10 | Runner and Writer Jen A. Miller on Trusting Yourself

Jan 23, 2020

Jen A. Miller has been writing about running for The New York Times since 2010. The first article on the sport she published there had to do with injury—"dead butt syndrome," specifically.

Last year, she sustained another serious setback, a stress fracture in her tibia. In the weekly running newsletter she now writes for the Times, she chronicled her journey, from the anger and frustration at her diagnosis to an emotional comeback, running the New York City Marathon with her mother.

On the Injured Athletes Club podcast this week, Jen—who’s also the author of a memoir, Running: A Love Story—joined us to share:

• How she thinks injuries are viewed in running: “inevitable and terrible” (5:10)
• More about her dead butt syndrome, how she coped, and how it ultimately propelled her career forward (6:28)
• One tool she’s found incredibly helpful in staying healthy (8:29)
• More about what contributed to her stress fracture (9:05)
• What it was like to write about injury in such a public way (12:08)
• The emotions that most surprised her along the way (14:58)
• The process of returning to running, and helping her mother train for and race her first marathon (22:36)
• Her experience tapering off antidepressants, and how running played a role in the transition (28:36)
• The challenges athletes sometimes face in communicating with health care providers (35:51)
• The biggest lessons she’s taken from her injury experience and the changes to her running she’s made because of it (42:01)

 

Resources/links:

• Jen’s website, Instagram, and Twitter, and the site for her book
• Her articles in the New York Times, including those in her “Running with My Mom” series: What We Talk About When We Talk About Running, Nowhere to Go but Up, Running a Marathon With My Mom
• Her articles about injury, including that first one—When an Injury Sidelines a Runner—along with The Long Road to Injury Recovery, How to Stay Patient While Recovering From an Injury, and After a Runner’s Fracture Heals, Fighting the Fear of Re-injury (a Q&A with Carrie) 

 

You can subscribe to The Injured Athletes Club on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or a review in Apple podcasts. That helps other injured athletes find the show.

 

To access more resources for injured athletes:

• Order our book, Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries, out now! Buy it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, or from our publisher, Bloomsbury Sport.
• Join The Injured Athletes Club email list, for weekly news and updates
• Join The Injured Athletes Club Facebook group, for support and camaraderie
• Email us at [e-mail] with questions, guest suggestions, or other feedback

 

DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational & informational use only and & does not constitute medical advice. Do not disregard, avoid or delay obtaining medical or health related advice from your health-care professional because of something you may have heard in an episode of this podcast. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult with a qualified medical professional for proper evaluation & treatment. Guests who speak on this podcast express their own opinions, experiences, and conclusions, and The Injured Athletes Club podcast hosts nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular treatment option discussed in the episodes of this podcast and are not responsible for any actions or inactions of listeners based on the information presented. The use of any information provided is solely at your own risk.