Resiliency and Why

I have been wanting to write for a few weeks now and I haven't really known what to say. I have been on the up and down roller coaster of one thing after the next this year and sometimes its just hard to hold yourself grounded. I am a pretty positive person and can tend to find the "lemonade in anything", but even the happiest people have their low points. This year has not been what  I expected, to say the least. After starting the year in quiet possibly the fittest I have EVER been, I got Mono before even getting to show off that fitness. 3 months later, the illness left my body and I made a quick turn around to race and only ended up with a torn Adductor in the left leg. No running for 4-6 weeks was the prescribed treatment and that didn't seem too bad at the time. That quickly turned into 10 weeks, And then with that came an opposing injury due to over compensation in the other hip.  Yep, one thing after another. I threw up my hands and proclaimed " I QUIT!!", even though we all know that's not true....

Recently, there has been some great articles published about some other pro athletes and their hardships. Namely:

Helle Frederickson: http://www.hellefrederiksen.com/knowing-your-why-a-coping-mechanism-for-dealing-with-injury/
Josh Amberger:http://www.josh-amberger.com/joshblogs/2015/8/20/2015-a-big-kick-in-the-pants
Jordan Rapp: http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/On_the_meaning_of_resilience_5315.html

One thing they all pinpoint is this idea of being Resilient and having a "Why". Resiliency is the ability to conquer all that life throws at you. Not just the ability to recover from an athletic injury. Its also the ability to mentally recover, physically recover, and stitch it all back together again, even better and stronger then before, for whatever hardship you are dealing with.  You learn, you adapt, you conquer. Without having a "why", you will never be resilient. I have found myself over the last couple of weeks (ok maybe months!) questioning my decisions and desires.

Why am I going to swim practice if I am injured?
Why am I booking an alterG appointment if I am not racing?
Why is it SO hard to pull out of a race?

The one thing I found myself always going back to is the people! I love the people. I kept going to swim practice even if I had to use a swim buoy, because I loved to be with the group! I kept running on the alterG simply because I LOVE running even if its for 20 minutes. Its ok to accept your feelings and be upset-- I love to race, but its also not the end of the world!

My "Why" has never really changed. Just the way I do it everyday. In the mean time all I can really do is listen to my body, Go back to the basics, and slowly increase what I am capable of doing.

So where does this leave me now?

• I am finally swim/bike/running again. 

• Swim camp with Magnolia Masters begins next week and I am looking forward to focusing my energy on that. 

• I am not focused on any races this year. In fact,  I may not be racing at all this year  (but I might if I feel ready again). And I am OK with that.

• None of this changes the fact that I have a big year planned for next year, and the next and the year after that.

My why is to stay focused, heal the body, enjoy what my body can do, and prep for the following season, years, and life. RACING Triathlon may not always be the right decision one year, but staying focused on the task at hand and enjoying what you do will always lead you down the right path.