Most people have a hard time taking their doctor’s advice
when they are told to change behaviors.
No one wants to adopt diet restrictions or begin exercising, even when
his or her health is on the line. If he
or she complies, it’s usually just to meet
the new requirements. It’s a rare person
who exceeds doctor recommendations. Jade Wilcoxson is one of those rare people
who not only exceeded her doctor’s expectations in her lifestyle changes, she
became a national champion and is poised to compete in the next Olympic games!
Jade was 26 years old when she learned that her blood sugar
levels were high and that she carried a genetic predisposition to
diabetes. She didn’t feel any differently,
but she had seen what diabetes had done to several of her family members. Jade knew that she needed to take even better
care of her body to avoid developing this disease. She had played soccer
professionally and dabbled in other sports and she already ate nutritiously. What more could she do?
The same year she learned she was prediabetic, Jade had completed
a doctorate degree in physical therapy. Each
day, Jade worked with disabled patients overcoming obstacles in performing physical
tasks. She recalled, “It takes months of
hard work to go from not being able to move in bed to being able to walk at
home safely, and it is painful work.
Those patients inspired me.”
Some friends dragged Jade out to mountain bike with
them. She was surprised that she could
stay up with them through the rough course, although she was riding for the
first time. “They were shocked when I
could hang on with them and ride a lot of the stuff they thought was difficult.
So, being a very competitive person, I was intrigued by the opportunity
to be able to show the boys I could [beat them] on a regular basis.”
After a while, Jade’s roommate’s brother dragged Jade and
her new mountain bike to a 100 mile race.
Jade placed ahead of all of the other women competing! She was stunned, and hooked! She trained for hours after work. Switching to a road racing bike, Jade began
to train for speed. Jade began competing
in local races in her hometown and winning.
When she beat Kristin Armstrong (an Olympic Gold medalist) at the 2011
Sea Otter Classic, she quit her job and turned professional. She was now 34 years old, ten years older
than the average age of professional cyclists.
Despite that fact, Jade had talent, trained hard, and won races!
Jade joined a cycling team with three other cyclists named “Optum
Pro,” named after a health-care company.
With the help of a trainer, and years of training, this team won the US
Pro National Championship last week! Jade
was the first to cross the finish line and gets to wear a special jacket all
year. She humbly said, “I just happened
to be the lucky one that crossed the line. Cycling is funny that way. It is
100% a team sport, but in many ways, only one person gets the recognition.” Now she has set her eyes on the 2016 Olympic Games
in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, when she will be 38 years old! That will be a race to watch.
Jade hopes that she is setting a good example for good
health, using her new celebrity status to send a public health message to the
world. She has lost 20 pounds since her
diagnosis 9 years ago and her blood sugar levels are back to normal. People are hearing her story about how she turned
her pre-diabetic diagnosis around. “I
struggle with what I’m doing now to help people’s lives, to help the world as a
whole. Cycling is a selfish
profession. You have to be self centered
in your training and travel.”
Her advice to all of us:
“Make some changes that will pay off tenfold down the road.” That’s exactly what Jade did—she made changes
that paid off in a big way almost 10 years later. Not only did she stave off a terrible
debilitating disease, but she became a National Champion! Jade shows us that we can take bad news and
make something great with hard work and determination.
Works Cited
Helliker, Kevin. "Cycling's One-in-a-Million
Star." Wall Street Journal 14 June 2013: d8. Print.
Wilcoxson, Jade. Jade Wilcoxson.com. 3 June 2013.
web. 20 June 2013.
Photo courtesy of Flickr
Photo courtesy of Flickr
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