Facing Adversity as an Athlete

I believe one of the hardest challenges to face as an athlete, is battling injuries. 

I’m feeling pretty down right now and today was supposed to be a great day.  There’s nothing more frustrating than doing everything right, and an injury pops up out of nowhere… 

I woke up this morning and the weather was perfect, sunny and about 73 degrees in beautiful Southern California.  I was just coming off the heels of finishing a Spartan Super (8 mi, 25+ obstacles) the weekend before and it was time to get after it.  I have a Spartan Beast scheduled in three weeks (13 mi, 30+ obstacles), so my training needs to be dialed in.  I fed the dogs, ate breakfast and was ready to crush my morning workout.  I go through all of my warm-ups, start my first set of pull-ups, and I feel my right shoulder give. 

Oh God, not again, I thought. 

If you have ever been an athlete battling injuries, then you know that dreaded feeling.  You tweak a muscle or feel something pull and right away you know instantly… this will be an extended recovery. 

This is so devastating for me because I just came back from an entirely different injury a month ago.  How bad will the shoulder be?  I don’t know.  Only rest and time will tell.  I have my fingers crossed that it’s only a minor tweak and in a few days I’ll be back at it. 

But you just can’t tell.  And time is something that I don’t have right now. 

It’s not our choice how we get injured, but how we respond is. 

Like everything in life, all that we control is how we react… how we respond… how we get back up from being knocked down and persevere. 

I was supposed to complete my first Spartan Beast in October 2019.  But the increased running in the weeks leading up to it led to a foot injury that ended up taking a month and a half to recover. 

I was crushed to say the least. 

I had been waking up at 4:30am every day to work out and attack the race.  But one slight injury and the dream went up in smoke.  I tried to look at the positives – all of the work I had put in would only help me in the future, but regardless of the discipline and benefits, it felt like a personal loss.  When you put in so much time and dedication to accomplish a specific goal, coming up short regardless of the circumstances, still stings fiercely. 

Reframing your perspective, is usually much easier said than done. 

This competition was part of a three-race Spartan Trifecta that would have to be completed during 2019.  Spartan races are scheduled all over the US so there was no guarantee that I’d be able to find another location in the next 2 months close enough to travel to. 

Luckily, I go online and there just happens to be a Spartan Beast scheduled in Los Olivos, CA for Dec 14^th, only 2.5 hours North of LA.  I’d get my second chance and that was all that I needed. 

As I mentioned before, I completed a Spartan Super the previous weekend to check the box for 2 out of 3 races complete.  It wasn’t my best race, but I was feeling good and had been improving each week leading up to it.  There was no lingering effect from my previous foot injury so I dived back into my early morning workout schedule and had no setbacks. 

Then this morning happened. 

Don’t worry about what you can’t control, and move on.  It’s that simple and yet that hard at the same time. 

Growing up I was always an avid athlete, and injuries were few and far between.  But now, becoming more active as an aging athlete, the injuries have been coming too frequently for my liking.  Preparation, warm-ups and listening to my body have become tools that I try to utilize to my advantage, but the results have yet to come. 

Sometimes there’s just not that much you can do.  Fate calls an audible and new challenges are put in your way. 

Regardless, you accept what is reality and move on to the best of your ability.  And that’s exactly what I will be doing. 

I cursed and moped around this morning, played out the whole poor me charade and then let it go.  Things can always be worse.  I can still throw on my running shoes and not let this day get away. 

Live and let live, as the afflicted say. 

I have three weeks left… not long, but not without hope.  Either way, I can’t control the outcome.  But I can control how I respond. 

And respond I shall… 

-Q-FI 

P.S.  So how about you?  Ever suffer a devastating injury while training?  How did you overcome it?  Tell me all about it in the comments below.