132 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Bec’s Rebound
Release Date: 06/20/2024
171 | Author and Athlete Dimity McDowell on the 27th Mile and Charting a New Path Forward
The Injured Athletes Club
“ You don't want to think about a friend dying or going through a divorce or anything like that—you kind of don't want to even put that energy in the world. Same thing with running. You don't want to think about what it looks like, but the reality is, most of us are going to have to think about that. Not everyone can stand on the podium at age 70.” Dimity McDowell was first on our back in 2022, when she’d just written a series of for (the late, great) Women’s Running magazine about what happens when you can’t run anymore. As she describes in her return...
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170 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question on When Grief and Gratitude Collide
The Injured Athletes Club
“ How do I cope with knowing that I may never get back to where I was—that this might be a permanent change for me?” —Emily Many athletes—whether they’re professionals or amateurs—have a strong athletic identity. When that’s threatened by injury, especially if it’s a permanent shift, it’s normal to feel frightened and unmoored, Coach Carrie shares in this week’s listener Q&A episode. Whether you have to give up your sport altogether or must adjust the way you participate, you should allow yourself to feel grief at the path you’re no longer taking....
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169 | Triathlete and Coach Angela Naeth on Creativity, Curiosity, and Compassion
The Injured Athletes Club
“If I had to choose one injury or obstacle as the most difficult, it's really hard for me to do that because each one was very different in and of itself. I look back at them, and I'm honestly quite grateful I've been through it all, because it's changed who I am and it's made me who I am. You learn a lot when you're down and out.” Angela Naeth has been racing as a pro triathlete since 2008, and added gravel racing in 2022. In that time, she’s had plenty of success, reaching the podium more than 40 times in 70.3 and Ironman events and placing in the top 8 at Ironman World...
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168 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Tell Yourself Something Worth Believing
The Injured Athletes Club
“ My surgery was a success, and my doctors have given me the go-ahead to play again next season, but it's been over a decade since my initial injury, and I needed to hang up my skates. I've been sidelined for about 11 years. I was always a really aggressive player, and I've never been one to shy away from a confrontational situation on the ice. But after my injury, I'm worried that I'll be too nervous to really dig in and go full throttle when it comes to checking or anything that brings me too close to the boards. I DESPERATELY want to play again, but I know myself well enough to...
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167 | Coach Carrie and Cindy Label Your Emotions
The Injured Athletes Club
“ When you take a moment to pause and label the emotion you're feeling, you're asking your prefrontal cortex to get involved, which pulls the activation out of the amygdala where your brain is processing threat or no threat. Instead of being overwhelmed by the physiological experience of the emotion. It creates psychological distance so you can experience it from a less threatening vantage point.” Here at the Injured Athletes Club, we talk a lot about the roller coaster of emotions. Today, on this host-ful episode, Coach Carrie guides us through some of the ups and downs you’re...
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166 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Sustaining Motivation and Energy During Recovery
The Injured Athletes Club
“I just had my 12-week post-op follow-up with my doctor. It was a good appointment and things are pretty much where they are supposed to be at this stage. But I’ve been hitting a wall in my PT in terms of fatigue and overall enthusiasm. Most days, my energy is very low, and I’m trying to incorporate more rest and sleep in as much as possible. The doctor said at this stage—between month 3 and 12—is where the real work begins in terms of strengthening and getting back to where I was before, and hopefully stronger. So I’m wondering if you have guidance on keeping...
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165 | Author and Athlete Chelsey Klein on Grace, Survival, and Letting Go
The Injured Athletes Club
“ I've had to learn how to ask for help. I am grateful for my independence. I'm grateful for the fact that if I want something, I go get it. And my work ethic—I work in sales and my success of being an athlete, I owe it to that. But at the end of the day, there is that understanding of there's a difference between giving up and surrendering.” Chelsey Klein is a lifelong athlete—and no stranger to injury, which ended both her pursuit of gymnastics as a child and her collegiate volleyball career. But during the summer of 2020, during the height of the pandemic, she faced a...
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164 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question on Balancing Healing and Life Goals
The Injured Athletes Club
“ I’m feeling like my injury has really held me back in life. My first two years of college, I was trying to survive school while recovering from a car accident. I’ve needed every extension and have had many surgeries after that, which have affected my schooling and life in general. Now I’m ready to transfer from my community college to a university, and I don’t have all the right classes for the degree I’m going into. I feel like this injury has just ruined me, and I’m not sure what to do.” —Rylie Injuries can be devastating at any stage and time. But in some cases,...
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163 | Marathoner Leanna Scaglione on Running Through Life's Challenges
The Injured Athletes Club
“ Whatever you're feeling, whether it be anger, hatred, sadness, disappointment—it's okay. You're allowed to feel those things. That is valid. But just know that this situation— yes, NF is a lifelong diagnosis, and not having a cure, it does change your life trajectory a little bit. But it doesn't dictate how you have to live your life.” Leanna Scaglione was just 16 years old when what the aspiring ballerina thought was an injury from dancing turned into something she never could have imagined—surgery to remove a spinal tumor that left her temporarily unable to walk. Soon...
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162 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Rebuilding Trust in Your Body
The Injured Athletes Club
“How do you navigate phantom pains and constant re-injury fears after recovering from a bone stress injury?” —Marija Fear is one of the brain’s ways of protecting the body when it’s injured. But often, our anxiety lingers long after it’s useful. Our bodies and minds don’t always recover at the same rate, Coach Carrie explains in this week’s listener Q&A (that’s why deliberately working on your mental skills is so important!). Phantom pains and fears of re-injury are totally normal after a bone stress injury, she points out. To reset your nervous system and...
info_outline“ 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 fields a question from an athlete who’s been through more than her fair share of surgeries (50, to be exact).
Coach Carrie uses a personal example to illustrate how even if you know all the tools to use, it’s still important to be diligent in implementing them. She talks about one of the cornerstone lessons of her work with injured athletes—Go FAR. She delves deeper into exactly what self-compassion means, and how to truly turn your empathy and love back toward yourself when you’re hurting.
There’s also a surprising mention of frog legs and a special soup—and stick around till the end for a very special guest you won’t want to miss!
Resources/links:
- Episode 105: Carrie and Cindy Go FAR (Again)
- MASH Morale Victory Left Hand (very special hat tip to Jeremy Noessel!)
- Speaking of Jeremy Noessel, his website for audio coaching
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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.