The Rollercoaster of Sport
Bad patches in sport & life are frequent. How you deal with these and your attitude will make a big difference. I’ve been doing triathlon for 32 years. In that time, I have had many good patches and equally as many bad patches. It is easy to take the good patches for granted until you find yourself managing issues.
Bad Patches
Personally, the last eight weeks have not been great for me. It started with a small elective surgical procedure which meant one week’s rest just prior to Christmas. Then straight into our annual Falls Creek training camp with some solid but not outstanding training before the third 2XU Triathlon Series race where I strained by hamstring during the run leg. This resulted in another week of no running and no intensity on the bike. Finally, a MTB crash at the start of February caused a broken hand requiring surgery, bruised ribs and collarbone, inflamed knee and gravel rash.
Rehab
I’m lucky to be supported by a great network of practitioners in Geelong who help out the GPC Squad athletes. They are guiding me through my recovery and advising how much activity I can do without causing further damage & helping my rehab. It is important to keep doing the body moving if you can. The all or nothing mentality is something that athletes need to pull away from. Even 30min per day will make a big difference in the long term if your body lets you do this.
Next Step
It is easy to wallow in your self pity during this time and quite normal. However, it is how long you stay in this negative mindset before moving on that is the crucial part. My advice during a bad patch is to:
- Keep active where possible even if for 30mins per day
- Utilise the experts and get advice from trusted practitioners on what you can/should not do while in rehab or recovery
- Be grateful for the good patches you have had and general health
- Bad patches give you the motivation to get back to training & racing better than ever
My next goal is Ironman Australia in Port Macquarie. This will be another opportunity to gain experience at this distance before racing in Kona this October. I am aiming for 9hrs 20mins and an age group win. This leaves me with only 11 weeks to prepare for the event, but I love a challenge. This excitement is what gets me out the door and training each day.