Hard Times-Staying Motivated

The snow is melting away at last, and some warm weather is finally moving in. Although it's still February, it's certainly nice to get a glimpse of the weather that's moving in. I have many goals, many new ideas, and many plans ahead of me this new year, but I am already having a tough time.

My right ankle has mostly healed after a torn ligament put me out for about 2 months, and is finally just about ready for action. However, with my luck, that has to be put on hold. Even though I have not done any type of impact training besides a few toe hops, I woke up two days ago with terrible pain in my left ankle, the one i did not injure. I have no thought about the cause, and my schools' trainer doesn't have an answer, but says my flat feet probably play a role, since I spend my time at home barefoot, and my time out of the house wearing highly-supported shoes with orthodics. It's really been making me feel down lately, causing me to worry about my future training, and worry about losing my ability to practice all together. As extreme as that is, I couldn't help but think about it.

My first year in parkour, my flat feet had played a huge role in my getting shin splints. I didn't know anything about them, other than they were an overuse injury and that they hurt like hell. I was so in to my training though, that I couldn't give myself more than a few days to rest. "Ah, it's been 4 days and my shins feel a little better! this must mean I'm all healed up! Time for more Parkour!" Later that day, I walk into the house limping in pain, questioning what I did wrong, and if these shin splints would ever go away.

I took the time to look up every bit of information I possibly could find about the injury, talked to my doctor, asked my friends from the track team, and learned exactly how to deal with them. I leanred to recondition my legs and make them stronger and more resilient than ever, and as of this day, I havn't had shin splints once in over 2 and a half years. I learned that the body you have is the body you will always have, and that nobody is superman. Injuries are a part of life, and are actually great learning tools, although painful ones at times.

So, even though I have been feeling a bit down on myself, I will continue to stay motivated by keeping my mind positive and focused on my goals. I will learn everything I can about the injuries I have, using them as learning tools, so that later on I can handle them, and teach others how to do the same.

-Nick