Living with Passion...the psychology of injury

The hardest part of coming back after an injury, particularly a serious one that requires an extended rehabilitation process, is being able to see yourself as something other than an injured athlete.

Last year after competing at the Ironman World Championships I decided to go in for surgery to remove a part of my heel bone that had caused chronic Achilles issues for the past few years. The dream of walking out of surgery and being ‘cured’ of all pain was not quite the reality. What followed was six months of intense rehabilitation to be able to race again as a professional in 2014. I can’t stress enough how much of an up and down journey it is to come back from an injury. Many times I would wake up with the first thought being ‘I don’t think I’ll ever be able to race again’, it sounds melodramatic now, but at times you can get into a dark hole.

On May 3rd 2014, more than six months after surgery, I raced at the Busselton 70.3. Although the swim and run beat all my expectations, I still had the ‘injured athlete’ cloud hanging over me and the run was completed, but VERY conservatively. I knew that I needed to change my mentality before racing in Cairns three weeks later. The credit here really has to go to my coach Matt Dixon (purplepatch.com) who stressed to me the importance of forgetting the past and looking forward; ‘you’re not an injured athlete anymore, you are a runner, this is your strength’. He was right, I used to get off the bike and have so much confidence that I could move through the field, I was a runner… and I needed to believe this again.

At the Cairns 70.3 I gave it everything once I got off the bike. I not only wanted to maintain my position off the bike, I wanted to attack and RACE the run. After 8km I passed the girl ahead of me, and I was gaining on all but one of the girls behind me. Finishing in 3rd place I was so happy that I felt like a runner again. My time of 1.27 is still indicative of the phase of the journey I’m on, but it was 11mins faster than what I ran in Busselton three weeks prior… now that shows the power of mental preparation and believing in yourself!  Developing people to reach their potential is a passion of mine. For further information please check out my website: www.annarusselltriathlete.co.nz


Originally published in New Zealand Triathlon & Multisport Issue 99, November 2014