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It’s a very fine line
Updated: Thursday July 05, 2001 4:25 PM
Jen Davidson, 29, is one of the top brakemen in the world. The Utah native has paired with driver Jean Racine for the past three seasons to form a powerful bobsled team. For more on Davidson and Racine see bobsledgirl.com. The two-time World Cup champions are in the process of training for the 2002 Salt Lake Games. Check out Davidson's diary on CNNSI.com as she prepares for the Games.
June 13, 2001
Training is a full time job. Although I might only put in three hours on a recovery day, the rest of the day is structured around resting and rebuilding the muscles and energy I've spent tearing down the rest of the week. Sports medicine is just as much a part of my daily routine as lifting weights and sprint training.
I've fought injury my entire career. In my first hurdle race ever as a high school sophomore, I clipped the eighth hurdle and tumbled to the track. I remember scrambling to get back into my lane so the other runners wouldn't spike me as they came by. I broke my wrist in that fall, but I was more upset that I couldn't hold the baton to run my leg of the sprint relay. I competed the rest of the season with a beautiful blue cast up to my elbow. It came in handy as a weapon to ward of any athletes who dared to challenge me as I swung it wide when clearing the hurdle. That was the first sign that I was in for a long career of injuries. During my freshman year in college, I had shin splints so bad it made me cry and I couldn't train on some days. My sophomore year I had a stress fracture in my fibula and spent five weeks on crutches and had to miss the outdoor track season. Later that year I blew out my knee, which required two surgeries, two months on crutches, and over 18 months of rehab. While training for my second season of bobsled, I had a groin issue, which continually got worse throughout the World Cup Tour. Every day was questionable as to whether or not I'd be able to get in the sled. Two years later it's still something that requires my attention. Last season I had problems with my back which kept me in bed for days at a time and finally required cortisone injections to resolve. The physical side of dealing with injury is something very individualized by the athlete and by the injury. I like modalities such as ultrasound, electrical stimulation and massage when I have an injury. Sports medicine can often be the most time consuming part of my day. Sometimes I have two to three treatments per day to keep an issue under control. When my groin injury was at it's worst, I would have a treatment at 4 a.m. so that I could maximize my healing time and stay on a schedule. I've been lucky to assemble a great team of athletic trainers, physical therapists, and doctors who help to keep me healthy and put me back together when I'm not. The mental side of dealing with injury is something I'm just barely starting to get a handle on. My previous approach was denial. "If I don't acknowledge it, it won't be there." That approach doesn't work. Since training is my job, it's hard not to feel guilt and frustration when I can't do it exactly like I want to. I've had to realize that adjusting a workout to stay healthy is not a sign of weakness. It's training smart. It takes a lot of self-discipline for me to make the right call. My workouts involve a constant scanning process of evaluating what feels good and what doesn't and then doing what I can pain free. Tuning into my body is a skill I've had to develop. I did it well during my senior year in college, but then lost that ability during my two years off before I started sliding. I've just recently regained the ability to interpret the signals my body sends me. And I finally found the confidence and security to listen to what it says. It's a very fine line between what kind of pain to train through and when to stop training altogether. Ironically, I'm feeling the best I have ever felt in the past two years. I've got about three issues that I'm paying attention to and getting treatment on. But at this point, nothing is slowing me down significantly, and I'm the most functional I've been. It's fun to be able to get on the track and complete the entire workout. At the same time, I realize that it's only a temporary thing for me, and tomorrow could be a different story. And when I get that urge to finish a workout that I should back off of, I'll remind myself to "be smart, train smart." I know I can't afford a major injury this close to the Games. 240 Days to go. Catch the Speed. -- Jen
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