Adversity

I have been so caught up in my missions of late I almost forgot I even had a blog. I don’t even know if this blog is beneficial or if anyone follows it? I mean words don’t capture real world feelings but I guess it feels good to attempt to put them in writing. So for those who care here’s what I- Jed Rooney have been doing with myself of late and my plan of attack for 2011. Oh and my usual philosophical ramblings. Adversity- definition: distress;affliction;hardship, an unfortunate event or incident. In every human beings life they face This 9 letter word in many different forms and on a broad scale of significance. I think athletes in particular grow a healthy respect and appreciation for this feeling. In a round about kind of way it is the difference between a good athlete and a great athlete. In my case making it as a professional downhill racer or falling by the waist side like so many talented riders do. The way you deal with the low blows, injuries, financial hardship, bad luck I mean the list goes on. My point being that its all in your mindset! Who is to say you cant achieve your dreams? I am sure as hell majority of people seem to measure success in the amount of money they have or the sometimes superficial image they portray. They lead themselves to believe successful bussimen and athletes the world over sort of just ‘ stumbled across success’ when reality is they are dedicated, realistic people with a strong sense of who they are. They have an ability to self evaluate and constantly redirect there path to reach there goals. Good quote “ If you don’t know where you are going, chances are you’ll probably end up somewhere entirely different” this year I face my own form of adversity. Throughout My career as a downhill mountain bike racer I have had a major performance hindering problem commonly known as arm pump. It was only when I spent a season racing internationally that I realized my desire to race as a professional would never become reality if I did not address this problem. The theories are so broad on this topic I would rather not dissect it. After returning home to New Zealand I have spent a tremendous amount of effort trying to get to the bottom of it all. I tried every solution under the sun and nothing worked. Eventually with the help of my specialist we came to a conclusion I had acute chronic compartment syndrome of the forearm. Compartment syndrome is common in the legs but not in the forearm. In brief it is when the sheath or fascia covering your muscles is abnormally tight causing a loss of feeling in the hands when blood pressure builds and begins to crush the nerves. A procedure can be performed to release the fascia and allow more blood flow to the muscle. I immediately began to put the steps in place to organize the surgery so I could try salvage a late season campaign in Europe. I have since had surgery on February 10th. Results from the surgery are varied as not all individuals recover the same, I have yet to test myself but I hope to ride my MX bike in the following weeks to see if it was successful. So where to from here? Staying on the positive side I would like to think that the surgery was successful. I am currently planning a 6 week campaign in Europe throughout July/August with my target races being rounds 6 and 7 the final stages of the world cup series. My focus is clear and with the help of the Academy of sport Otago I am preparing for the trip in as much detail as possible. But this year is not the be all end all, Its much bigger than that. A lot of people don’t know how much of a big deal racing is to me, I was going down some dark no exits roads in my life and racing is what turned me around. People just don’t know the meaning of ambition, I know its not going to be easy and I don’t care how long it takes. I am determined to be professional one day. I don’t give a shit about image or social status I just want to give this everything I have got and be the best I can be. That’s all I could ever ask for. ‘’Life battles don't always go To the stronger or faster man, But sooner or later, the man who wins Is the fellow who thinks he can’’

I will try keep this thing updated with some happenings along my journey, What will it have in store? I don’t know. But I do know you make your own luck in this world. To be continued…
Post surgery pic...