowing me to race through the recovery process. But it ultimately didn’t work in ending my season accomplishing everything I intended to.

Trying to continue cross-training at this time, with no races in sight, literally makes little sense.

I love exercise. I’m addicted to it, and I’m equally addicted to running. Daily exercise is part of my daily routine. It can be quite difficult to convince yourself to lose all of that, even for just a day.

But actually, what I’ve realized is – that’s what my body needs.

My body needs a rest and a reset. It needs time to discover a new beginning again, ensuring I can have a healthier future in the sport.

Sometimes the scariest decision is the right one. And now that my knee is feeling better again, maybe I can safely start to cross-train, strengthen and put more load on it again before starting to run. But I’m going to be doing so this time under the advice of a sports medicine doctor, rather than my own ideals.

It’s not a message anyone wants to hear. But the body doesn’t heal on your timelines. It heals on its own timelines. Recognizing that might just be the first step to recovery.