Transcript
Rich: Welcome to episode 557 of the Grit to Greatness Endurance Podcast, where your hosts, coaches, Rich Soares and Lauren Brown, and we are on a mission to help endurance athletes train smarter.
Rich: race stronger and build the grit it takes. to achieve greatness.
Lauren Brown: Today, we're joined by Paul Hunziker, a longtime competitive triathlete and business owner whose recent journey is a powerful reminder. that resilience is not proven only when training is going well.
Lauren Brown: Five months ago, debilitating sciatic pain disrupted the most basic parts of his day. But this past weekend, he returned to competition and earned a commanding first place age group finish at the Bonnie Lake Triathlon.
Lauren Brown: We'll explore what happened between Those two moments, the uncertainty, the choices, the mental work, and the growth that made the comeback meaningful.
Rich: Paul, we're so glad that you're here and we love that you're just sitting there awkwardly while we just. brag about you and what this is all about hey man i' welcome we're glad you're here
Paul: Thank you. Thanks, Rich. Thanks, Lauren.
Rich: Hey, this episode is really kind of personal for. For both. You know, kind of personal for me because i I went through this with Paul, but this was his story. And I think that this is going to give you an honest, practical.
Rich: insight into maintaining mental strength when your body changes the plan because you don't always have control over what happens with your body. uh paul's experience is gonna give you a way to think about ownership of the process Ownership and patience.
Rich: you know And you kind of you got to kind of grapple with, boy, you know. Is this the beginning of the end of my athletic career, right? That's a big identity crisis for some people. so you know This is going to be about resilience.
Rich: uh when the usual training rhythm isn't going to be available to you so uh Buckle up. This will be a great conversation. If you've ever had that experience where you've been injured and you have felt like you are lost.
Rich: you know It's always darkest before the dawn sometimes. And the goal here is not to give you a medical prescription, but to use Paul's experience as evidence that setbacks can be a part.
Rich: of a transformation rather than the end of a story.
Lauren Brown: Yeah, I think a lot of our listeners are going to. Relate to this because I feel we've definitely said this before on podcast or I've said it with athletes I've said it with my coach write that Sometimes it's not the matter of like if it's gonna happen. It's When it's going to happen, that's a little bit of the reality of being as active as we are with, you know, three different disciplines. So for anyone who's facing injury.
Lauren Brown: interrupted training or uncertainty about a comeback. This episode is going to offer perspective, right? The finish line matters. But... It's that journey, what you learn about yourself on the way. back.
Lauren Brown: that actually matters even more.
Lauren Brown: All right. Well, before we get into it, should we do some shout outs real quick?
Rich: Let's do it. Yeah. we got Good stuff here.
Lauren Brown: all right I'll go with. For. Our Lucy Zate, she is going to be racing this weekend. So good luck to Lucy. She's going to be doing the Sackets Harbor. Marathon.
Lauren Brown: on September 6th, so... In two days or tomorrow after that when this podcast drops. And then we've got our... G2G athlete birthdays, our September babies, I'll be coming up soon. We got Cessia on September 7th.
Lauren Brown: Kevin Cole, September 10th, and Sasha. Goldberry, September 12th.
Rich: Woo -hoo!
Lauren Brown: to Celebrate.
Rich: Yeah. Happy birthday, all. and You know. we should We should not gloss over the fact that we had a lot of good race results last weekend, including our guest here.
Rich: Paul Hunziker, who got first place. as you mentioned in the lead up here. so Congrats, Paul.
Rich: Listen, you don't have to be coached by one of our coaches to be a part of our team and be a part of this community. We just had a fantastic. Our monthly momentum.
Rich: uh meetings which really a great way for the community to get together and keep the momentum going in the off season and going beyond the training. you know We had a great discussion around consistency. and what is consistency and different ideas to hack, you know, hack your schedule and hack your life so that you can be consistent, not only in training, but in just in life and just showing up. so If you're looking for support, inspiration, and a group of athletes who truly understand what it's...
Rich: Like to balance work. you know Family. Sport. Hey, we'd love to meet you. We'd love you to meet our... our community of athletes. There is a link here in the show notes.
Rich: And you can come and see our athlete stories. so Love to to have you. Take a look at that and join us at our next Momentum meeting.
Lauren Brown: Yeah, the the meetings have been amazing conversations. so absolutely check out the link and Today's conversation is going to be... amazing so again i know paul we already gave you a little bit of an intro but just to Go a little bit deeper about. today's conversation and about what happens when the body forces a strong athlete like yourself, Paul, to stop relying on the strategy that has always worked, which...
Lauren Brown: was pushing harder. so paul Like we said, Paul Hunziker is a longtime competitive triathlete and business owner who is accustomed to competing at... a high level and finding his way onto the podium.
Lauren Brown: but five months ago that debilitating sciatic pain made it difficult for him to even sit or stand abruptly taking away the training and competition that had become such an important part of his life so for anyone who's gone through something like this you know how unsettling and frustrating that can be. But Paul's story isn't simply about just returning to racing. It's about learning the difference between Control.
Lauren Brown: and ownership finding strength and patience. and building resilience through one intentional decision at a time.
Rich: And I'll tell you what, Paul, it's good to see you sitting up. There was a period where we would have these conversations and you were laying on your back. I remember those. So it's good to see you.
Paul: Good to be sitting up.
Rich: Alright.
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Well, you're doing a lot more than sitting up too.
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: So, hey, welcome back on the Grits Greatness podcast. endurance podcast. Let's go ahead and get into this. we're gonna We're gonna start though, as we always do.
Rich: with. you know, folks who are kind of. Yeah. either new to our podcast or haven't been on the podcast in a while with a get to know you game called two truths and a lie. Please give us three statements about yourself, Paul.
Rich: two of which are true. One is a lie. And Coach Lauren and I will pick the lie out of the bunch. We sure will, won't we, Lauren?
Lauren Brown: Do our best.
Rich: Ahem.
Paul: Huh. huh Let's see. Uh... Let me see I got to think about this. Yeah, I and know mentioned it before. Let me think. I spent... Let me see. Three years living in Minnesota.
Paul: I spent...
Paul: I've been to the top of Mount Rainier. And... Let's see
Paul: Hmm. Let's see.
Paul: what I'm trying to think. Let's see. I... I've spent or my favorite place to backpack is Utah is southern Utah.
Paul: I got some random ones.
Rich: The question was.
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: the question The question now is, was he like spending all that time contemplating a lie or is he was he spending all that time really trying to draw out a freaking like favorite?
Lauren Brown: okay
Rich: You know, like what?
Lauren Brown: I know. And I'm always like.
Paul: on
Lauren Brown: Which one would it be that it's like this tiny little detail that was shifted? Like, was it a different mountain? Was it not Minnesota?
Paul: yeah
Lauren Brown: Was it like? Mississippi instead.
Paul: i
Lauren Brown: Hey.
Rich: You know, and if part of me is like going, like, Rainier is in his backyard. He hasn't done it. It's just a total like you know throw off. you know He's just trying to throw us off. It's so funny. It's so hard. We overanalyze these so much.
Paul: yeah
Rich: You ready to go? You ready to make a guess?
Lauren Brown: I'm going to guess the Minnesota one just because it was the first one that you said. and I just have no idea.
Paul: yeah
Rich: Okay. So you go but the first one was the lie, just you know get it out of the way. so then okay
Lauren Brown: yeah
Rich: Alright. You know what? I am going to go with this. like hunch that You are exploring your lie. You're trying to figure out your, you're trying to figure out your lie.
Paul: I was.
Rich: And Utah is the lie.
Paul: Nope. That's actually the truth. Utah is my favorite place to backpack. I really had to work on it.
Rich: Oh. Rainier, right?
Paul: Yeah, Rhaenyra, I have not been to the summit.
Rich: Rainier. Oh.
Paul: I've tried. twice But I never made it and I've never actually been to Minnesota.
Lauren Brown: oh
Rich: Wonderful job, man.
Paul: I... Okay. Yeah.
Lauren Brown: Wait, so did you do two lies and one truth?
Rich: Well.
Paul: Isn't that what I was supposed to do?
Lauren Brown: Also, I know it was.
Paul: Oh no!
Lauren Brown: Two Truths and a Lie.
Paul: I'm Yeah.
Rich: No, he he did two truths and a lie.
Paul: Oh, shoot. i list up oh I messed up. Oh, I'm sorry.
Lauren Brown: Thank you so much. Ruth. So I.
Paul: I did a two lies and a truth.
Rich: Hey, you know what? that That's okay. I get it now.
Paul: Okay.
Rich: And do you know what? The purpose of this is not to see how well you can follow instructions, Paul. that That is not that is not the not the goal here. The goal is just to get to know you.
Rich: And now we know.
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: that
Paul: Yep.
Rich: your Your favorite place to backpack is Utah.
Paul: Is that an Utah?
Rich: We're...
Lauren Brown: But technically.
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: Where specifically?
Lauren Brown: Okay.
Paul: Canyonlands.
Rich: Okay. Can you listen?
Paul: it's I've spent a month in Canyonlands late in lateon college, and it's just... it's It's a unique place, definitely. So yeah. Yeah.
Rich: Lauren definitely wants to go back. She wants to go back and and hash this out.
Lauren Brown: Well, I mean, I definitely then I kind of won because I still guessed something that was a lie.
Rich: this this two
Paul: i'm sure
Paul: You did. Yeah, you did.
Rich: True.
Lauren Brown: If I'm going to be complete.
Rich: It's true.
Paul: Right, yeah. You did. Both of you actually picked lies. So you both got it.
Lauren Brown: okay listen
Paul: Yeah. yeah but
Lauren Brown: great Bye.
Paul: Yeah.
Lauren Brown: all right we got to know a little bit more about you paul
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: Well, I My final answer was technically Utah. so
Paul: That's true. true Yeah.
Rich: So I, I, Lauren.
Paul: there yeah
Rich: I concede well done. Paul, well done. That was a ton of fun. Next year, maybe Mount Rainier. Let's go.
Paul: There we go.
Rich: All right.
Paul: yeah It's on the list.
Rich: Alright. Awesome. Alright. First question. All right. Now listen. But I still remember the first call.
Paul: Oh after the injury.
Rich: Before this, I...
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: Yep.
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: Before that sciatic pain, the the big, the the big. you know, to debilitating. yeah It's always been something that's aggravated you.
Paul: Yep.
Rich: But what did what did training and daily life look like for you? What was the first sign that this was more than just a normal ache? And just. yeah how did it HUL - present itself to you.
Paul: So. Yeah, like you said, it was a it's a been a chronic thing over the years, and I've had different flare -ups. and i had had a flare up in november like a couple of weeks after iron man california but the big one was in february
Paul: And what's interesting is... That one. I went on a really hard run. I'm sorry that you asked me what life was like before. So and the signs leading up to I had was. On the mend from an issue that had happened in November, And I was feeling good. I was actually.
Paul: feeling like i was pretty much back on track so my daily life was what it was back to normal which was training seven days a week. a uh Yeah. i I train pretty heavy. It's probably about 15 to...
Paul: or so hours a week. And that's not even necessarily doing race race prep. I mean, when I go up for Ironman, it goes up above 20. And so I was. down back around that 15.
Paul: and what was i doing at that i mean i'm I've been a runner. I came into triathlon as a runner. and It was my identity. So I was running. for Yes.
Paul: four times i think at that a week at that point i was biking three to four swimming five And so. yeah heavy and then strength training mixed in there and so yeah it would be a good one to one to two or three hours a day of training
Rich: And this was your. this is your m mo like when you and you you and i started working together
Paul: Yep.
Rich: You're even training at a higher volume than that. I mean, like you can carry a load.
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: You can carry a training load and recover.
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: it's Pretty amazing.
Paul: Yeah, I came to you because my wife was sick of how much I was training.
Rich: it's true
Paul: what's Yeah, that was a big part of it.
Lauren Brown: So you can back it off.
Paul: Exactly. yeah
Lauren Brown: It's... So. So you went from this like. Really? high volume
Paul: Yep.
Lauren Brown: Training to getting to a point where you were really struggling to sit
Paul: Yep.
Lauren Brown: or stand comfortably. So when you look at what...
Paul: Yeah.
Lauren Brown: that looked like and you even said how even before you can triathlon that running was your identity and I think that a lot of people who are athletes can relate to.
Paul: Yep.
Paul: Mm hmm.
Lauren Brown: When something changes that, it's such a shift.
Paul: Yep.
Lauren Brown: So if we look at like.
Paul: Yep.
Lauren Brown: beyond the physical pain what would you say was the hardest part for you going through this?
Paul: But yeah, I mean, it was loss of identity. It was the fact that, I mean, I didn't know whether I would be able to run again uh that was uh because i mean i couldn't stand for more than 30 seconds without burning pain
Paul: and that would quickly become intolerable and i'd need to i would be able to have to kneel or lay down that was the only two positions that i could get be and that wouldn't be there that wouldn't cause me pain and so there was just this like would i be able to run again i mean the other part connected to that too is a big part of my job as i teach and So it requires standing.
Paul: And. It was like, oh, crap. am I going to be able to do my work? Yeah.
Lauren Brown: No.
Paul: and so it was running and possibly like how am i going to do my job
Lauren Brown: Yeah.
Paul: Yeah.
Lauren Brown: and did it just like come out of nowhere kind of for you when this happened like what was like How did it come about?
Paul: Yeah. So it came after, it followed after a pretty heavy run. i had the day before like looking back there was a sign like the Saturday before I had done a brick, like a bike run. and On the run, I was just unusually stiff.
Paul: And then I push through it. and then the next day i push through and still try to do the hard run and i did it But then. through the day it Just. proceeded to get worse, the pain got worse and worse. And then byby by the next day, I couldn't stand.
Rich: When it hits you that when you were processing that. I might not be able to run again. And you are, I mean, it gets pretty dark, pretty fast. Okay. I'm not going to run it again. I'm not going to be a triathlete. I'm not going to be a runner.
Rich: What am I going to be? that Who am I? You know, that ego of who am I? and
Rich: How was that? I mean, and somebody in your field.
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: As a. As a therapist.
Paul: Mm hmm.
Rich: Ha! Who do you go to? When you're feeling like that
Paul: So, That's a great question. I, and yes, I'm a mental health counselor. And so I firmly believe I'm always involved in some kind of of my own counseling. I wasn't. currently at that time.
Paul: i had some peripheral connections to a counselor so i was able to get some supports that way i will admit it was interesting like when i was calling up for medical stuff and whenever there's back pain they start giving you like screening you for suicide it's like oh my god i'm on the other side of this because i'm usually the one asking the question and
Paul: Oh yeah, that makes sense that you're asking that because I'm in that dark of a place. like i wasn't actually having direct suicidal thoughts but it was like yeah it's not far from that yeah it's like i could see how it could easily tip that way Yeah. so uh through my own therapy. And eventually I have connected reconnected with a therapist. And then, I mean, of course I know other folks that. within the field but usually i i set it up that i actually have an official therapist
Lauren Brown: I think it's like really important for people. to hear also because I know For somebody... if if you've never gone through an injury before And you're not.
Paul: Yeah.
Lauren Brown: Expecting. the emotional response that comes with it.
Paul: yeah Yep.
Lauren Brown: You can feel like. Is this so dramatic of me to to feel like I need to see a therapist? but
Paul: no
Lauren Brown: It's not. It's like...
Paul: No.
Lauren Brown: because it
Paul: Absolutely not.
Lauren Brown: It feels like. This is going to actually sound might sound dramatic what I'm comparing it to, but I'm just going to go there real quick. When I was going through my divorce and I was seeing a therapist, she was like,
Lauren Brown: It's... you're like kind of like mourning the loss of the life you thought you would have.
Paul: Exactly.
Lauren Brown: And it's, that's like what it's making me think of with an injury is that like.
Paul: Yep. Yep.
Lauren Brown: You then start going there where you're almost like. anticipating the loss of the life that you thought you were going to have as
Paul: Yep.
Lauren Brown: an athlete and as as a or runner, whatever your sport is. and I just I'm Happy that you brought that up because. i think people who might be going through it and don't realize how mentally devastating it can be.
Lauren Brown: And when you look at it like. When you think about the setback. And I know we already talked about loss of identity, but did it have any other shift on the way that you... like even saw yourself as an athlete or as a business owner, a husband and just like.
Lauren Brown: overall. that
Paul: all of them yeah all three. I mean, it was there uh I mean, we can start with the most. We talked about athlete. I mean, my business piece. I mean, I.
Paul: so i I only actually lost one contract. So I was really lucky. I had some great. clients that flexed with me and switched over to zoom but i was I was needing to lay down and teach.
Paul: And this extended into going back into in -person. I had a training that I actually at points needed to take breaks and lay down on the floor to teach. And but I was so grateful that I had.
Paul: folks Luckily, it's behavioral health, so people tend to be really understanding of that kind of thing. so But i it was still like, I can't keep doing that. How can I? So there was this. what how is this going to shift and change
Paul: Hi. And then as a husband, I mean, yeah it was really rough on the relate because i was I was in a pain cave. And... It was like I couldn't sit down to a meal.
Paul: I couldn't sit down to dinner. i I had to, it was really weird. I had the, like the only comfortable position I could eat in was a kneeling position as weird as that is. And so my, my wife was, I mean, she's. great what about it but she'd have to sit there and see me kneeling on a couch eating And so it was really, really rough. Yeah, we've we've had to kind of work our way through that. Luckily, like we've.
Paul: done a lot of work together and figured out how to kind of come back from it. But it put a strain on every part of my life. and i going back to the business piece we talked about how because i'm a business owner i don't have like There's no disability. We're such a small business. like If I had been working for any other company, I would have been on short -term disability. But I couldn't. That wasn't there.
Paul: Yeah. So. Yeah, it was rough. Yeah
Rich: And this is... Good. you know, for people that might experience this like or as lauren said it's not a matter of if it's just when that Yeah. finding Finding your support system, talking to someone is really, really important, especially when, as you said, multiple dimensions of...
Rich: the life that you were living.
Rich: changed vector on you.
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: You know, we... you know, There was a period where, yeah, it was difficult to do anything, but you got. to swim swimming seemed to work okay biking seemed to work okay and that Thank...
Rich: That seemed to give you at least something. how was that how was how you know How is being able to have another sport or two? available to you.
Paul: I was grateful as anything for that. That was a lot. Yeah, I mean, I'm i'm so... I if I hadn't had those this would be so much a harder because I had I mean, first off, swimming. was uh one of the few things that gave me relief because it turns out what was happening it wasn't just the sciatica i had uh So it started, it was probably a herniation in a November.
Paul: and then what the later one was nerve compression And so because what it was just the disc was gone and then finally everything kind of caved in on itself. And...
Paul: swimming because it stretched my spine gave me relief. And so it was like an hour a day. And so where I had no pain. And so that was. a major major help plus i was able to be physical And they're...
Paul: And I am shocked that biking worked. because you look at all the research on it or the data on it and people say like they're always like pathetic pain and biking tend to go it's problematic but i was lucky as anything to be able to bike And so it also gave me something to stay with. And so it was like, okay, at least I have these. And biking was also another like hour of relief.
Paul: And so... yeah they they really that was those were big parts of what kind of helped Keep me going. Yep.
Rich: I want to pull on the thread thread a little bit more because we're really just at the very beginning of your recovery process here.
Paul: Yep.
Rich: you know What I remember, and I'd like for you to share it from your perspective, but were there, there were these like. I would call them, the first phase was you discovering that swimming was giving you relief and that you could bike, but you were being cautious.
Rich: And then we would go to a place where. you got more confident. on the bike
Paul: Yep.
Rich: and pushed harder on the bike.
Paul: Yep.
Rich: to now we're like. we're We're actually increasing performance on the bike. And we weren't even able to run yet, but then we were able to. We're walking.
Rich: And then there was a progression to some jogging. And then there was this like. you're back to You're back to training.
Paul: Yep.
Rich: cautious. And your gait had changed. We knew your gait had changed because you were.
Paul: Yep. Yeah.
Rich: because you're guarding Take us through all like. Take us through all of that from your perspective.
Paul: So yeah, we were... uh, the swimming with new kind of. bit was quick quickly obvious that it worked the biking was always the question because it was just like Is this going to continue being okay?
Paul: And also the other concern we had with it was. Was it aggravating things like even though it felt like I was okay on the bike? Was it making the situation worse? And so I was going to PT and we were communicating all of us were at that point and It seemed like it was okay. It was holding.
Paul: And then we started being able to push it ahead a little bit and I started to be able to to put some power in. and it was okay. I will admit one in there early on because the initial injury was in February. It was like. beginning of march there was this moment with it's like yeah i think i can might run That was a horrible mistake.
Paul: I tried it.
Rich: You did, too.
Paul: i didn't get a mile yeah it set me back so badly
Rich: Yeah.
Paul: and it was i mean we came back from it but yeah it was one that was uh oh that was i got less than a mile in and i could feel like something was very wrong.
Paul: And so i yeah I had to slowly hobble back home. But yeah, we were able to build that and then i through the pt it was a conversation about nerves taking about six to eight weeks let's give it eight weeks and we gave it a beta eight weeks and then i tried running again But yeah, my run was all wonky. And so... That was that was hard.
Paul: because it was again running was my identity and i so wanted it to be back and it wasn't. back. I to give you some I was proud because i had worked on being a four -foot striker and i so i had a lot of power and i had my my my you know rich my cadence is really high And so. It was how it was.
Rich: Very efficient.
Paul: Yeah. That was how I was able to be fast. and My... something was on wonky with my nerve and my hamstring on my left side and i could not my my ankle just drops and to this day i still have that some but it was way worse and so my gait i had to go from a forefoot to a heel strike in order to be able to do anything
Paul: and so that and that just shifted and changed. because it just completely changed the dynamic of my run. And I was like way back. I bet. it was it didn't feel like i was running and i had to get okay with that.
Paul: and just sit with that. so luckily that's kind of begun shifting and there's been some advantage things that have built up from there but yeah that's Yeah.
Rich: what what pace What pace were you running when you... were really trying to run your fastest but you had not like the recovery really had not kicked in yet.
Paul: I was... uh, on like a 10 minute 30 second pace was what i could like that was fast for me It was like more like 11th.
Rich: A couple months ago.
Paul: What's up?
Rich: A couple months ago, maybe?
Paul: a couple uh oh back that would be back in like may yeah so back may june Yep.
Rich: Thank you. How was your pace? At the race last Saturday. Or last Sunday.
Paul: the For the last five minutes, I was back up to like a 730. Yeah.
Lauren Brown: just
Paul: Thank you.
Rich: Yeah.
Lauren Brown: so
Rich: nice
Lauren Brown: What was your pace before you got injured?
Paul: So I was... work i could working towards a seven minute and I was probably on, I was probably like a 7 .10, 7, yeah, we're in there. I was working towards a seven minute though.
Paul: Yeah.
Lauren Brown: So I hope whoever's... listening that's going through this realizes that that little phrase right there, that little sentence that we just had was like hopefully gives people hope because i can I can guess and guarantee that there was... points during your recovery process where you were like,
Lauren Brown: not thinking it would be possible to get back to the pace that you were running before.
Paul: I'm shocked that it's happening still.
Lauren Brown: Yeah.
Rich: Yeah.
Paul: Yeah, it's. Yeah.
Lauren Brown: So how did you deal with like...
Rich: Grateful.
Lauren Brown: Cause I... I can only imagine. all of All of us tend to fall on like the type A side where we want things, we want them now.
Paul: Yeah.
Paul: Yeah. mm -hmm
Lauren Brown: and
Paul: Yeah. Yep.
Lauren Brown: We... usually need somebody to like rein us back. I mean, you even said you went to... run and was like, oh, no, this is...
Paul: Yeah. Rich.
Lauren Brown: not the right thing to do. so How did you, with Rich, did you say Rich's?
Paul: Yeah, I just said Rich is that. yeah
Lauren Brown: I was like, if that took a second to get to my brain.
Paul: Yeah. yeah yeah
Lauren Brown: Yes. watch should I should direct this out at Rich, actually. then and do
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: Reel them back in.
Lauren Brown: gives some feedback on things that people can keep in mind when they're going through this, because I know I've had this conversation.
Paul: Yeah.
Lauren Brown: I actually had a conversation today with one of my athletes who she's. postpartum and it's like she's not cleared to run and it's like she has to do all of these like hip stability like mobility exercises that can feel very unsexy and glamorous, but she has to do them before she can run. And I'm like.
Lauren Brown: Don't you dare. Like... try to go faster than you should it's like you need to recover because you just get that setback so so rich you might want to chime in on this one about what that kind of back and forth was like with like Yes, you're getting it. recovering yes you're starting to pick up speed but like hold it back.
Rich: Yeah, you know, it's funny because Paul and I have, you know, this has been one of those things where I've been learning as a coach, you know, and and it's one of those things where. You know...
Rich: Not all the rules apply to every athlete. And i i it took me a while to really prove to myself that. Paul could, and then I'm thinking, you know, when we first started working together, that he could handle the load that he was.
Rich: It was. He was. loading himself with. without getting injured. And it took it almost took about a good year. you're Or so for you to convince me. Cause I would always, I would hassle you like that was too high. That stress, your NTS was too high.
Rich: And...
Paul: Too high, too hard. Dude, that was pretty cool of you to comment.
Rich: Yeah. yeah yeah yeah too yeah too long yeah too long and too hard always always always always mr
Paul: Yeah. Yeah.
Rich: above and beyond. and
Rich: Yeah, you know this is one of those areas where...
Rich: We we've really, we I think we, this is when. We both said, we both agreed. Yeah, we need to hold back. It was no longer. yeah I didn't have to hold him back. He was he was self. regulating i would say the only exception to the self -regulating was the hey i'm just going to go see if i'm feeling good enough to go for a run i didn't I didn't get asked about that one.
Rich: I got the report after.
Paul: Yeah. Yeah. I did run that by the PT. But. They were like, okay.
Rich: Yeah.
Rich: and And this is important too. You just started with a PT who specializes for. you know, high performance athletes. They do run gate analysis, bike fits and that sort of thing.
Paul: Yep.
Rich: so you Like you said, we're not quite 100 % back to where you were. What's going to be the last measure here, do you think?
Paul: Well, the the PT, then kind of starting up with that is and what we're focusing on now is getting that balance between my left and my right and seeing because. We have to see whether we can do that because the a surgeon thinks that it's nerve issue. which it very well might be and was of course pressing surgery as surgeons do but uh what i want to work with the pt and see if we can how much balance left right balance we can get i also need mobility i i
Paul: God. incredibly i've always had incredibly tight hamstrings and so we're trying to figure out how to get some more hamstring lengthening in there if we can those if we meet those metrics then i'll feel better possibly going to pushing a little more with running.
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: And we talked about some plyometrics and really starting to get comfortable with that.
Paul: Exactly. Yeah.
Rich: yeah Well, and the strength coach is right here.
Paul: Yep.
Rich: uh coach lauren so Lord, I'm going to let you ask the last question and we're going to.
Paul: Yeah.
Lauren Brown: I was hearing the...
Rich: Then we'll go to the fun segment.
Lauren Brown: Okay, well, I do want to... can i Can I just get two real quick in here? so i do want
Rich: Oh yeah. Take as much time as you want.
Lauren Brown: I just.
Rich: I'm just going to be chill, chill and get ready for fun.
Lauren Brown: Okay, so I want to just... like hear a little bit about Like you came off this injury, you rehabbed, and then you just now had a race that you. performed exceptionally well at. So can you just share a little bit about what that felt like being like, okay.
Lauren Brown: Not only am I. actually well enough and strong enough to... to start the race but like What was that moment when you were like... Oh, dang. like I'm actually like, i'm i'm gonna probably I might end up on the podium at this thing.
Lauren Brown: Which you did.
Paul: so it's it so because i've been working on swimming and biking for so long i was pulling ahead there. And so that wasn't a surprise. It was getting on the run. And the moment there was.
Paul: there were two runners ahead of me and i was falling behind i could see them pulling away And then... It was as I was running through. As I kept going, all of a sudden I started to see them again.
Paul: and then i was moving closer and i passed them i and i that was the moment i could tell i was speeding up And so when once I was able to pull past them and started started to consistently pass folks.
Paul: That was the moment I realized, okay, I'm i'm moving. like i must be moving at a decent pace and that's yeah definitely and then recognizing also the kind of having the more movement in my hips there wasn't really any pain
Lauren Brown: Amen.
Lauren Brown: Yes.
Paul: I'm able to push. And so definitely that, yeah, that was the big moment.
Lauren Brown: That's like such a high. I'm so happy that you got to have that.
Paul: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Lauren Brown: So, and then, okay, now now last question because. Like I said, I know there's people that are listening to this that are seeing themselves in the experience that you're going through so for any of our athletes who are listening who feel like physically broken and they Do not see.
Lauren Brown: The Way Back. just yet. What do you hope your story helps them believe or do next?
Paul: So, I mean, the big one is like. How you feel right now is not necessarily how you're going to feel coming up. like it it it as dark and as rough as it feels in the moment, it's it's going to change in some way, shape or form. I mean, for me, it was.
Paul: i kind of i knew that and it was like okay i've got it i'm gonna accept what comes if I'll shift and change. I want to find my new my new normal.
Paul: But that part of like as low as it feels in that moment, it it's not always going to be that way.
Lauren Brown: that Thank you.
Paul: Yep.
Rich: Yeah, that's a... Great message to close on.
Rich: Yeah, it's it's hard to see it's hard to see out of the well when you're down there deep in it. but Yeah. But there's light. There's light up there. Awesome. right well listen we're gonna have some fun we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna liven things up and just Eh.
Rich: but But before we do... Let me just recap athlete identity this is what we want you to take away from this is athlete identity can bend without disappearing when circumstances force training to change. to change. ownership is not the same as control, right?
Rich: It means responding intentionally to the reality in front of you. but you only have so much control resilience is often built through patience, small actions, and honest recalibration.
Rich: uh not not just one dramatic breakthrough and a return to competition can celebrate performance. while also revealing the human transformation that's happening behind it and just the mental toughness. So Paul, thanks again for all that.
Rich: here we're gonna we're gonna Just shift into the comeback. grit check so Why would he kick us off?
Lauren Brown: alright Yes, so this is going to be, Paul, a... Fast. On air. finish the sentence around so You're gonna answer with the first honest thought that comes to mind.
Lauren Brown: uh Rich and I are going to ask maybe a follow up, but literally we want you to just like. Answer. What comes to mind?
Lauren Brown: Coach Rich, kick it off.
Rich: Did you just go...
Lauren Brown: yeah
Rich: I love that.
Paul: yeah
Rich: All right. Paul, the hardest workout I could... pleaded during this comeback was not physical. It was.
Paul: mental and dealing with being slow.
Lauren Brown: fair all right The smallest win. that felt much bigger than it looked was.
Paul: Sitting upright.
Lauren Brown: honest
Rich: it's true right yeah that's great
Paul: Yeah. Yeah.
Rich: totally Like when you were sitting up that first time, I'm like. Dude, you're sitting up.
Paul: Yeah. that was a success that was huge it's tiny like someone would be like so you're sitting yeah
Rich: Woohoo!
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: Alright. The phrase I had to stop telling myself was.
Paul: about that. One of them was that this is my fault for missing the signs. And that, yeah, that this was my mistake.
Lauren Brown: That's important.
Paul: Yeah.
Rich: It's a good one.
Lauren Brown: All right.
Paul: Hindsight's 2020.
Lauren Brown: Yeah.
Paul: Yeah. Yeah.
Rich: Give yourself some.
Lauren Brown: Amen.
Rich: Grace.
Paul: Yeah.
Lauren Brown: Yep. All right, standing on the Bonnie Lake podium. reminded me that
Paul: of Keep going my consistency might we can It pays off. Like, I... the the the Keep coming up, showing up like I do. It eventually pays off. Yeah.
Paul: Radical acceptance. It's just accepting, the fully accepting. what's there like that yeah that's the reality Yeah.
Rich: That's a big, that's a great. resilience tool for sure.
Lauren Brown: Definitely. How's that go?
Rich: Awesome. That was fun.
Lauren Brown: Good way to end it. Yes. Paul, this was like... It was great getting to know you more too and hear a little bit more about your story. So thank you. And I am just. Really grateful that We have you on our our Grit to Greatness team.
Lauren Brown: So for our...
Paul: Glad to be here.
Lauren Brown: we Our listeners. whether you're preparing for your For a sprint triathlon, if you're tackling a 70 .3 or... chasing the Iron Man dream. We can help you build a personalized roadmap.
Lauren Brown: If you have a coaching question, send us a message, connect through our website, or engage with the G2G community, and we may feature your question on a future episode. You can also submit your Ask Coach questions. You can contact us at our website at grit2greatnessendurance .com. slash contact.
Lauren Brown: And you'll also get to meet and interact with our amazing team and athletes like Paul.
Rich: And as always, our... show is sponsored by Vespa Nutrition. Vespa helps you tap into clean, steady energy so you can stay strong, focused, and in the zone longer, zest less sugar.
Rich: higher performance, faster recovery. Use the discount code G2G. It's the number two. Gee, Vespa 15, you'll get 15 % off of anything in your cart anytime. there's a Link here in the show notes that automatically applies it.
Rich: thanks for spending time with us today on the Grit to Greatness Endurance Podcast and listening. to paul's resilience story It's amazing. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow us and leave us a rating and a review on apple podcast or youtube it helps us reach more athletes just like you Stay gritty, train smart. And keep chasing greatness. We will see you.
Rich: next week.
