Justin Daerr

Training Through Injury Spent much of June & July injured Despite my issues, I made progress athletically (pics are from my training data) Let's dig in... ✅Have A Back Up Plan ✅Have A Back Up Identity ✅Break The Cycle Of Injury ✅Clear The Decks ✅Non-Training Projects ✅Get Expert Help Back Up Plan One of the best things about a Multisport approach, there is usually a part of the program that's going well. If you are a single-sport athlete then it pays to expand your options. This goes beyond peer-reviewed studies of the benefits of crosstraining. What you are doing is creating a robust life structure. Swim, Bike, Run, Hike, Walk, Strength, Plyometrics, Mobility, Yoga, Alpine Ski, Skimo... there's always something I can be working on. Back Up Identity When we have all our eggs in the "Athlete" basket, we can be totally lost when injured. Thoughts on that... 1⃣ All Situations Are Temporary. Both the highs and the lows. Injuries & victories are transient. They come and they go. 2⃣ If you can see the situation as temporary then go further... All Identities Are Temporary. John touches on this in his recent podcast. Best to define ourselves as people, not an ability, position or role. When people ask me what I do... I'm Gordo. There are many aspects to my life. A diversified self is a robust self. Break The Cycle of Injury You'll find a thread on this in my profile. I won't repeat my details. I will tell you what to expect. 1⃣Your injury is temporary, and you're going to get better. 2⃣When you are hurt, all you care about it getting well. 3⃣As soon as you are well, you will go right back into the pattern that resulted in your injury. I know, I'm healthy now and can feel the urge. Over my last two calls with @johanrojler he VERY clearly told me all I need to do is run easy, get back to March fitness and I'll be able to achieve ALL my goals. He's right but... ...I can feel the pull back to the behaviors that led to injury. You need a system, and close relationships, that will help you create different patterns of behavior. Clear The Decks I got this right. When the injury hit in June, I cleared my race & travel schedule for the next six weeks. When my injury healed, this week, I cleared my race/travel schedule through August. Stay put, train, heal and... Non-Training Projects The physical side of our lives can been taken from us in an instant. I've experienced it with bike crashes and health issues. Obviously, I missed training but it didn't ruin my life. Why? I have always maintained non-training projects, in my life. As an elite, I continued to work part time, write and coach. This gave me something to think about other than the results of my last session (which I still focused on, a lot). Plan B, C, D, E... even when I was totally committed to sport, I had alternatives. I also had friends. Friends who'd check in on me. Friends who'd hang out with me. Get Expert Help It might surprise you that I'd gotten to 54 years old without ever seeing a Physical Therapist. So glad I broke my old pattern of grinding through when @justindaerr recommended a visit to Dr North. Also grateful for Johan's willingness to shoot the breeze with me, weekly, to see how I'm doing. ...and John's willingness to simply be John and remind me of the reality of masters racing & training. Recap Our job is to create a robust life structure. This life structure acts as a shock absorber, when life's inevitable setbacks arrive. Hopefully, the points above, will give you ideas. Setbacks are part of every journey. Don't go looking for them. We get enough challenges being as sensible as we can manage. Take good care of your Guardian Angels. Monica, Johan, John and Justin... thanks.