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Moving past injury and finding a new zen place by VPA athlete @orangeluvr

Moving past injury and finding a new zen place by VPA athlete @orangeluvr

Finding a new love

 I’m a triathlete. I am also active doing other things like hiking, paddle boarding, jet skiing, and so on.  When you are active doing other things you love, sometimes sh*t happens.  When that happens you sit there and think “crap, how is this going to affect my training?”  We all do it, no matter what our sport of choice is. We all are worried about injuries, regardless of how big or little they are.  This story is not going to be about my injury so much, but rather about how my injury helped me find a new love and a new challenge.

 My license plate on my vehicle is “WTR CHIK” because I love the water.  I love boating, SUP, swimming, floating, tubing, and of course Jet Skiing.  Last summer while out on our Wave Runners/Jet Skis we got stuck in some mud.  Not that big of a problem, done it before, and we just deal with it.  That day was different.  I stepped off my Wave Runner and immediately my right leg went in up to my calf in mud.  I tried pulling it out, it sank to my knee.  I tried again and before I knew it I was up to my mid-thigh in mud and I was starting to panic.  It’s here, quicksand…it is real.  I told my husband, who was pulling the Wave Runner into deeper water that he had to pull me out.  I didn’t want my other leg sinking so I quit trying.  I was literally panicking and yelling at him to pull me out.  Finally he was able to pull me out.  What I didn’t realize until a few weeks later, that incident pulled my leg slightly out of the SI joint.  I couldn’t tell at that time, it wasn’t too terrible until a few weeks went by and I couldn’t walk.  After some rehabbing at home myself, it was fine the next day.  I completed a triathlon that weekend without issue.  A few days later the left side went out and did not get better.  After going to the doctor and finding out about my SI joint, I also found out that it caused my disc to bulge in my L5. The doctor said I can recover, which is a good thing, but it may take a while.  I have now had 2 rounds of shots and two rounds of PT.  Fingers crossed this will catapult me into recovery more.

 Now what? Well I can sit and sulk over the fact that I shouldn’t run OR I can find something else to do.  So, I focused on my cycling (which I am still slow as heck at) and my swim.  SWIM.  I love the water (WTR CHIK), and although I was not a competitive swimmer until I became a triathlete 6 years ago, I have decided to focus on swimming more.  The more I focus on swimming, the more I love it.  I started looking for swim races.  I have my heart set on 4 this year, one I am registered for, waiting for the others to open.  The more I am in the water, the more comfortable I am with myself, it has become my place of zen.  But there is one thing I still need to focus on to get me to where I think I want to be.  I want to swim in open water all the time (except in the winter because I don’t do cold).  The thing I need to focus on?  My fear of seaweed.  Yep, you read that right, someone who eats only plants is afraid of water plants.  I love animals and I am not afraid of sharks, jelly fish, turtles, or anything else like that…but get a plant to infringe upon my swim path and I can almost walk on water.  So, any suggestions would be helpful!  I am looking forward to doing more swim races in the future.

 Currently I am signed up for a 70.3 relay where I have a runner.  I am training for a 3.5 mile swim in St. John, Virgin Islands, Memorial Day weekend.  Then Virginia Beach Life Guard Association has swim series over the summer that I will likely sign up for.  Therefore, Aqua Bike races and Swim races will be my new way forward, with a focus more on swim races.  I have found my new love, a love that was always there, but one that has come into focus due to injury.

 So, when you find yourself at a place you don’t think you want to be, refocus and find your new love. 

MEET SOME OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS

In 2022 we had 100 Team Members. BE APART OF THE FAMILY AND SHARE YOUR STORY

Meet Team VPA member Renee @runtrails_eatplants . It is her second year on the team and she has been helping out behind the scenes on our IG @team_vpa and our FB pages"Life is too short to stay inside your comfort zone, reach for the sky. I’m Renee and I am an ultrarunner living outside Atlanta, Georgia. 14 years ago, I went plant based for my health and I never looked back. After a bad foot injury, I discovered I loved lifting as much as I love running the trails. So, at the age of 50 I added lifting heavy to my training plan. I am passionate about spreading the message that age is no limit and you can not only thrive on a plant-based diet, you can help end animal cruelty and have a positive impact on the environment too. So, get out there and go for it!"

Welcome to the team@monica.strattonSport: Triathlon, Cycling, Running

"I have struggled for my entire life with food. It seems everything I ate made me feel sluggish or sick. My husband and I decided to try the vegan lifestyle and we have never felt better. My digestive system is running so much better and I feel I have more sustainable energy through my workouts and life. Being vegan has helped me fuel better for all my races and training.
I am very proud to be a vegan athlete. I have seen what it has done for me and my performance in all my sports. I want to share my story of how being vegan has changed my life in terms of how I feel on a daily basis and in sport. Being a professional athlete my students look to me and how I live my life and I am very proud to tell them how much better my body feels being vegan "

Welcome back@rjsacksVeganism saved my dad's life many years ago. He had horrible blockages in his heart and faced stents and a very dangerous operation, or seeing what would happen if he went whole food no oil plant based. He reversed his heart disease and is healthy as ever and still vegan. He never needed heart surgery. He is now 61 years old and still doing distance cycling rides. I started changing what I was eating during high school when my dad switched his diet. I made the complete switch after I met my boyfriend, a collegiate vegan runner at the time. I was mostly looking at veganism through a health lens until I met him and he helped me face the ethical dilemmas of eating animal products as well. Since I went vegan, my sister went vegan, my mom went vegetarian almost plant based, and my brother (who I thought would never change) has cut a significant amount of meat and dairy from his diet. My dad, boyfriend and I are all vegan cyclists currently. My whole immediate family is very open to veganism and eats vegan at family gatherings. Being vegan has been easy with supports like mine.
I feel strongly about spreading a positive message and hopefully helping make a change. Veganism saves so many animals, it can save people like my dad, and can save our planet. I can show other athletes that vegans aren't frail and sickly, we can compete and do well without eating animal products.

Welcome to the team@prost_1969I had high cholesterol high blood pressure and was 40 lbs over weight. The doctor said statins for the rest of my life because high cholesterol was in my family so I took things into my own hands. Since then I lost the 40 lbs and reversed all the other issues . I now also realize the impact going vegan has on the animals and the environment. I love cycling and running and by joining the team I can reach more people and show them that you can’t just survive without the use of animal products but thrive!!

Meet Team VPA athlete Shari. We are glad she joined us Meet“Hi team, this is my first year with Team VPA. I'm overjoyed to have found this team. I adore the mission statement because it reflects my beliefs too. I'm 48 years young, a small business owner, yogi, group fitness instructor, and outdoor enthusiast. My primary sport is Triathlon, but running will always be my first love with more than 6 marathons under my belt. Vegan for over 15 yrs. Before that vegetarian for 3 years. My biggest vegan athlete accomplishment was completing my first Ironman last year after many years doing Triathlons. This year I'm looking forward to enjoying long cycling tours in Europe! Follow my adventures on IG @sparks_vegan”

Welcome to the team@mattd_team_vegan_athletics"My name is Matt Dellaro. This is my first year as a Team VPA member as well as my first new year as an endurance athlete. I decided last February to buy a road bike and start cycling again after not having done it since my teens...I'm 51 now. I heard about short course triathlons and decided to see what I could do. I have 3 sprints behind me now as well as a 5k and 8k trail running races, a 5k road, two 10k races and a half marathon. I'm looking forward to longer triathlons as I get more comfortable with open water swimming, and working up to a 70.3 or even a 140.6. I've been vegan for over 8 years, and am so loving this new chapter in my life. Thanks to everyone at Team VPA who has been so helpful, supportive and just plain cool."

We are so glad you joined us@barefootjei"My name is Jérémie alias@barefootjei, I'm 28 years old and I'm from Normandy in France.

I have been vegan for 3 years now. I'm vegan for the animals! I'm so happy to have joined the team and to wear our colors in my country.

In 2022 I will be running every day to raise funds that will be donated to two Vegan associations.

My goal for 2022 is a 55km in May and another probably longer race by the end of the year."

"My name is Gloria Perez and I live in sunny Southern California. This is the first year I'm on Team VPA. I have been vegan for 4.5 years. I made the switch after my son inspired me. Becoming vegan has been one of the best decisions I've made for my health and of course for the animals and for the planet we all share. I have 3 sons and 2 grandsons. I've been running for 8 years. I've ran many distances, but my favorite distance is the half marathon. I enjoy both road and trail running. I also enjoy backpacking, cycling, lifting weights, OCR and traveling. One of my goals for this year is to start racing duathalons. I'd also love to do R2R2R (Grand Canyon). I'm also currently learning to speak French. "