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169 - The Athlete’s Paradox: When Injury Forces You to Learn How to Rest · Getting After It

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it is good to be back.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: I have missed this quite a bit.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: I've been busy.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Things have come up.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: And now welcome back to another episode of the Getin' After Podcast, my friends.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh today is gonna be a little bit of a different kind of episode because you know typically we talk about training and uh pushing your limits, but this one we're gonna kind of take the opposite approach.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be talking about rest to recovery.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's something I'm going through right now.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: I am dealing with quadricept tendinitis and it sucks.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: But there's no getting around it.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like it is what it is, it's happened, and I've had to learn some some hard lessons.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: But before we get into all of that, um just wanted to take a moment to say uh thank you so much for all the support.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're coming up on four years of the podcast, and it's been an awesome, amazing ride for me.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Looking back, I never thought I would be in a situation where I would have a podcast that would go this long.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, it's I was curious where it would go in the beginning, and now it's become something I'm I'm very passionate about and excited to do every time I sit down and and have the opportunity to record.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you so much for the support.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, if those out there are new, uh please feel free to follow on on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, all the places you get your podcasts, and um, it always helps.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I appreciate it.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: But uh I've been busy, like I said.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: I um at the beginning of this month, we went to Hawaii, my wife and I, we were taking a little vacation for ourselves, and um it was awesome.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: It was just a great little time to relax and get away.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: And uh after that, I went to Las Vegas to work.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and so just been back-to-back trips um and unfortunately kind of let the podcast slide, but uh I'm kind of glad that I have this opportunity to talk about rest in recovery because it's something that you know I never thought I would be making a podcast episode about, but injuries happen, and I am no um I'm no different than anyone else.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like I can get an injury just like you, and you can get an injury just like the next person.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: But they suck, injuries suck.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, to kind of paint the picture, you know, I have been training hard.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: I've been doing more miles than I I ever have before because in April I'm running a 50-mile race, which will be the longest distance I'll have attempted at that point.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm doing a lot of miles and trying to prepare for this thing.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: And uh at the uh the end of November, you know, I was coming off one of the strongest weeks I've ever had.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: I was so consistent, I had think about like 64 miles for the week, and I was feeling good.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: I had a lot of momentum.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and it was consistent.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like the week prior, I was around like 58 miles, and um, I've just been slowly building.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, unfortunately, life has its its ways of telling you to slow down and stop.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: And this was where my knee started to flare up.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I ran 15 miles, I think, the the Saturday before we went to Hawaii and felt good.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like didn't really feel too bad.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, there was a little bit of irritation in my knee once the run was finished, and I didn't think too much of it, you know.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like as a runner, I'm I'm used to having issues like that come up, and I'm I'm no um stranger to pain.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: But this was different, like it it kind of felt stiff, um a little bit achy, and that doesn't really happen after my runs, like I'm I'm typically pretty good.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I was a little bit worried about it, but I figured it was just probably soreness or whatever it was.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: So Allie and I headed to Hawaii, and that morning it was stiff, but once we got off the plane, which I think it's a it's about like a five and a half hour flight, if I recall, but it's around that time.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Once we got off the plane, my leg was so stiff, it was like like trying to uh open up a really old door.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like you picture a haunted house, like one of those doors.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like that was my knee.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so like I was worried, I was limping off that plane, and you know, I had all these ideas that I was gonna run on the beach and and run, you know, through all the green areas of Hawaii, and that sadly didn't happen.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we went to Pearl Harbor that first day we got there, and just walking around um the memorial, like it hurt so bad.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: It felt like, I don't know, just just not normal knee pain for me.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I I unfortunately had to stop, I had to pause, and um all my hopes of of running in Hawaii, I didn't do them.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: We went on a couple hikes and things like that, but took it pretty easy, but I wasn't able to run, and that was really hard for me.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: And the more I've been thinking about this injury and what it's what's happened because of it, and all these other things, um I've learned a truth that I think makes most disciplined people uncomfortable, and it's this that if rest makes you feel anxious, if slowing down makes you feel guilty, if being injured makes you feel like you're falling behind, it's not because you're weak, but it's because you've built an identity around doing, around motion, around getting after it.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And when that motion is taken away, when your body says no, but your mind is telling you to go, you don't just lose your training, you lose your certainty and rhythm and momentum, and sometimes a little bit of yourself.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I definitely feel like I I lost a big chunk of who I who I am because of this injury.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it's hard.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, I'm dealing with uh quad tendinitis, and it's basically you know the quad muscle that attaches to the knee, and it's that that tendon there from the knee to the to the bone that's just been flaring up.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: It hurts.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not a huge injury, luckily.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like I don't believe I need surgery, but it's enough to stop me from doing the thing that normally keeps me grounded, which is running.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the part that no one prepares you for.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because injury doesn't just interrupt your training plan, it makes you question your identity.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: At least it did for me.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, as someone who loves training this much.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll kind of kind of talk a little bit about it.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: So in Hawaii, I I took time off.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: I figured the best thing, the best thing for me to do at that moment was to rest and relax.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: And on vacation, you know, I figured Hawaii was a great place to do it.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I did.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I had this whole idea in my head that I'd come back from Hawaii and I'd be healed.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: It'll be fine.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: My knee would come back to normal and we'd go on our ways, right?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: So coming back from Hawaii, I uh woke up the next day and I was gonna train.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: And on Mondays, typically I do weightlifting first, and then I'll I'll run five miles or so.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so I get to the gym, my lift feels good.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm training for a HIROX uh competition in February, I think it's February 25th.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so like I'm doing some of those exercises, and there's a little bit of discomfort in my knee, but nothing I can't handle, nothing I haven't dealt with before.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: But then the run came, and I stepped on the treadmill and I started my run, and I knew something was different.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: I knew something was off.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: My knee was lagging behind.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like to extend my knee to you know take a step like that, it hurt so bad.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought it would ease up a little bit, so I kept running.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't until the first mile was over where my knee started to feel like it was getting back to normal, which is a classic case of quadricept tendinitis.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I told myself, oh man, so I I guess it's just a warm-up thing.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like I just gotta, I just gotta get through the warm-up and I'll be fine.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: Nope, not the case.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because the next day, after my five-mile run that Monday, it felt like a balloon.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: My my knee hurt so bad, and I woke up like again, it's that stiff feeling and super achy, and it's a very dull pain.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I just I was worried.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: I I feared that this was going to pause my training completely.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to set me so far behind.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: And that 50 miles that I I have ambitions to run, didn't know if it was going to be a real thing.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I I ran more than 2,000 miles this year, and so I was angry.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, why is this just happening now?
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like I've I've pushed my body way worse than than this.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like, why is it happening now?
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: But I realized it wasn't just soreness in my knee, something else was going on.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, my internal dialogue was saying, like, hey, I'll just push through this.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: But at the end of the day, I didn't think it was smart.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what really made me scared because I don't typically stop training.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I push myself really hard.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: And for me to say, I don't think that's a good idea, had to take something pretty significant to do.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a personal thing for me.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I want to be very clear about something up front.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: This episode is not coming from hindsight.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: I am not on the other side yet.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still in it.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's improving, it's getting better, but I am still in it.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: I can't do what I what I used to be doing, you know, in November, sadly.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: There are days when I feel very patient, I feel grounded, and I feel like things are gonna be gonna be okay.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: And there are other days when I feel frustrated, I feel restless, and and and I feel behind.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: I get all squirrely and weird because I have all this built-up energy that I can't can't get rid of.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so I feel like something's off.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um again, this doesn't necessarily just have to be regarding training.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you don't have to be an athlete to understand what it feels like to have your routine disrupted or your progress stall.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Or, you know, the thing that you use to regulate your mind is suddenly now unavailable, and you can't use that.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: This episode is about what to do when things go sideways, not just physically, but also mentally.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like injury, many people think it's just a physical issue, right?
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like, like I said, I've been talking about my knee, it's very direct.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like the pain is there, I can point to it right here.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: But it's also mental.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I studied a lot of sports psychology prior to this episode because I wanted to get good advice and and tips to help people who are dealing with injuries get through them and have a strong mind.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because sports psychology is very clear on this.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Injury triggers a psychological response that is just as real as the physical damage is, and it's things like anxiety, fear of re-injury, guilt for resting, and a sense that you're falling behind.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I had the thought many times like, what if I don't come back the same?
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: What's gonna happen?
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: I am someone who loves to get after it.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: I've built a podcast around that, I've built a community around getting after it.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: And am I gonna be able to come back and be strong?
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: But this is the important part.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Those emor the wow, those emortians, those emotions are normal.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: They don't mean you're being dramatic, they don't mean that you're undisciplined.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: It means that you deeply care about what you're building, and when that's taken away, when injury interrupts that process, it kind of feels like all those things, like the anxiety sets in, the fear of making it worse sets in.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: And you might not have this, but I definitely do like a lot of guilt for resting.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I have these big goals and I I want to achieve great things, and that doesn't come from rest, it comes from doing.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: But it gets better.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like I I've learned a lot during this time, and it's been a great learning opportunity for me to realize that, like, hey, my worth is not just running.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot more to Brett Rossell than hey, he just runs long distances.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I've recognized that those emotions, when unmanaged, can slow healing and even increase reinjury risk.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the body heals on a timeline, and the mind fights the clock.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the mind is counting down on when you're gonna be back to normal, when you're you're gonna start feeling great again.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you can't let that happen.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: You have to regulate your mindset.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And um last Saturday, I had one of those moments where I was just I felt like I was beaten.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: I woke up and um it was a week of you know, pretty bad training.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: I was sick that week too, so you know, I I was in bed um quite a bit, but at the end of the day, I was resting, so I feel like that was a little bit of a blessing in disguise.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: But Friday night I was I had the the goal of waking up and just going to get my miles in.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: That day I had I think 15 planned.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: That was on the schedule, and I I said, My knee feels good enough, I think I'll be able to do this.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: And and it did.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like it there wasn't too much pain in my knee at that point.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: But for some reason, when I started my run, it was the most pain I've I've felt in my knee.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: And like to the point to where I was getting nauseous after each step, I uh I ran the first quarter mile and I said, Okay, I'm just gonna pause here for a second, take a breath, and then hopefully, like when I I I get back on the horse, I'll be good to go.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: Man, excuse me, I have the hiccups.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so that was the mindset that I took into it, and I was like, okay, I'm gonna go again.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I started running again, and that same pain, it just was I couldn't miss it.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: I my knee was screaming at me to stop.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I finally gave into it after 0.62 of a mile.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's as much as I got done that day, which again kills me.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I just came off of a week where I was running so much and I had you know 64 miles for the week, and I felt so good.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: I had so much momentum, and all of a sudden I can't even run a mile.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like that sucked.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: And unfortunately, I let those emotions kind of stay with me throughout the day.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I was in a grumpy mood all day, I was bummed out, and we were doing Christmas things with Ali's family, and I was just an unhappy guy.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's the danger of letting your emotions take control of the situation.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you need to be just as disciplined with your emotions as you are with your training.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is where uh I've come up with something that is called the athlete's paradox.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: This paradox uh it basically just talks about how that same discipline that makes you great can also destroy your longevity if it's if it isn't tempered with wisdom.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like high-performing people are used are used to solving problems with effort.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like that looks like more work, more reps, more grit.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: But if at the end of the day, injury doesn't respond to force, it responds to patience, it responds to consistency, and it responds to the right work, which looks like rehab and taking care of yourself and resting.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you're anything like me, rest does not feel natural, like it feels wrong.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it might be a little dramatic to say that, but it truly feels like I'm I'm not doing something I should be doing.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I hate that feeling.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not wrong.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: It is not wrong to rest and to take care of yourself when you need it.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, you should.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: If your goal is to be in the long game, you can't just burn out all your joints when when you just want to keep training, when you're arrogant enough to say, hey, that doesn't apply to me.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna push through it, which I thought was me.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: I thought, you know, I would just be able to run through this injury and and you know, might I might have some pain, it might hurt a lot, but I thought I would be fine.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's not the case.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's not smart.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've kind of in a sense trained my nervous system to equate effort with worth.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: So when that effort was taken away, my worth feels shaky.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: Which is pretty sad.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, I I don't ever want my worth to be so tied up into running, where if it gets taken away, I feel like less of a person.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's not how it should be.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: But those are the things that my mind was telling me at the time, and it was hard, like, you know, I I felt like I didn't earn the day many times, and and I felt like I was falling so far behind.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, questioning whether or not I can even perform on that 50-mile race or uh during the Hyrocks event.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing I noticed the most was the harsh self-talk.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: I've mentioned on this podcast a few times that before Allie, I was very mean to myself.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: I was I was very blunt with my own efforts.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: And and if I didn't do something I I thought was good enough, I would let myself know.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: I would beat myself up so much.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I started noticing that in myself again.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like, especially that Saturday, I was like, Brett, you're a piece of shit, man.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: You can't even run a mile.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like, who the hell do you even think you are?
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: You're not an endurance athlete, and it's just these dark, mean thoughts that I kept thinking about myself, and it's not how it should be just because I'm injured.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I had to I had to reel that in so fast.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: And um this is kind of where I I reframed this whole situation for me.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, because I think it's important to pause and and actually think about your thoughts and where you can reframe certain things.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, elite performers and elite performance psychology people, um they recognize that rec uh recovery is not the absence of work, it is a different kind of work, and that's kind of what switched everything for me.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like sports psychologists psychologists treat recovery as an active performance phase and not a setback.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Most people rest passively and they feel guilty the entire time, which was me prior to realizing I needed to be intentional.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: And high-level performers, they recover so intentionally.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I always thought passive rest was laziness, and that's what I kept telling myself on on last Saturday was like, Man, you're so lazy.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: You can't even get out there and run.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: What is this?
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: But at the end of the day, intentional recovery is a preparation for the long game.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Again, that's what's important is the long game.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: I want to be doing this.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Until you know I'm I'm 70 years old.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: And and that is possible, but only if I treat my body with respect and take care of it when I need to.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like, hey, you know, your car every now and then something breaks.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: But you go and get a tune-up and you go get the part fixed, and boom, you're back on the road and you're feeling good.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: That check engine light's off.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: I was ignoring the check engine light in myself for so long.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: And once I recognize that, hey, I'm no better than anyone else, I have to confront this.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: I have to recognize that this is just a phase that I'm in, and it's a recovery phase.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that's fine.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's okay.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay to be in a recovery phase.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, it's probably smart to be if you're dealing with knee pain like I am.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um but that's the thing too I recognize is like it is preparation, and it is still preparation even when it's quiet.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: It still counts.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I just realized that I needed to take a step back and lower my ego.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's so interesting to me.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm looking back at Jocko Willings' extreme ownership book, and he talks about how ego has no place in leadership and really anything.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: And he's right.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like, just because I thought I was, you know, some high-performing athlete and could run through pain, you know, I've ran ultra marathons, and that requires a lot of pain to go through.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: But at the end of the day, like I am no better than anyone else.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I had to recognize that, I had to accept it, and realize that there were other things I can control rather than just my training and performance.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: And when those things like outcome-specific goals disappear, for example, you're PRing or you're training for a distance race, or you have these timelines that you want to hit, when those are gone, you have to shift to proc process-based goals.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: And what that looks like is like, hey, not as how fast will I be?
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's more like, did I show up for my rehab today?
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: Did I regulate my stress?
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: Did I protect my sleep?
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: Am I eating well?
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: Those things are so important to recovery, and they are things that I can control.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: And so that control restores confidence in myself, and and I recognize that no, I'm not falling behind.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just training a different system.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm training to get better.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, a lot of the times I'm training for a race or I'm working towards a specific goal.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: But that can't happen if I'm injured.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like I have to make sure I respect my body and take care of it.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now, one thing that I really thought was interesting about some of the sports psychologists' um advice is the mental tools that they they gave that actually help.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like, this was an interesting one for me.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm so glad that I took the time to study this and and research this topic because, like I said, I have been struggling with this this injury.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's been three weeks.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I've just been bummed a lot of the times.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like I feel like I'm missing out.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: And running's one way that I um really regulate my emotions and and am able to decompress in a sense.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that probably sounds weird to people who don't run, but um it helps me relax um and just control my thoughts.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so when that's gone, the training piece, there's other tools that can help that.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: Now, a few of those, the first one is breath work.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's one when I read that, I was like, how does breath work help in regulating emotions?
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: But running is breath work, like you're breathing hard, you're you're doing um long distances, so you're breathing hard for a long time.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so I applied some of those same principles and I tried breath work, and when I feel stressed or I feel anxious, I'll just take a moment to breathe.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like, but just do that over and over again and just take a moment to calm down.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: It does help, like that really helps me, especially on the anxiety piece and the fear piece.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: Just taking a moment to breathe.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: Mindfulness is another big one, like being present in the moment that you're in, not trying to focus so much on the future or or focus so much on what you used to be.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um that's not gonna get you much.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: So being present and focusing on things that matter to you.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: I I mentioned in the last episode how I love looking at sunsets.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's just it's just peaceful, you know.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: The the sky is painted with all these different colors, and the sun's starting to go down, it's getting darker, and um, it's there's just something about it that I love.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I uh I find things like that in my day-to-day now where I can be grateful in the moment.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: And bringing gratitude into recovery, I've I've seen a huge benefit to my own recovery process.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: Reason being is, you know, I I talk about and I've been talking about this whole episode how I miss running.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: I miss, you know, getting out there on the trails and and doing big distances, like going out for a 20-miler with my brother.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: I miss that.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: But if I focus on that too much, I'll get pessimistic.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'll get pretty, pretty sad and realize that like, oh man, I miss that so much.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, like offering some gratitude into your life, bringing some gratitude into your life can change a lot of stuff.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like you recognize how grateful you are for the things that you have.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: And another thing too that I know will be the case is once I'm done with this injury process and and I'm feeling good again, I'm gonna be so grateful for that opportunity to run.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know what it's like to not be able to, to try and run, you know, 15 miles but only get 0.62 miles in.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: And that's difficult, but I know I'm gonna be so grateful for that opportunity.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, there's a lot of other things I'm grateful for, like my health in general, like the fact that I'm I'm fertile now and um I have a loving wife, I have a great family, I have a good job, and um I'm just so blessed.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: And focusing on that helps me just maintain my patience because that's what sucks the most about this whole thing, is you have to be so patient.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can't rush it.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: You're not on the timeline that you want to be on, you're on your body's timeline, and you have to respect that and trust that it'll get better.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, another one is visualization.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: This one again, like I was confused about when I read it.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, how does visualization help with recovery?
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: But I think what it does is just help you realize that you you can still accomplish great things, and so visualizing what it'll be like when I'm when I'm healed.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like I think about that all the time and how I'm not gonna take running for granted.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: And um I think about when I'm gonna cross the finish line on my 50 miler and when I'm gonna do high rocks with my wife, and visualizing those moments.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing that I've recognized that it does for me at least is give me hope that I'll be able to get to those spots.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be able to come back stronger because of this injury.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just interesting how you can reframe things just by thinking about it and visualizing success and visualizing how things will play out.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, like it's not gonna go exactly to how your your mind plays it out in your head, but it might give you a good idea.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: You might get a good idea of what it's gonna be like, and so visualization helps.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: And the last one is relaxation, which I hate doing.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like sitting around.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: I like I said, I feel antsy and I feel like I need to be doing other things.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: But going back to when I was um sick last week, like that was a for sure blessing in disguise because it forced my body to take time off my legs and to just rest, to take care of myself, to eat good, to stretch and go through that process of taking care of my body.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: That was a blessing in disguise.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: But relaxing and taking it easy, if done intentionally, is not a bad thing.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, do not think in your head that it's bad.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because I thought it was, and I was wrong because I'm wrong about a lot of stuff, and I don't know, it's just it's very powerful to be able to just take it easy to relax.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have a hard time relaxing, kind of like I do, a couple things that help me is one, I will I'll read a book.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like that's a productive thing for me.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'll work on things, I'll work on podcast outlines, I'll journal.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but that way I'm still doing something while I'm I'm taking it easy in a sense.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so those aren't just soft skills, like they are performance skills.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how many times have you heard about an athlete in the Olympics who would visualize them getting to that point and being successful?
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: And stillness is not inactivity, it's training your nerves nervous system to be able to manage this stress.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: I've been talking a lot about losses in this episode, like things that have gone wrong and issues, but I want to switch it a little bit and talk about a win.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because the past two weeks I haven't really been able to run that much.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: This week it's starting to feel a lot better.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm at about 27 miles for the whole week, which is nowhere near where I'd like to be.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, I can't rush the process.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: I gotta I gotta be where I'm at.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: And today I I went out on a run uh just with the idea that I was gonna try and at least get five miles.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was feeling good.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like I learned how to tape my knee with KT tape, and um that's a another good tip.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if you have an injury that's that's muscle or tendon issues, learn how to tape your your injury with with KT tape.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: It it does make a big difference.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'll put a link in the show notes of what I use, but like you can find it on Amazon or wherever.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I uh I went on the run, and sure enough, five miles came and I was feeling good.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: There was no pain in my knee, it just felt like it was kind of sore.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I just kept going.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I got to the point to where I ran nine miles, and that was the longest I've ran since getting injured.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, that was a huge win that I saw an end in sight to this injury that I was able to push myself just to get nine miles in, which is like a regular thing, but it felt so good to get that win.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I was really glad I was able to do it.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um another thing for me that's been helpful in this process is is relying on faith and trusting that I'll be okay.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like, there have been moments where I've had to pray to God for patience and to pray for strength.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't think that means that I'm weak.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think it just means, hey, I needed a little extra help.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I would talk to God honestly about like what I'm dealing with and where my thoughts were at.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: And um I know he listens because like I I have patience.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: I I feel like I'm a little bit stronger and I'm able to endure this better than than I have been.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um so sometimes strength looks like effort, but other times it looks like trust and and being patient.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_00: So that's another thing that I've I've really had to overcome and and recognize.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: But this is something that like I keep reminding myself of, and maybe it's something you need to hear too.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: And this is it.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: That you have bounced back before.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: That this is not the end of your story.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: This chapter still counts, and you're still writing future chapters.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: Injury doesn't mean regression, it can build patience, perspective, and depth.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: So when you focus on those things, you're not actually taking a step back, you're building other skill sets.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: And the comeback is built quietly, long before anyone ever sees it.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: But they won't know what you've had to do to endure, to uh build on yourself and develop these skills that ultimately help you with longevity and keep you in the game longer.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_00: But that's what you want to do.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to get injured, like I don't want to injure myself and and stop running at at 28 years old and not ever get back on the trails again.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: That would kill me.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: But I realize it takes patience, it takes work, it takes trusting and and recognizing that I do need to rest, I need to take some time off.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: Which isn't easy to confront.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like, especially, like I said, someone like me who's built getting after it and focuses on on pushing himself on a daily basis to do his best.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, doing my best looks like a lot of physical training.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: So it's been tough, but you know, I'm I'm grateful for this opportunity where I've had this this chance to learn how to develop these other skills like patience and um resilience because I know life's gonna throw curveballs at me all the time.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: And these skills of resilience, patience, trust, faith, and visualization, all those other things, like those are skills.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna be much stronger and much more able to handle whatever life throws at me because I've built these skills.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that makes sense.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: And it's because I've had to be resilient through my training and through my through my injury, and it it's no different for you.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, the goal is the long game.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the goal is not just to return, but it's to return wiser and more able to understand your body better.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to return more grounded, more resilient, because you've you've bounced back yet again.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are in a season where things have gone sideways for you, and that could be physically, mentally, or emotionally, you are not behind.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: You are not broken.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: You are becoming something great, you are building your other skills, and that matters.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_00: You have to keep trusting the process and keep honoring the phase that you're in and respecting your body.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's really it.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I I don't like being injured.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_00: But again, it's a perspective thing.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like, do I want to take the approach of just being pessimistic and angry and pissed off all the time because I can't run?
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: No, I don't want to do that.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to do that to my family, I don't want to do that to myself.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: I want to be the person who, when a challenge comes up, like an injury, says, Okay, what do we have to do?
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_00: What's next?
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: What's the next thing I can focus on?
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because there's a lot of power in that.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_00: You take things step by step, and don't try and rush the process.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because that could lead to re-injury, and that's what the last thing you want to happen.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm still in the learning phase.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, this podcast is not coming from hindsight.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still dealing with these problems.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: But I know I'll be better because of it, and I know I'll be more resilient.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: And like I said, I cannot wait to get to the point to where I feel strong again.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: I hope this episode helped.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you learned a few things that um might be able to give you some more momentum going into your other goals, or if you are dealing with an injury, like be able to handle that with more grace and and respect for your body.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: But injuries are gonna happen, especially if you're an endurance athlete and especially if you're pushing yourself hard.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: When they do, don't get pessimistic, don't get pissed off, just focus on the next thing.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope this helped.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_00: If it did, um please like the show.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, that always helps too.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: Helps the show grow, helps us reach more people, and share it with a friend.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, if you know someone who's injured, maybe send it to them.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: But again, I I'm just so grateful for you guys for listening to this, always spending time with me and trying to get better together.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I do this podcast, is I want to grow with you guys.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: We're all in the same boat, we're all human beings on this planet, this rock flying through space.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: And our goal is just to improve.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: Slowly, day by day, but improve.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: And um I appreciate you guys for listening.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for taking some time with me today.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_00: And um I can't wait to get to the point to where I'm getting after it full force again.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: But until that point, keep getting after it, my friends.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.