I've had a few revelations since January. With the unknown nerve problems going on with my right arm worsening, I realized that as much as I wanted to swim, it was ultimately damaging me. In the beginning of that month I went to my neurologist, got some MRIs, and was told to take a month of rehab meaning swimming 2x a week for 30 minutes and then going to an exercise physical therapist. If my arm function did not improve within a month then my neurologist was going to say that my body was going through a progression. I knew it wasn't a progression because I was having so much pain and the lack of function in my tricep dramatically declined within 2-3 weeks. I was happy though that I was allowed to swim and to finally get back into the water, but more hopeful that my arm would improve.
Over this time of rehab there were moments of feeling really good, then being anxious of not knowing what to do with myself. I couldn't do much in the beginning, if not anything at all with my right arm and had to chill out and watch movies if my arm was in pain; I couldn't even hold a book to read or study for my classes, that's what drove me crazy. My physical therapy started to improve in early February and I started to become more positive about myself and where my body was at. I realized that I had the ability to be calm and in the moment with my free time instead of how I use to be when training; running from place to place and mentally stressing over things in the future. In addition, I realized that the way I think is directly related to how my body feels. For instance, I know I'm feeling really good if I'm thinking positively without trying whereas if my body's tired and needs rest I mentally will be harder on myself. I later told this to my trainer and she thought it was great that I learned this at an early age.
In mid February I was starting to feel really good in the water and was given the okay to swim 3x a week for 45 minutes. During that time I had some long conversations with my coaches and trainer about the way my body with Muscular Dystrophy responds to training. This came about since I was improving more by swimming and training less while giving my body more rest. We realized that once my arm gets better, the most I'll ever train is 4x a week for 1:30 instead of 5-6x for 2 hours because I'll be able to recover and ultimately become a faster swimmer. By doing this, I've been able to accomplish more by doing less and I've also taken on this mantra onto other things outside of swimming, such as how I motivate myself and what I'm setting as goals. I've realized that if I can do a simple thing, whatever it is, great then I will be able to do more with more energy and a positive attitude instead of stressing myself out and worrying about what I can and can't control.
I ultimately feel like this was the major lesson I had to learn while going through this time of injury and honestly I'm very grateful for it. I'm a happier person now and realized that the best way I can accomplish something is to have a healthy balance in all aspects of my life, not just doing a swim workout and making sure that I'm in my best physical shape. There's always something good out of a challenging situation and I'm glad that life can throw me these bumbs in the road so I can become a stronger person.
Oh! And this past week I went to the neurologist since it's been a month of rehab and my arm's stronger! I still have a way to go, but I've been getting some of my old times! I've been feeling really good in the water and decided to go to my next national meet in April so I've very excited and hopeful to say the least!
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