Injury: the toughest race to win

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Thursday, 08 July 2010 00:00

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The toughest race to win

By Glenn Macnamara

Most of our races are demanding. But there is one race tougher than any physical race we might enter. It is the race against an illness or injury.

Being injured is one of the most challenging forms of training an athlete needs to experience! No amount of training can prepare an athlete for a setback like an injury.

This article looks at this necessary but often unwanted part of an athlete’s life.

Injury and illness have perfect timing!

Have you noticed how perfect the timing of an injury or illness is?

Your training is going well. You feel great. Your big race is just around the corner and out of the blue, you are sick or injured!

 Physically, it is easy to explain this occurrence. The athlete has reached his breakdown point. He has trained intensely for a while and his body simply cannot handle any more stress. What happens once the injury has happened is the real test of the athlete. Sebastian Coe, long time world record holder of the 800m once commented: “the mark of an athlete is how he deals with an injury”. Our reaction to the injury or illness usually begins with absolute denial: “this cannot be happening now” or even: “No, I am sure its nothing serious”

The wise sages from the far East have been known to observe: The time is always exactly what it should be.