It’s a Wednesday and I’ve re-adjusted my plan for the day, and the thing I was prepared to do will simply become a different thing. It’s taken a few years for me to learn that this isn’t the end of the world. In fact, the adjustment means I’m sitting down to write for others for the first time in years.
I was inspired, in part, by a quote that popped into my Instagram feed yesterday. My memory isn’t reliable enough to give credit to the proper account, nor can I remember the exact quote. But I’ll sum it up:
Success is living in the present moment.
Life rarely goes to plan, but I’ve found I’m a lot happier if I just accept the things outside of my control, and look for kindness, beauty, and wonder around me. I have tendencies to go full-throttle into projects, and to live a little out-of-sync with the normal rhythms of life. This serves me well in some areas of my life (e.g. as an Olympian with big goals for Tokyo 2021), and sets me up for the occasional heartbreaking reality-check. I’m someone who dreams systematically, and yet struggles with executive function. I get overwhelmed easily, and for years these episodes would halt my projects, my dreams, and crush my sense of self-worth.
Now I re-adjust, and focus on living in the present.
My plan for today involved a training ride, and instead, I went into Endurance Rehab to have my knee evaluated after a scary incident on Sunday. I banged it into a boulder, while cornering at speed. It scared the crap out of me, and I immediately assumed I injured it. I spun back to my car, and started my at-home rehab program that evening. It’s very high-tech and involves ice, some CBD cream, Ibuprofen, and some laughs with John. On Monday, I didn’t think it was injured but clearly had some bruising and inflammation. On Tuesday I texted with my amazing Physical Therapist, Kristina Lott, when I discovered that pedaling an hour and a half was too much for it, and set up an appointment for therapy first thing this morning.
It’s a minor thing, really.
In the grand scheme of things, my bruised knee is just a part of the job and I’m fortunate to have a good performance team to help me get back pedaling quickly. Four years ago, a similar setback derailed a portion of my season and sent me sliding into a very sad, destructive place. Now I think differently, I laugh more, and I find enjoyment in so many small things day-to-day. I’m okay right now and I feel like that’s worth sharing.
Thanks to Endurance Rehab for being a critical part of my performance team. And of course, thanks to Hank, John, and Kaden who give me many things to smile and laugh about day-to-day. ❤️
Okay, this is cute.
On another note, if you like my writing—let me know! I recently went through some grade school classwork and re-discovered that my two passions back then were riding and writing. I still do both, but unlike my riding, I haven’t been attentive to my writing as a craft. That’s something I’d like to change but it helps to know I might have an audience. Otherwise, I can stick to writing for myself—word vomit in a journal. Ha.
Thanks for reading, and ride on.
Chloe
