In 2009 I was training for the Ironman Triathlon World Championships, held in Hawaii. I had a part time job and I was all in on training.
For many, it’s the pinnacle of the sport, with just a few spots available for which you need to “qualify.”
Training was life.
Thing was, I was having a lot of trouble sleeping in this time, plus I had a lot of mood swings (deep, dark holes effectively)
I saw all sorts of western and alternative health specialists. I was wondering why my sleep was average and what was going on. I was also overheating in my sleep a lot.
I looked everywhere: blood tests, lymphatic drainage massage, yoga, dietary changes, more meditation, cut out all screens and devices in evenings. I tried everything. But it just got worse, as did my mood and outlook on life.
I was prescribed all kinds of herbs and remedies: adrenal support formulas, withania tea for sleep, detoxing teas, detoxing chinese medicine foot patches. You name it.
There was one massage therapist/yogi/friend that I would go to though for therapies and adivice. His name was Jeremy.
He was hard core and straight up. Most people didn’t get along with him.
He said to me in one session:
“If you aren’t going to get paid for this sport that you are doing, the training… then why are you are doing it? The hormonal patterns you are showing are typical of many women when going through menopause. You might think you are an elite athlete, but this training is not serving you now.*”
Jeremy did something here. He told me what I needed to hear.
EVERY other therapist at the time looked to “support” my belief structure of being this elite athlete. Sleep “support,” adrenal “support.”
Jeremy questioned my entire belief structure.
Of course I didn’t listen straight away. I went well in the race, but I eventually got so out of whack I couldn’t get out of bed for 4 days after another major race.
BUT, he planted the seed.
This later led me down an entirely different route as I looked to understand stress and training models from a different perspective. Ultimately, it influenced my approach to training and exercise almost a decade later.
Looking back, Jeremy was the only person to call BS on my belief system.
He asked the hard questions rather than try to appease me.
Surrounding yourself with people who always support your beliefs, who encourage you no matter what and avoid the confrontation of the harder questions may feel great in the short term.
In the long term though the opposite is far more valuable, although it’s a rare and requires both parties to be on board:
“Show me where you think I could be wrong in my entire approach and I’ll appreciate you more for it.”
