6 | Elite Marathoner Kaitlin Goodman: A Return to Running Joyfully
Release Date: 04/25/2019
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...
info_outline 131 | Coach Carrie Answers (More of) Your Questions on Recovery, Cross-Training, and Moving OnThe 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...
info_outline 130 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Marion’s MisgivingsThe 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...
info_outline 129 | Triathlete and Family Physician Alex McDonald: Advocating for Yourself as an AthleteThe 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...
info_outline 128 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Jessica’s JunctureThe 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...
info_outline 127 | Skier and Non-Profit Founder Kelly Brush: Lessons in ResilienceThe 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...
info_outline 126 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Rachel’s ResentfulnessThe 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....
info_outline 125 | Coach Carrie and Cindy Help You Through a SetbackThe 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...
info_outline 124 | Coach Carrie Answers a Question: Jessica’s JourneyThe 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...
info_outline 123 | Personal Trainer John Petrelli: Grateful Every DayThe 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_outlineIn the summer of 2018, pro runner Kaitlin Goodman—known for her positive personality, as well as times fast enough to qualify her for the Olympic Trials in multiple events—had just signed a new contract with the Boston Athletic Association High Performance Team and Adidas. She was training for the TCS New York City Marathon that fall. By her account, she was in “the shape of her life.”
Then, on a training run in August, she dove to avoid a car that nearly hit her. In the process, she partially tore her hamstring tendon. The diagnosis—and the subsequent slow recovery—ranks as one of the biggest challenges she’s faced in her life. But in her journey back to running, she gained newfound perspective (and even a new family member).
Kaitlin joined us today to discuss:
- How the injury took her from the “highest of highs” to the “lowest of lows”
- Why her dog Moose was so critical to her psychological and physical recovery—and how his running ramp-up mirrored her return to the sport
- The extremely difficult decision not to line up at the NYC Marathon, and why she kept her injury quiet for a time
- How she handled the day of the race itself; why she couldn’t go to NYC but did watch the competition from afar
- Why coaching was another saving grace during this time: “When all your eggs are in the running basket and running is not going well, it's really challenging. You feel like you're like failing at all areas of your life.”
- Why she thinks it’s so important to allow yourself time to feel negative emotions—but to put a timeframe on them
- One big piece of support she wishes she would’ve asked for in the depths of her injury process, and what she recommends to other athletes
- The anger she felt at the driver, how she worked a day at a time to control it, and the productive project into which she’s now channeling it
- The loss of identity that comes with injury, how deeply it affected her, and what she did to move through it
- When she started to feel like “Kaitlin the runner” was reborn, and how gratitude for that influences her experience now
Resources/links we mention:
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