Lindsey Vonn says training gave her something retirement did not: time without distractions

Lindsey Vonn says retirement made her miss the single-minded focus of training.

Variety/Variety via Getty Images Lindsey Vonn said training gave her a sense of focus that she struggled to find in retirement.

Being an elite athlete meant there was little room for distractions if she wanted to perform at her best.

"You're not on your phone.

You're not thinking about emails," she said.

Lindsay Vonn , 41, said she missed the phone-free focus of being an athlete after retirement.

On Wednesday's episode of the " Pretty Tough" podcast, Vonn told host Maria Sharapova that she was still thinking about being active on her way home after her Olympic injury.

"I was coming up the hill to my house, and I thought, 'God, I would love to do a hill sprint right now,'" Vonn said.

"Then I thought to myself, 'What is wrong with me? Why do I want to do that right now, even in excruciating pain?'" The alpine skier said sports gave her the chance to be "singularly focused," something she found "really therapeutic." "The work ethic, the pain, grinding it out in the gym was always something that I actually enjoyed because I felt like I got so much out of it," Vonn said.

"I was so present and focused.

You're not on your phone.

You're not thinking about emails," she continued.

In retirement, she found it harder to feel fully present and missed the distraction-free focus that came with a structured training routine.

"There's no time really, unless you carve out time in the gym or like you have a specific amount of time where you're meditating, where you actually are present," Vonn said.