A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak with graduate and undergraduate students pursuing a sports medicine/athletic training degree from the University of Alabama. Of all the schools in the country, I thought it was quite ironic that I had a connection with their college town (Tuscaloosa was the sight of the 2008 Olympic Trials and upcoming U.S. Nationals in September). I spoke alongside an athletic trainer who works with athletes at the Olympic Training Center on a daily basis. I was there to give an athlete’s perspective. The topic—recovery. If there is one thing I have learned the over the past six years of being an elite athlete it is the importance of listening to your body to properly recover.
I have heard it said that, “It’s not how hard you train, it’s how hard you recover.” The past several years I have realized how true this saying is in order to reach your potential and to avoid injuries. Of course, by pushing our bodies to the limit on a weekly basis, injuries occur throughout an athlete’s career. However, with proper recovery techniques, the likelihood of these injuries can be greatly decreased.
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I wish I would have recovered harder in my earlier years. Howver, 26 years of doing endurance sports hasn’t been completely lost on me. Now at 66, I am seldom injuried. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I had an injury, ache or pain that lasted more than a couple days. And I attribute that to learning how to recover or rather, accepting that I need to recover. I live on 40 acres in the country and there is always something I need to be doing besides staying out of the sun. But though not as fast, I am as fit as I have ever been. I take one to days off a week of complete recovery….. Sometimes the hardest part of training is not training and recovery
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