87: What If You Can Never Run Again?
Hillary opens up about a near-death experience while participating in her sport. One of the World's best trail runners, Hillary was competing in a Skyrunning race in Norway when she fell 150 feet off a cliff, breaking 14 bones and was told she would never run again. We discuss how Hillary handled this overnight shift from being a professional athlete racing at the highest level of elite sport to not being able to move, and the recovery journey she has been on these past 5 years that has challenged her identity and sense of worth. We talk about not ignoring your feelings, strategies for processing tough emotions including writing and mantras, and finding your sense of self outside of athletics. Faced with plenty of evidence to the contrary, Hillary shares how she manifested an unwavering belief that her best athletic days were still ahead of her: Hillary had to believe this and bet on herself long before she could see any results. We discuss finding motivation during injuries and setbacks, including making recovery your sport, developing rehab goals and to-do lists. Despite barely being able to move, let alone train, Hillary explained how she shifted her mindset around nutrition, recognizing her body's needs for even more nutrients than normal to repair her injuries and build her back stronger. Hillary shares how she noticed her body and appetite change, but still avoided restricting calories knowing that doing so would only prolong her recovery and healing journey, and instead focusing on consuming anti-inflammatory foods and bone broth. Hillary and I chat about nutrition for bone health, muscle building and recovery, as well as the importance of nutrition timing. We touch upon avoiding within-day energy deficits and under-fuelling to improve bone health, prevent injuries, reduce cortisol, and optimize training: nutrition is a superpower for faster recovery and performance! Hillary speaks about the challenging 5 years since her accident full of more setbacks, injuries and even more broken bones, and how she has stayed motivated and hopeful that she would one day run again. She opens up about how she feared racing and loosing her “elite athlete” status, ultimately overcoming these doubts by focusing on running for herself and her own enjoyment. We discuss letting go of previous senses of self and comparison, handling recovery setbacks even when you think you are doing everything “right”, and sharing the whole journey, not just the highlights. Hillary shares her key pillars through the highs and the lows, running and recovery: nutrition, sleep and mindset. We finish off discussing Hillary’s future running goals, taking on crazy long and steep ultra trail races, and now racing gravel bikes professionally too! Follow Hillary and all she does on Instagram @hillygoat_climbs And at hillaryallen.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter Hillary’s Official Bio: My career as an endurance athlete has not been straightforward. Through injury, setbacks and being told I would never run again, I’ve had to re-think what I consider impossible, as I continued to push myself, believing in my best athletic days ahead. In 2017 I had a life threatening accident, where I fell 150 feet off of a ridge-line during a Skyrace in Tromsø, Norway. I broke a total of 14 bones and I was told I would never run again – let alone compete at the elite level. The cliff note version is this: after several years of rehab and recovery, I made a full recovery and returned to elite level racing, running some of my longest and most challenging races post-accident. It's what led me to believe that ‘your best athletic days are ahead of you,’ if you’re willing to work hard for what you love and never give up on yourself. I am also a scientist, with a masters degree in neuroscience and physiology and structural biology; I’m a running coach, and a gravel cyclist too. Learn more about Lindsey's Services and the Team at Rise Up Nutrition: www.riseupnutritionrun.com Worried that you have RED-S? Curious to know how we could help or how you can recover fast?! Download the RED-S Recovery Race & see how you place for more support:www.riseupnutritionrun.com/reds