Lessons from the Setbacks of Injury and Surgery aka Listen to the Universe

When I first started running, I knew nothing about it. Nothing about nutrition, strength training, injury prevention, stretching, or foam rolling. I just ran. And, predictably, I was almost always hurt. Tightness, soreness, and injuries became part of the process. In 2020, tendonitis hit my knee. I rehabbed it, only for the other knee to follow. That sidelined me for almost a year. I lost fitness. Gained weight. Felt stuck.

I’ve also battled my diet and unhealthy relationship with food over all these years. Oh - food isn’t there to manage the emotions I don’t understand, you say? I never got that memo - lol.

In 2022 I started to have abdomen pain from gallstones and needed my gall bladder removed. Another setback! Last year, in 2024, I had more setbacks—an umbilical hernia that required surgery and, what was first diagnosed as a meniscus tear, but later confirmed via MRI as adult acute Osgood-Schlatter disease.

Before umbilical hernia surgery!

The initial wrong diagnosis meant I was doing the wrong physical therapy, which delayed my progress. Once I had the right diagnosis, I started the proper rehab. Shortly thereafter, at the start of 2025, I began working with a personal trainer—not just to build strength but to begin to be proactive about injury prevention. I’ve learned that true fitness is about more than just training hard; it’s about training smart.

My trainer emphasized what I had heard before but never fully made time for: proper strength training is injury prevention. Flexibility matters. Stretching is not an accessory; it’s a necessity.

I’m finally taking stretching seriously—something I had always meant to do but neglected. And so, I’ve begun to foam roll. I’ve begun to stretch more. I’ve expanded my yoga practice.

None of this was how I wanted to learn these lessons. But sometimes, the universe doesn’t give us what we want. It gives us what we need. These things forced me to slow down, reassess, and rebuild. Looking back, I realize every one of these injuries and surgeries and setbacks have shaped me into a better athlete and a more resilient person. Each setback has, in its own unique way, reinforced one of my four pillars of fitness: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Physical Fitness: Strength is Injury Prevention

For years, I avoided stretching. I had always wanted to do more of it—I practiced yin yoga and hot yoga, but never consistently enough to be impactful. My hamstrings, quads, and hips were chronically tight. When I started working with my trainer, they made it clear: strength training is injury prevention. Flexibility and mobility aren’t optional; they are essential to longevity in running. Foam rolling, stretching, and cross-training are now non-negotiables in my routine. I didn’t want to get into these things because of injuries, but that’s how I got here, and I’m grateful for that.

Mental Fitness: The Discipline to Do What’s Necessary

Rehab requires patience. There’s no shortcut. When I was misdiagnosed, I spent months doing the wrong PT, frustrated by the lack of progress. Once I had the right information, the real work began. And that’s the thing about mental fitness—it’s about sticking with the process even when progress is slow, even when it feels like you’re starting over. Injury taught me the discipline of slowing down, trusting the process, and staying committed even when I wanted to push harder.

Emotional Fitness: Handling Setbacks Without Giving Up

Every injury came with an emotional toll. Losing fitness, gaining weight, watching other runners train while I was sidelined—it tested me. But emotional fitness is about resilience, about handling the setbacks without letting them define you. It’s about adjusting expectations while keeping the long-term goal in sight. I’ve learned that fitness isn’t just about miles logged or weight lifted; it’s about the ability to keep going when things don’t go as planned. I had to grieve the losses, adjust my approach, and keep showing up.

Spiritual Fitness: Trusting the Journey

At the time, it felt like everything was working against me. But looking back, I can see that the universe was providing for me all along. Every injury forced me to develop another layer of fitness—strength where I was weak, patience where I was impulsive, resilience where I wanted to quit. There was a lesson in every setback, a growth opportunity in every forced pause. I didn’t want these injuries, but I needed what they taught me. And now, as I come out the other side, stronger and wiser, I see the bigger picture. The breakthrough is always on the other side of the difficulties!

Stronger and Better for It

Now that I’m fully recovered from the hernia and the knee injury, I’m going full force again—running, yoga, strength training, and yes, stretching and foam rolling. But I’m doing it smarter. I’m listening to my body. I’m focusing not just on pushing harder, but on building the foundation that allows me to keep going for the long haul. The setbacks weren’t what I wanted, but they gave me exactly what I needed. And for that, I’m grateful.

This journey isn’t just about running anymore. It’s about full-body, whole-life fitness—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. And now, I train with all four pillars in mind.

The universe was always providing. I just needed to slow down enough to see it.