Something to think about when your marathon training or triathlon training goes off course

I am in Ironman triathlon training, and it’s not going well. No fewer than four overuse injuries are affecting my training in all three disciplines. Plantar fasciitis in my left heel and a strain in my left Achilles tendon have limited my running mileage to zero for many weeks. Pain in my right shoulder blade kept me out of the pool for two weeks recently and continues to severely restrict my pace and yardage. And last weekend, I developed patellofemoral pain in my right knee while cycling.

Injuries are frustrating to every endurance athlete, and I am no exception. My current bodily collapse has brought my attitude down with it. I have been by turns angry, despondent, bewildered, and self-pitying. But then the other day I read about Kyle Garlett, a heart transplant patient and cancer survivor who will compete in the Hawaii Ironman in October. The suffering that Garlett has been through makes my injuries look so small by comparison that it’s outrageous to compare them at all.

Now 37, Garlett was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease when he was only 18. He had an allergic reaction to the chemotherapy treatment he received and nearly died of lung failure. When he was 22 the cancer returned, and this time chemotherapy damaged his heart. Three years later he developed lymphoma, which was also caused by chemo, and three years after that he had shoulder and hip replacements because of damage caused to these joints—again by chemo. In 2006 he received a heart transplant.

What is even more impressive than the fact that Garlett has completed triathlons despite all he’s been through, is the positive attitude he has maintained while being sick nearly his entire adult life. In a recent interview for Triathlete Magazine, Garlett said, “If you go into it and treat it like you’ve gotten a raw deal, it’s hard to get through. You’re miserable and constantly complaining. But the way I saw it was, people get cancer. People get diagnosed with cancer all the time. Why am I special? It’s like you get thrown into the water, and you have to swim or sink. I chose to swim.”

If Garlett isn’t complaining about his misfortunes, I asked myself, why in the world am I complaining about mine? So I’ve given myself an attitude adjustment and I’m focusing on the positive. Although I cannot continue my Ironman training as I want to, I can still train some and enjoy it. Although I might not be able to achieve my original Ironman triathlon goal, I can still participate in and finish the race, treating it as a reward for a lot of hard work. And a funny thing has happened in the week or so since I changed my attitude about my injuries and accepted my situation: My body has begun to heal much faster.

Injuries and other setbacks are bound to befall every athlete in marathon training, triathlon training, or any endurance sport. And it’s normal to rail and pout a bit when they do. But it’s important not to indulge in any more negativity than necessary, because it not only makes problems seem worse—it actually makes them worse. The example set by people like Kyle Garlett can help other endurance athletes put their worries in perspective and overcome them faster.