Mia Griffin Dig your well before your thirsty

Listen to the whispers and you won’t have to hear the screams is an old Cherokee saying that I think we could all relate to. We know athletes get injured, we know people who have had back pain in the past are 12 times more likely to get it in the future, but our positivity bias can mean that we don’t think it will happen to us!

This positivity bias is needed, otherwise we would never get into a car again for fear of a crash. However, it can harm us also because we are terrible at acknowledging that something in the future could go wrong for us if we don’t take action now. We can see this with popular beliefs that the climate and planet will always be ok and a more personal level, that we will never get injured!

Most of us have weak link areas and even if you don’t, running a lot means that certain areas are prone to becoming weak!

Running puts strain on our tendons and joints, therefore it is important to do exercises now that will help keep these areas healthy for years come. Dig the well before your thirsty. Don’t wait for the injury or pain to strike before you start.

How I have designed my Sports Pilates Program with the BackAware Belt to help runners stay injury free. By working once per week for 45 minutes on areas that are prone to problems you can avoid a lot of problems. Improving the strength and mobility of these possible weak link areas before there are problems, can help you stay running your best and keep your body healthy.

Even if you already have an injury or some areas that gets sore then this program can help reverse a lot of the strain we have put on our bodies.

Pilates is what I do but it doesn’t have to be Pilates.

We have S and C classes, or Mobility classes included too that you can do. It might not be my program that suits you, but you need to invest 45 minutes per week into something. Your future self will thank you for it.

Riding in her rst European Championship in 2018 as part of e Ireland Team in e Pursuit Event, they secured a top 10 nishing in 10th place, while further top 10 places were produced in 2019 as they nished 9th in e Europeans and 10th in e World Championships. Track cycling was where the Glenmore native excelled best of all despite performing well on road, and in a COVID a ected year in 2020 she produced a brilliant performance to nish third and win a bronze medal in e Individual Pursuit at e Under-23 European Track

Championships in Italy. Also in 2020, Mia along with Kelly Murphy, Alice Sharpe and Lara Gillespie set a new national record in the Women’s Team Pursuit that was four seconds quicker than their previous best, while they nished 8th in e Team Pursuit in Berlin. She enhanced her growing reputation further in 2021, as she was part of e Irish Team that won a bronze medal in e Team Pursuit at e European Track Championships in Switzerland, while she was also part of e Irish Team that won gold in e Team Pursuit at e World Cup in Saint Petersburg in Russia.

Also in 2021, they nished 5th in e World Championships in Roubaix in France as they just missed out on the chance to compete for Medals.

Mia also performed very well in e Individual events as she was 8th in e Individual pursuits races in both e Europeans and e Worlds. Meanwhile, closer to home she nished 2nd in a stage in e Ras Na Mban in Kilkenny, and last year she was overall runner-up to her Pursuit Team mate Alice Sharpe in e National Road Race Championships.

Mia has had plenty of high nishes in races around the world, and she has high aims of making e Ireland Team for next years Olympics in Paris. She actually has experience of competing in the French capital having competed in e World Championships last October, where she recovered from COVID in time to compete in e Madison with Alice Sharpe.

Last year, e Pursuit Team nished 6th in e European Games in Munich, while they produced another excellent performance to nish 5th at the recent European Championships in Switzerland.

So much on the horizon to look forward to for e Glenmore native with e World Championships taking place at e Sir Chris Hoy Veladrome in Glasgow from early August.

She will hope to have secured her place in Paris 2024 by then, and all going well she looks to be well on her way to being an Olympian.