Emma Coburn Ridiculous Biking Schedule

GD wrote:

PrincetonGirl2 wrote:

Yes totally agree. This is what I was referring to… seems like a red flag in terms of Eating Disorder / Exercise Addiction behavior. She posted the other day that she ran 40 miles a week and biked 26 hours. That seems a bit excessive. Lucy Bartholomew (female iron woman athlete) doesn’t even do that much.

i just do not understand why she was so adverse to resting her body after literally breaking her foot and having surgery. That’s why it appears to be a negative coping mechanism. It is definitely not normal/healthy behavior. I wonder if it’s negatively impacting the team boss culture.

Emma does not have the history of chronic injuries and stagnated performances suggestive of ED.It's also absurd to look at the training schedule of an Olympic medalist and use it as evidence of exercise addiction.

Though I recognize that eating disorders are more common among endurance athletes, I can't help but notice a pattern of mostly women with ED who project their disorder onto women without that particular pathology. I'm not saying this to be mean. It's just something I've noticed. People have this attitude of: if this amount of training and dietary discipline was a reflection of my mental health problems, or if it triggered pathological behavior in me, it must also do so for other women.

tstevensfisher wrote:

GD wrote:

Emma does not have the history of chronic injuries and stagnated performances suggestive of ED.It's also absurd to look at the training schedule of an Olympic medalist and use it as evidence of exercise addiction.

Though I recognize that eating disorders are more common among endurance athletes, I can't help but notice a pattern of mostly women with ED who project their disorder onto women without that particular pathology. I'm not saying this to be mean. It's just something I've noticed. People have this attitude of: if this amount of training and dietary discipline was a reflection of my mental health problems, or if it triggered pathological behavior in me, it must also do so for other women.

Emma does not have the history of chronic injuries and stagnated performances suggestive of ED.

Recent history says otherwise. 8th at 2022 Worlds, then major hamstring injury that seems to have caused her to miss the finals at Worlds 2023, and then in the first race of the 2024 season she breaks a bone landing awkwardly in the water pit. I do recognize that not everyone who gets injured has an ED/exercise addiction, but again the OP is talking about how she took NO REST after the surgery. Even elite/pros should rest, particularly when the next season is almost a year away and their bodies are clearly telling them to ease up for a bit.

It's also absurd to look at the training schedule of an Olympic medalist and use it as evidence of exercise addiction.

Why is it absurd? Does being an Olympic medalist automatically exempt you from having an ED or exercise addiction?

GD wrote:

tstevensfisher wrote:

Emma does not have the history of chronic injuries and stagnated performances suggestive of ED.

Recent history says otherwise. 8th at 2022 Worlds, then major hamstring injury that seems to have caused her to miss the finals at Worlds 2023, and then in the first race of the 2024 season she breaks a bone landing awkwardly in the water pit. I do recognize that not everyone who gets injured has an ED/exercise addiction, but again the OP is talking about how she took NO REST after the surgery. Even elite/pros should rest, particularly when the next season is almost a year away and their bodies are clearly telling them to ease up for a bit.

It's also absurd to look at the training schedule of an Olympic medalist and use it as evidence of exercise addiction.

Why is it absurd? Does being an Olympic medalist automatically exempt you from having an ED or exercise addiction?

I never said being a pro exempts a person from ED.I said that we can't use the schedule of a pro athlete as evidence of exercise addiction. Exercise is literally the job of these athletes.

I also said that Emma's history does not indicate an ED. If you think coming in 8th in a 3000m race as a 31-year-old (five years after winning a World Championship) is a poor performance, you have strange metrics. It's not uncommon for people to get stuck in an injury cycle or to have periods of sub-par performance. She won 10 consecutive national championships! I seriously doubt a person with an ED could do this. Long periods of superior performance are inconsistent with ED.

People with EDs often cannot make it to the line for years at a time. We often see a history of 10+ stress fractures. This very different that sustaining a traumatic injury after clipping one's foot on a steeple barrier or straining one's hamstring.

Maybe she needs a break, or maybe people need to avoid jumping to conclusions because they don't have enough information.