mbg Beauty Director
mbg Beauty Director
Alexandra Engler is the beauty director at mindbodygreen and host of the beauty podcast Clean Beauty School. Previously, she’s held beauty roles at Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, SELF, and Cosmopolitan; her byline has appeared in Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and Allure.com.
Image by mbg Creative / courtesy of source
July 29, 2024
We love celebrating women on top of their game. In our new series Game On, we’re interviewing top athletes about their well-being routines—covering everything from nutrition that makes them feel strong to the moments that bring them joy.
Over the last several months, I’ve been talking to a lot of top athletes across a wide variety of sports for this Game On series. I’ve also spoken to sports psychologists, researchers, and physicians about achievement, persistence, and what makes elite athletes perform at their best. One topic that comes up again and again is resilience—the proud ability to push forward, overcome, and thrive.
When I was offered the opportunity to speak with triathlete Melissa Stockwell, I immediately knew I wanted to talk to her about resilience. Stockwell is a three-time Paralympian (heading to her fourth paralympics this year in Paris), triathlete, and veteran.
Stockwell was deployed to Iraq in 2004. During her deployment, her vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, and Stockwell lost her leg. She became the first female veteran to lose a limb during active deployment. And it wasn’t just four years later that she’d become the first Iraq veteran to compete in Paralympics at the 2008 Beijing games. At the time, she competed in swimming—but eventually became the triathlete she is today.
Alongside her rigorous training, Stockwell also dedicates her time to bringing other disabled athletes into the sport through her non-profit Dare2Tri.
“We encourage athletes to be active anywhere, from in the community to up to the Paralympic level, by providing the expensive adaptive sports equipment, coaching, training, and year-round programming,” she tells me. “We say, ‘The finish line is just the beginning for our athletes.’ We want them to see how much ability is in their disability.”
Now, she’s partnered with the global Athletes For Good initiative, which is a campaign spearheaded by consumer goods company P&G, the Olympics, and the Paralympics that champions charitable causes from athletes around the world. (Learn more here!)
“They’re coming together to recognize what athletes are doing off the field of play to help improve the community. We applied for the grant and they chose us to be one of the grants for this year. We’re very humbled to receive it,” she says. “We’re a small non-profit so the money goes a long way towards helping our athletes get to that starting line, see what they’re capable of, and help improve their lives in all aspects.”
mindbodygreen: How did you start doing triathlons?
Melissa Stockwell: I started out swimming, and I loved to swim. The water had this healing effect. It made me feel whole again.
Then I moved to the sport of triathlon. I was invited to do one, my first one, in 2009. I used to think triathletes were crazy. I mean, swim, bike, and run—who wants to do all that all at the same time?
But once I did it, I fell in love with it. I loved the challenge of all three sports. I loved the challenge of the different prosthetic legs I had to wear. And I got to be on the same course as able bodied athletes with all their limbs.
So I just kind of fell in love with it, and fell in love with the triathlon community. I’ve been going strong for 15 years now. It’s a huge part of my life.
mindbodygreen: With Dare2Tri, you’re obviously passionate about bringing other people into the sport. What about the sport is so empowering, especially for disabled athletes?
Stockwell: If I were to go to just a general person in the public and I say, “Hey, you want to do a triathlon?” They would look at me like I’m crazy. They’d say, “Oh, I could never do that.” They can, of course, but people don’t give themselves enough credit.
And in the same vein, if I were to go up to someone who had a spinal cord injury and they’re in a wheelchair or they’re missing a limb or they’re visually impaired, they probably would just think, “There is no way I’m going to be able to do a triathlon.” And the thing is, a person in a wheelchair can’t just go into a bike store and get a bike. It has to be a specialized bike.
But once we help at Dare2Tri—once we get these athletes their equipment, training, and get them to that starting line—it carries over into all the other aspects of their lives. Once they finish the race, that self worth and self-confidence just empowers them in the other areas of their lives.
“They’re coming together to recognize what athletes are doing off the field of play to help improve the community. We applied for the grant and they chose us to be one of the grants for this year. We’re very humbled to receive it,” she says. “We’re a small non-profit so the money goes a long way towards helping our athletes get to that starting line, see what they’re capable of, and help improve their lives in all aspects.”
mindbodygreen: How do you mentally prepare for big events?
Stockwell: The mental part is just as important as the physical part, especially when you’re racing. I’ve done the sport for many years and years, and I’ve learned when you get to that starting line, you just have to trust your training. You just have to trust that you’ve put in the work day after day. You have to trust that it’s been enough.
And the mental part isn’t just on race day or for big events—it’s every single day. It’s about trying to make sure you have a positive outlook, even though not every workout can be a good one. The older I get, the more I realize that you’re going to have ups and downs. It’s just a matter of managing them. It’s also important that you’re surrounding yourself with people who can lift you up out of your funk if you’re in it.
mbg: What meals help you feel strongest?
Stockwell: It’s all in moderation, right? But as far as meals go, I get a lot of protein, carbs, and fat, just to make sure I’m getting the correct ratio of macros to help the body repair and rebuild muscle. Then we can be ready for the next day of training.
My go-to snacks after a big workout are things like yogurt, peanut butter-filled pretzels, or yogurt and granola. At night, it’s tricky. I have two kids. It’s about trying to find the balance between meals that are healthy for me and that they enjoy. But it’s a lot of chicken and rice or tacos. Really, whatever we can find that’s delicious and nutritious.
I do have a sweet tooth. But again, it’s in
