Baby Steps
Finn looking dapper and pleased with himself not long after head-butting me in the knee.
A quick recap: I have a minor meniscus tear and need to manage it to keep swelling down; a week ago I ran the fastest 5k I have ever done; this past Saturday I played a few points of ultimate and had no problems with the knee.
I have a tournament in less than two weeks and I’m just ramping up to be in shape for that. All indications are that I will be near 100% for that tournament.
Things are looking and feeling good.
Then I take Finn for a walk and he swerves into my leg and sends a shock of pain into my system.
Immediately panic and anger and frustration and the looming blackness of depression swell up inside me. I picture myself unable to do simple tasks because of my leg pain, not being able to work out, spending all day on the sofa with my knee propped up.
But, thankfully, that moment passes as the pain subsides and we continue walking. The feelings linger, but I have a great cheerleader in my corner telling me that this injury is not that bad and the pain is just from a momentary twist.
Not too long ago, the feelings would have taken over and taken me out for a few days. I am working hard to work past the psychological shackles I’ve built up through the years.
As I ponder this in my life, I wonder how the pro athletes do it. Their whole lives are devoted to becoming the best at the sport they play, and an injury takes all that away. I can’t imagine the mental toll that takes. If someone like me who just tries to be in shape because he likes it can be mentally sidelined by injury, how does someone whose life is tied to it manage it?
They (should) have trainers and teammates and coaches to help them weather the storm and I imagine that helps. I also suppose they know it’s part of the deal: you rely on your body but also put it in harms way so need to be prepared to be injured.
Sports psychology is a fascinating field, and one I know little about. It may be time to do some reading on it.
In the meantime, I have ten days to strengthen my legs and build up my stamina for the tournament. I like to have two months to do this, but have also played with less time to get ready. Anything I do between now and then will be a benefit, so that’s the attitude I will adopt for training.
There’s also a pretty good chance Finn will knock into my leg again so I also need to build up the mental stamina to deal with that. This is a harder challenge, but one I need to work on as much as the physical side. Here’s hoping all the training goes great. Regardless, the tournament is in Sarasota and we’re staying on Siesta Key so it will be a great weekend.
