55 min
Runner Pippa Woolven: Recovery from RED-S The Injured Athletes Club
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- Sports
“I think first of all, it is so easy to dismiss this diagnosis and think there must be something else the matter, because the symptoms are so extreme and it is hard to believe that it can be something as simple and as basic as an energy imbalance. But it really can. And until I was brave enough to get really honest with myself and almost reach a point where I had to admit that there was an energy imbalance there, it was hard to buy into it.’”
British runner Pippa Woolven was 19 and running collegiately when her once-promising athletic career took a turn. She began developing a wide range of symptoms—small injuries, frequent colds, dark moods. And after a brief period of time when she was running faster, her training and racing began to suffer, too.
As she explains on this week’s episode, it took some time, some bravery, and a blog post by another athlete that echoed Pippa’s experiences before she got to the bottom of the issue. She had relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S), a condition in which her caloric intake wasn’t sufficient to support both her training and her body’s other essential functions.
Eventually, Pippa recovered. Now, she’s the founder and director of Project RED-S, an organization that aims to provide the resources she didn’t have when she was solving her own puzzle. “Thankfully, this is an issue we can prevent and we can recover from,” she says. “I think not enough people are sharing those messages."
New this season: We’re asking listeners to support the show directly, which you can do at buymeacoffee.com/rebound. Make a one-time donation or download extras like webinar recordings and resource sheets. Or, you can join as an ongoing member; for $10 a month, you’ll get goodies like podcast extras, live monthly Q&As with Carrie, and discounts from great companies like Fluid Running, Lever Movement, Netic Health, and Reflex Health.
You can subscribe to The Injured Athletes Club on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or a review in Apple podcasts. That helps other injured athletes find the show.
Resources/links:
The Project RED-S website and Instagram Pippa’s Instagram The Runner’s World article about her
To access more resources for injured athletes:
Buy Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries —now available as an audiobook! Join The Injured Athletes Club mailing list, for news and updates Join The Injured Athletes Club Facebook group, for support and camaraderie Like The Injured Athletes Club Podcast Facebook page, for the latest episodes Email us at hello@injuredathletesclub.com with questions, guest suggestions, or other feedback
DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational & informational use only and & does not constitute medical advice. Do not disregard, avoid or delay obtaining medical or health related advice from your health-care professional because of something you may have heard in an episode of this podcast. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult with a qualified medical professional for proper evaluation & treatment. Guests who speak on this podcast express their own opinions, experiences, and conclusions, and The Injured Athletes Club podcast hosts nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular treatment option discussed in the episodes of this podcast and are not responsible for any actions or inactions of listeners based on the information presented. The use of any information provided is solely at your own risk.
“I think first of all, it is so easy to dismiss this diagnosis and think there must be something else the matter, because the symptoms are so extreme and it is hard to believe that it can be something as simple and as basic as an energy imbalance. But it really can. And until I was brave enough to get really honest with myself and almost reach a point where I had to admit that there was an energy imbalance there, it was hard to buy into it.’”
British runner Pippa Woolven was 19 and running collegiately when her once-promising athletic career took a turn. She began developing a wide range of symptoms—small injuries, frequent colds, dark moods. And after a brief period of time when she was running faster, her training and racing began to suffer, too.
As she explains on this week’s episode, it took some time, some bravery, and a blog post by another athlete that echoed Pippa’s experiences before she got to the bottom of the issue. She had relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S), a condition in which her caloric intake wasn’t sufficient to support both her training and her body’s other essential functions.
Eventually, Pippa recovered. Now, she’s the founder and director of Project RED-S, an organization that aims to provide the resources she didn’t have when she was solving her own puzzle. “Thankfully, this is an issue we can prevent and we can recover from,” she says. “I think not enough people are sharing those messages."
New this season: We’re asking listeners to support the show directly, which you can do at buymeacoffee.com/rebound. Make a one-time donation or download extras like webinar recordings and resource sheets. Or, you can join as an ongoing member; for $10 a month, you’ll get goodies like podcast extras, live monthly Q&As with Carrie, and discounts from great companies like Fluid Running, Lever Movement, Netic Health, and Reflex Health.
You can subscribe to The Injured Athletes Club on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or a review in Apple podcasts. That helps other injured athletes find the show.
Resources/links:
The Project RED-S website and Instagram Pippa’s Instagram The Runner’s World article about her
To access more resources for injured athletes:
Buy Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries —now available as an audiobook! Join The Injured Athletes Club mailing list, for news and updates Join The Injured Athletes Club Facebook group, for support and camaraderie Like The Injured Athletes Club Podcast Facebook page, for the latest episodes Email us at hello@injuredathletesclub.com with questions, guest suggestions, or other feedback
DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational & informational use only and & does not constitute medical advice. Do not disregard, avoid or delay obtaining medical or health related advice from your health-care professional because of something you may have heard in an episode of this podcast. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult with a qualified medical professional for proper evaluation & treatment. Guests who speak on this podcast express their own opinions, experiences, and conclusions, and The Injured Athletes Club podcast hosts nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular treatment option discussed in the episodes of this podcast and are not responsible for any actions or inactions of listeners based on the information presented. The use of any information provided is solely at your own risk.
55 min