“Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out.” ~ Mitch Album, The Time Keeper
I just finished reading The Time Keeper by Mitch Album, and a lot of things really struck a chord with me. As much as I’ve enjoyed the sports I’ve done, the extent of my successes in sport have never really been driven by my love for each sport but by the challenges they presented to me at the time. And I’ve noticed, in hindsight, that these challenges have always tended to have a time limit – beating the clock. For example, starting bobledding and having 5 months to train and learn the sport before the Olympics in Torino. And then after the Olympics (both in 2006 and 2010) switching gears in training to build my endurance from 6 seconds of pure speed and power to be able to play an 80-minute rugby game within a few months in order to make the Canadian World Cup Rugby team.
My athletic career at the elite level may have lasted as long as it has because of the many injuries I’ve had. Now, that may seem strange, seeing as most athletes retire because of repeated injuries, but for me each comeback presents a different sort of challenge: Can I recover from this to perform and compete as well, if not better, than I did before this injury? Most of my ‘comebacks’ have not even been that straightforward. They, too, seem to have always had a time limit – a push to beat the odds in a limited amount of time.
We are now only a couple of days away from the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament in Moscow. (For those of you who don’t know much about rugby, ‘sevens’ rugby just means that there are only seven people playing against each other on the same size field as the regular game of 15s. Rugby sevens is also one of the new sports that will be added to the Olympic Games in Rio 2016.)
I am in Moscow with the team, which means that yes, I did, in fact make the World Cup team, which was one of my big goals of this year after having hip surgery on November 21, 2012. I was definitely the most controversial selection to this team when selections were made after the London/Amsterdam tour we went on about a month ago. I did not play in London – my hip wasn’t ready and I was having issues with the stability muscles of the hip, which were creating pelvic instability. I did, however, play in Amsterdam. I had no choice! Well, I always had a choice, but if I wanted to make the World Cup team, I had to prove that my hip could hold up in a tournament and that was the last opportunity. It held up well enough, although I can’t say that my cardio or rugby skills were up to my expectations. I hadn’t even done a full training session with the team, though, so I was told to put things in perspective. And, when I thought about it, the last time I had played rugby in a game was at the World Cup in 2010 – probably the fittest I’ve ever been in my life – and the expectations that I had of myself did not match what I was able to do on the field in Amsterdam. But… my hip held up, and that was the test, and I then had five weeks before the Sevens World Cup to rebuild my cardio and my game – intimidating, yet inspiring to do so alongside some of the fittest and talented women in the country!
Why was my selection controversial? Because I believe I was selected based on past performance and potential performance – faith that I could get to where I needed to be in time for the tournament, but not based on performance at the time of selection. My role on this team is not to play full games but to have an impact on the game when I do get the opportunity to step on the field. Maybe my experience in dealing well with high-pressure situations had something to do with the selection. But, for whatever the reason, the coaches saw in me something that I could contribute to this incredible team, and had faith that I could get there in five weeks. Although I wish I had another month, the coach has actually told me that I have surpassed where the coaching staff had expected to be at this point post-surgery. I will consider myself fortunate to wear the maple leaf again, and, hopefully, help tear up the field with my team if/when given the opportunity.
“As mankind grew obsessed with its hours, the sorrow of lost time became a permanent hole in the human heart. People fretted over missed chances, over inefficient days; they worried constantly about how long they would live, because counting life’s moments had led, inevitably, to counting them down.” ~ Mitch Album, The Time Keeper
It has now been seven months since my hip surgery. My surgeon said that it usually takes six months before people feel back to normal in everyday activities, but that it often takes a year to a year and a half before people are fully recovered. To be able to even play rugby at all at this point – which requires huge explosive changes of direction at top speed – is a big accomplishment for me. But I’m not done yet. I still have a couple more days to take things in and improve before this tournament. And yes, the days, hours, and minutes are being counted down. I agree with Mitch Album’s book and believe that everyone should enjoy life without the burden of time – to recharge personal batteries and enjoy moments for what they truly are. And I will do that as well, but that time is not now! It’s crunch time! The time for me to forget about time and deadlines will be at my cottage for those two precious weeks when I’m back on ‘my’ Island. I will wake up when the birds wake me up, and will go to bed when it gets dark and I am tired. I will eat when I’m hungry, and accomplish things in due time. I will enjoy the moments and not count down the hours. That is, of course, until I realize I only have a few days left and that I’ll soon have to leave again! And then I will, once again, be very aware of the hourglass of time, with the sand running out!
