Senior Matt Woolverton this winter as he talks about his struggles with injuries, and his battle to overcome them for one healthy season
My last race of Indoor track is coming up this friday at WMC's.
It's hard to believe that my track career is so close to ending.
After years of expecting that running more specifically track would just always be something that I did it's hard to see my time running out. I've worked so hard to be able to be where I am today and though it's not my first choice, with the injuries and everything, I'm happy I'm able to compete. I'm happy that I haven't given up when things got hard and most of all I'm happy to have done it alongside the teammates, competitors and mentors that I did. I've learned a lot from my coaches. Since day one Coach Folan spoke about the importance of working hard and how no matter how talented you may be going into the season, "champions are made when no one is watching".
I owe a lot to him for teaching me the importance of having a work ethic. He's not the only one don't get me wrong but he among others really got me going.
This year more than others I really felt like I had the full support of my team. From the first day I showed signs of an injury even the freshman who barely knew me at that point had my back. From conversations and pep talks the entire GIT team helped me push myself more and more each day. It's hard to get better if you do it on your own. I've tried that before and trust me theres a lot more pain when you don't have someone pushing you to be better.
I wanted to give a special thank you to a few people who helped me most. The Squad as we like to call ourselves. Malik Black, Ryan Pomeroy and Alyssa Coyne. You three have pushed me most. From extra weight room sessions to forcing me to get moving, you've really helped me. I've always had support. That's never been something I lacked. However, I never had an inner circle quite like this one. I owe a lot to each of you so thank you.
I wrote about this at WMC's for XC back in the fall but I want to touch on it again. Trying to make the most of a season has always been a struggle for me. With the injuries and not being able to train like I'd like to, having to struggle to PR or reach a goal has always been difficult. However, I have no regrets. Going into friday my goal is to race. Winning would be nice, not being disqualified would be great, but just being able to race, one last time. That's what I want.
This hamstring, it's my achilles heel. Finally I've found myself an injury where I really can't seem to shake it. No matter what I do my hamstring doesn't seem to want to give me anything.
How do I race and compete without pulling an injured hamstring? That's the question I have been struggling with for the entire season. It has it's on and off days also, for example on the last Bowdoin practice of my career some sort of luck struck me and I was able to really run. Like compete with my team. I was sprinting and running the entire workout. It was incredible. But come sunday that very same week, I had trouble walking. I had to limp through my house and even cancel some plans with friends just because of a hamstring.
It's a balancing act that I hate to have to deal with. At first it was manageable and I didn't mind going through it all but after a year or so of going through it I'm struggling to get by. It's truly difficult to handle.
My biggest problem with injuries, my hamstring more specifically, is I feel as though I have trouble leading in these situations. I am a captain, I am the most experienced member of the Greely track team. How do I go about pushing others to be better if I physically can't do that myself. It has taught me more than I ever would have expected.
I've learned that even though I may not be able to compete and practice the way I would like to I'm still able to contribute to a team that has always meant so much to me. Whether it's filming, taking pictures, giving tips or just holding a teammates blocks healthy or not I can be there for my team and I can have an impact no matter what.
Going into friday I'm preparing myself more than I really have before. My stretching has taken over my lifting time and I'm focusing more on being loose in comparison to training hard throughout the week. My time come friday, is not going to look good. I look forward to racing and ending my indoor career there.
I wish you all the best of luck,
No Regrets, -Matt Woolverton