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Going into the Olympic marathon this August, Molly Seidel was a wild card.
Clive Brunskill
Despite her storybook performance, the road to Tokyo wasnt a smooth one for Seidel.
Reaching the pinnacle of the sport didnt make those conditions go away.
The reality is much messier, she wrote in an essayfor ESPN.
I will never overcome my eating disorder.
Its not something that a nice tidy bowlike theOlympic Trialsor even the Olympicscan disguise.
Many athletes have recently shifted how they use social media to share their lows alongside their highlight reels.
Acknowledge that some factors are out of your control.
Truthfully, it was extremely stressful, Seidel says.
It was really hard.
It was very isolating.
We could not leave the hotel, she said.
The training facility was pretty rough.
Great mentors and just wonderful, positive people, she says.
For much of 2020, Seidels Instagram bio read Pending Olympian instead of Olympian.
But with tempered expectations, she made it to Tokyo after alland finished in style.
It was very different from a typical Olympic experience, she says.
Use your support system to talk through the post-competition letdown.
In recent years Olympians have spoken openly about the emotional letdown that comes after the Games are over.
AsMichael Phelpss HBO documentaryThe Weight of Goldshows, even medalists and champions arent exempt from the post-Olympic lows.
You definitely take an emotional dive afterwards, Seidel says.
So we really worked to venture to stay ahead of that.
Then it was time to celebratesomething especially needed after the strict quarantine rules of the athlete village in Sapporo.
Set your boundariesand respect them.
So its been really cool getting to feel like Ive had an impact on the conversation.
At the same time, though, it opened the door for probing and sometimes invasive questions.
Some people and some media, Seidel says, have overstepped the line.
Timing, she learned, is key for an effective conversation in the mental health space.
And right before a race is not the place for itso thats a boundary she now enforces.
Seek out a mental health professional.
Experiment with recovery options that work for you.
Whilerecoveryis vital, its not cookie-cutter.
And when Seidel is training hard, it becomes even more important.
That usually looked like 90 minutes in the morning and 40 minutes in the afternoon.
She supplemented these sessions withstrength trainingto prevent injury andyogato stay flexible.
During times like this, getting enough rest is key.
In some cases that can mean simply sleep, but in others, it can mean downtime.
Its a wonder what a simple 30-minute nap will do for the body and mind, she says.
I love napping during training, as they really help me refresh.
She sets aside time to read, listen to audiobooks, and rock out to music to decompress.
Says Seidel, Meditation, mindfulness, and simple rest are super important to me.
