MEET DR. HILARY PATZER

Dr. Hilary Patzer

Being driven is one of my greatest attributes, but it also became one of my downfalls. I thought that I could train harder and faster and as a US Ski Team member, that was the case for many years. I pushed too hard, too often, for too long, and my body paid a price.

I hit rock bottom physically and mentally and had to pick myself up by my bootstraps. The hardest thing to do as an overachiever is to take a step back, breathe, relax, and be patient. Physically I had imploded. I had no energy, yet I could not sleep at night. My cortisol levels were the same as someone who had pulled two all-nighters and my body ached from lactic acid just walking across the room. I went from a bullet train to a big wheel. Mentally I was watching my dreams, my goals, and my passions disappear.

How could I have been one of the best skiers in the country one season and the very next I could hardly run a mile? I knew there was something more profound going on, I just had to pause, be intentional, and receptive.

Little did I know that this experience was setting the stage for my exceptional professional career.