At the end of April I stopped training....
All the training that I do at the climbing wall has been
exchanged for swimming endless lengths in a swimming pool. I am definitely
getting better at this as when I started I could barely do 2 lengths but now I
can do around 15 without stopping. I’m pretty pleased as I dreaded the
swimming, but I actually quite like it now – sauna! ;)
At the end of team training in April, my parents and I had
to stay behind. We thought it would just be a few words about the European
selections and my injuries. It would be more serious though, which we realised
watching Tom drag chairs into the Climbing Works office where our meeting with
the GB Junior Bouldering Team management would take place.
We waited outside the office for a long time while they
discussed whatever it was – this was not going to be good news. Dad said it
felt like waiting outside the headmaster’s office. When they called us in they
broke the terrible news. They were not going to put me into any international
competitions this year!
I was devastated. At
the end of last year I went to my first European comp, the European
Championships at Arco in Italy, and came home with a bronze medal. This year I was looking forward to going to
Arco again, this time to the World Championships and hoping I would be lucky
and make the podium again. Not going to
happen......
They recommended I didn’t climb for at least two months and
then only after further assessment making sure I was all clear of injuries and not
at risk of hurting myself doing other sports. It is part of a plan for injury
prevention, putting in a roadblock to stop me damaging myself further; as I
have had a trail of injuries and am about to hit a growth spurt.
The GB team have done a lot by giving me guidance what to
do, and how to become more rounded as an athlete. Although annoying, I think it
is a good thing for my career in the long run as much pain from long term
injuries has subsided. This was about a
6/10 with my golfers elbow (climbers elbow as it is very common in the sport)
but has gone down to about 2/10 on the pain scale. It has given me an insight
on when to train and when not to, but I guess that’s the optimistic point of
view. I am probably going to have to deal with injuries throughout my career.
At first, I wondered what I was going to do, no climbing! Also
no sports that include any impact, like running - which is pretty much most
sports. In the past I broke a finger so it was no climbing for a year - but I could
at least do other sports. Although two months doesn’t sound like much, it has
given me great insight into sports as a whole.
It just hits you sometimes when you see how much you need
your body to function correctly, as I have found, we put strain on it nearly
every day. Running somewhere to not be late: the hustle and bustle in the lunch
queue. I have had so many niggles lately so I am just grateful that I have laid
back on the training, having a break, as I could have done serious damage, imo.
The first 2 weeks it was strange (I am only getting used to it
at the time of writing this) I started to notice a lot of twinges even without
doing anything, I’m just imagining what catastrophe would have happened if I had
carried on at the same intense level of training.
It has got better though, I started having more time to do
other things. I have read Ready to Run by Dr. Kelly Starrett and T.J. Murphy
and that has given me some inspiration, not to see injuries as curses and just
to live with them, but see them as ways your performance can improve.
From now on I will take injuries more seriously and consider
injury prevention just as important as keeping fit. The two months have been
tough, because of the change from climbing to swimming. But I have come out
with an improved mindset.
You should never see injury prevention as a curse. Don’t
think of the work you need to do as a chore, or you will never put in the effort.
Change your mind set. Having fewer
injuries can only improve your performance. You will be aware that you are less
likely to get hurt, which will give you a mental edge. Most importantly, if you
don’t get injured, your training will count for more.
Still can’t wait to start climbing again though.........
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ReplyDeleteDominic, please update your blog and improve your grammar. Other than that; I have enjoyed reading about your adventures.
ReplyDelete