celebrate the little wins

Two days ago, I ran for the first time after my second knee injury in under a year. I have never had a serious injury before, but unfortunately, this past year has thrown two at me: first an ACL tear and then a fractured tibia. Although my body has healed, my head is a little behind. This fall, I was able to get back into soccer, a sport I’ve played since Kindergarten. Although I expected to be a bit rusty, I didn’t expect to feel so disconnected to my body when I stepped on the field. I was frustrated and discouraged, but slowly, I began to accept that it was okay to feel that way- that my leg just went from being completely elevated and immobile to playing soccer in 9 months. I had just hit my stride, getting back to soccer and running, when I felt another snap, and again, I was so defeated.

Now, ten weeks out from that diagnosis, I am finally able to run again. This time, I know that I have to take a different approach: I need to celebrate the little wins. As hard as this is after being patient for so long, I know that it would be completely unrealistic to expect myself to be the athlete I was physically a year ago, and that is okay.

Injury or not, our bodies are going to go through seasons. My first run back didn’t hurt my knee, but I felt slow, extra tired, and a little uncoordinated. My mind jumped to disappointment at first, but I knew deep down that wasn’t fair- how could I be the same runner I was 10 weeks ago? Or a year ago? What was amazing is that I showed up: I got my shoes on, I stretched, and I was able to run- something I love to do. That is a little win! And that is what I want to celebrate.

It is so important that we are gentle on ourselves- no matter what we’re going through, big or small, we are doing great things. This isn’t easy. To be honest, I still can’t say that I completely believe myself when I try to appreciate what my body is doing; but it all comes with practice. So, I’m saying it here and we can all try to believe it together: we’re doing so many incredible things.

Let’s celebrate them 🤍 I’m proud of you!

xo,
kate