59 | Paralympic Medalist and Swimmer Mallory Weggemann: Now Doesn’t Define You
Release Date: 08/12/2021
132 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Bec’s Rebound
The Injured Athletes Club
“ How does one find self-compassion when you’ve been through this too many times and understand the importance of the beginning phase while also itching to get out of it and back to the activities that bring me joy? I know all the usual tactics: time with friends, using other activities (music, podcast, drawing), resting, lifting upper body and moving in whatever way I can that doesn’t jeopardize the surgical area, reframing, CBT, DBT, etc. But I still feel a bit lost.” —Bec It’s our very last episode of the season—and a fitting Q&A to end on, as Coach Carrie...
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131 | Coach Carrie Answers (More of) Your Questions on Recovery, Cross-Training, and Moving On
The Injured Athletes Club
“If one already has a good physical therapist, what are the benefits of a personal trainer when recovering from an injury or surgery? Is it just more money or can a personal trainer actually be a value add?” “How do you balance being smart about prevention without letting worry of re-injury consume you?” “What is the best way to recover from a VERY torturous PT session? Mental and physical. Also, more info on using blood flow restriction for recovery.” “How can I trust that my crosstraining really works? And how can I let go of the fear of not recovering? I...
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130 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Marion’s Misgivings
The Injured Athletes Club
“ How to deal with re-injury? I tore my ACL last winter and it almost broke me, but I fought my way back into skiing at almost my previous level this year. Now I just tore it again and I feel absolutely shattered. I wasn’t out of control or falling - the turn was just too much for my knee to handle and it snapped. I have no idea how I’ll ever feel confident enough to take up skiing in the future now this happened. Also, I’m feeling completely demotivated for my recovery this time around.” —Marion In the seventh season of The Injured Athletes Club podcast, mental skills...
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129 | Triathlete and Family Physician Alex McDonald: Advocating for Yourself as an Athlete
The Injured Athletes Club
“Injury was horrible and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but I think again, that shaped me and that helped me become a better physician today because of those experiences. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. It's part of who I am and has made me who I am today.” Alex McDonald was in medical school when he tried a triathlon with a friend, just for fun. But he quickly excelled at the sport, and eventually decided to take a break between medical school and his residency to pursue it at a high level. He had some success, but heading into his final season, he went out on a...
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128 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Jessica’s Juncture
The Injured Athletes Club
"How do you develop a bank of confidence for the future without comparing to past achievements?" In this Q&A episode of The Injured Athletes Club podcast, mental skills coach Carrie Jackson tackles a crucial question from listener Jessica about confidence. In her response, Coach Carrie emphasizes the importance of redefining goals, focusing on the present moment, and celebrating small victories. She explains how deliberately setting rehabilitation targets can help injured athletes shift their focus to what's within their control and redefine success. By letting go of...
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127 | Skier and Non-Profit Founder Kelly Brush: Lessons in Resilience
The Injured Athletes Club
“All of a sudden, I had two-thirds of my body that weren't working anymore. I had to figure out how to live my life and how to move my body around, who I was and what I was going do with my life in a way that was, I thought at the time, completely changed. Now, I don't think I'm completely changed. I think I'm exactly the same person. I just do things a little bit differently.” Kelly Brush grew up in a family of skiers, excelled on the slopes from childhood, and eventually achieved her dream of skiing in college at Middlebury College. But during her sophomore year, when she was...
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126 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Rachel’s Resentfulness
The Injured Athletes Club
“ How do you manage the jealousy towards non-injured athletes while dealing with your own injury?” In the seventh season of The Injured Athletes Club podcast, mental skills coach Carrie Jackson answers a question every other week about the mental side of overcoming injuries. This week, athlete Rachel voices what so many other injured athletes feel—wondering how to cope with the feeling of loss and jealousy when she sees others doing the sport she’s missing. Coach Carrie acknowledges that feeling this way toward healthy athletes is normal during recovery....
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125 | Coach Carrie and Cindy Help You Through a Setback
The Injured Athletes Club
“Setbacks are a very common part of injury recovery. I don't know if it's ever happened where someone heals with a perfect upward trajectory. I'm going to, I'm going to go ahead and say, it's very rare that that happens. This is why we talk so much about resilience and hardiness and the bounce that comes with a rebound.” Almost every injured athlete knows the feeling. You’re sticking to your plan, dedicated to your rehab, and certain that you’ll be back to 100 percent in the time the doctor outlined. Then, it happens—a new wrinkle to the injury, another procedure required, a...
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124 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Jessica’s Journey
The Injured Athletes Club
“ I thought I was done with this group. I had surgery in 2021 to repair a torn labrum in my hip and I was doing better. Then 6 months after surgery, I was given the green light to go jogging 2 blocks and I’ve been in hamstring pain since then. How do you move past the back-to-back chronic injuries? How do I work out when I’m afraid anything will hurt me? How do I physically and emotionally heal from this 7-year injury journey?” We always say, “We’re sorry you’re here, but we’re glad you’re with us”—and when we (Coach Carrie and Cindy) heard this week’s...
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123 | Personal Trainer John Petrelli: Grateful Every Day
The Injured Athletes Club
“If this was 20-year-old, John Petrelli, I probably wouldn't have the positive mindset to navigate those waters. I would have probably been going, why is this happening to me? Being fearful, having shame, being angry. But because so many people had come into my life as a mentor and shared their gift of knowledge, their love, their compassion on me … I said, how do I possibly make something positive happen out of this that may impact other people?” For 30 years, John Petrelli’s work as a personal trainer has relied on him being physically capable. So it came as a shock when,...
info_outline“I had the two black lines in my life, I had the black line that trailed the pages of my journal, and I had the black line that trails the bottom of a pool. And both gave me that place to be, that place to process, to grieve. I found the ability—with swimming specifically—to bridge my past to my present and lead me toward something in my future and allow me to understand that life was bigger than the moment I was facing. Swimming, in a lot of ways, brought me back to life.”
Though she’d grown up in the water, Mallory Weggemann was nearly ready to leave competition behind for other dreams. But when a medical procedure gone wrong resulted in her paralysis at age 18, she found herself back in the pool. There, she regained her strength and confidence—and excelled swiftly enough to win Paralympic gold four years later in London.
She had every intention of blazing forward with her athletic career and defending her gold in Rio. In 2014, though, she suffered another severe setback. At this second point of impact, she had to decide all over again why she swam, and whether it was worth the fight.
In this week’s episode—and her fantastic new book, Limitless: The Power of Hope and Resilience to Overcome Circumstance—the soon-to-be three-time Paralympian explains exactly why she didn’t give in, and all the teamwork, support, and strength it took to work her way back to the black line that made her feel at home.
A huge thank you to our sponsor for this episode: Fluid Running. Fluid Running makes it possible to maintain your peak physical fitness even when you're injured through the power of deep water running. Listen for a special discount code in the episode!
In this episode, we discuss:
- What the process of writing her book was like (5:56)
- Why, and how, she kept a journal over the years—and the benefits it brought her (8:48)
- What she means by “sudden moment of impact” (13:01)
- Her second injury, in 2014, and why it was even more challenging to recover from emotionally than the one that led to her paralysis (16:28)
- Why she had to stop comparing her current self to her past self, and how she did it (21:25)
- How she used visualization both to preserve her mental health during a dark time and prepare when she returned to competition (30:03)
- The reality of medical flashbacks, and how she copes with them (34:15)
- “I can do it” vs. “We can do it,” and the balance of community and independence (37:06)
- How she’s come to see the gifts her experiences have brought her (41:54)
- The big realization that we can feel two things at once (44:20)
- Her final words of wisdom for injured athletes and others facing setbacks (51:57)
You can subscribe to The Injured Athletes Club on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or a review in Apple podcasts. That helps other injured athletes find the show.
Resources/links:
- Mallory’s website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- Her book Limitless: The Power of Hope and Resilience to Overcome Circumstance
To access more resources for injured athletes:
- Join The Injured Athletes Club mailing list, for news and updates
- Join The Injured Athletes Club Facebook group, for support and camaraderie
- Like The Injured Athletes Club Podcast Facebook page, for the latest episodes
- Email us at [email protected] with questions, guest suggestions, or other feedback
DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational & informational use only and & does not constitute medical advice. Do not disregard, avoid or delay obtaining medical or health related advice from your health-care professional because of something you may have heard in an episode of this podcast. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult with a qualified medical professional for proper evaluation & treatment. Guests who speak on this podcast express their own opinions, experiences, and conclusions, and The Injured Athletes Club podcast hosts nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular treatment option discussed in the episodes of this podcast and are not responsible for any actions or inactions of listeners based on the information presented. The use of any information provided is solely at your own risk.