I haven’t written in a while mainly because of time constraints. I’ve been so busy with running and school, that I never really got a chance to sit down and type away. Anyway, here I am. It has probably been three or four weeks since my last blog and I’d like to consider these last several weeks noteworthy. One individual, who’s helping shape my attitude on life, is Ciaran O’Lionaird. For those who don’t know him, he’s an Irishmen, Florida State graduate and now a professional distance runner for The Oregon Project. He has been through it all. If you haven’t done so already, take some time and check out his website and/or blog – it’s really great and inspiring: http://www.mad-len.com/madlen/. He has really changed my viewpoint on things with his optimistic attitude. Dark times in a runner’s career can really make or break somebody. When you’re beat up, the thought of quitting is something a lot of people experience. In Ciaran’s case, he flourished after those dark times. It’s truly inspiring to see him as beat down as I believe I once was, but he did not give up and eventually ended up where he is today. He changed his ways by putting his complete faith in his coaches and having fun. No, this does not mean getting hammered drunk every weekend! Fun, as in enjoying every day and realizing the gifts you have been given. This is the mentality I have taken on and believe will help me turn things around.

This takes me to cross country and after a ten month hiatus from putting on spikes, I opened up my season with an 8k at Colgate. I didn’t really consider it my step back into racing because it was just a dual meet. Compared to a meet like Wisconsin, which will have nearly two thirds of the top thirty teams in the country competing, it was a little less than substantial. Nevertheless, it went surprisingly well. I was shocked at how fast fitness came to me, as I only had around seven weeks of training under my belt coming back from the stress fracture. That meet only left me with the taste of racing in my mouth and I wanted more. It’s really cool to see how fast my racing mentality and eagerness come back once I throw on a pair of spikes. Then, there was Paul Short. That one was a bit of a train wreck, to say the least. Looking back on it, things just didn’t click. The team never looked sharp and we got our asses kicked. Luckily, it was only Paul Short and not Big East or anything following. We hopped back on the drawing board and looked for answers, but came to realize that there really aren’t any. Off days are going to happen and that’s something we’ll have to deal with. I’d say we can hope it won’t happen at Big East or NCAA’s, but it will be in our own hands then.

We’re a damn good team and I plan to take this new mentality into future races. Hopefully I can instill it in the others, as it would be a little switch we could use. Sitting at home and overanalyzing a bad race or workout is never going to help you. Fun is what keeps my loose and guides me to success. I’ve always noticed that when I start to take things too seriously, I begin running poorly. There’s a direct correlation for me and I know that could be the little change I need. Truly appreciating what you have and enjoying every day is going to lead you to success.

Thank you Ciaran for inspiring me!

“Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more”

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