I was recently sent an email by the schools newspaper, "The Daily Orange", asking to interview me about injuries. I wouldn't necessarily say that I have been riddled with injuries over the past couple of years, although I have been quite unlucky. I believe the reasoning behind recent injuries was because of the change in my running form.
As a high schooler, I was predominately a heel striker. During my senior year, I began the transition to forefoot striking, which I believe guided me to my success in running. It wasn't an easy change, as I could barely run a quarter mile on the balls of my feet before each calf was in agony. Anyway, eventually things got easier, but my body needed time to get adjusted. My sophomore year of college was my first stress fracture. This was probably due to a bit too much running on the roads and it just added up over time. Simple as that. Unforuantely, I also got the flu and pneumonia while I had that stress fracture! That was certainly a tough time, but it isn't about how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get back up.To fast foward into my junior year, there was another hiccup. Cross went probably better than I had originally anticipated. On the other spectrum of things, I ended up in a boot with another stress fracture only a week after NCAA's. Not quite sure how this one happened either, but it was most likely because of an altered gait from achilles tendonitis that flared up mid-season. From there until now, there have been many little things. Some calf, achilles and nerve problems that have all subsided now, but were putitng a damper my progress then.
The title of this post seemed fitting as those three things kept me going. When times were tough, I kept dreaming and wishing. It has been a long journey to get to where I am now and going through rough patches, such as injuries, made me the person who I am today. I have some big goals in mind for this year and I know what is achievable with hard work and dedication. Mileage is finally back up, workouts are going really well and my desire is building. I don't think anyone, including myself, expected my fitness to be at this level right now. Luckily, the season is just beginning and championship races are still far away. There's plenty of time to accomplish what I'm capable of. Hopefully this is the year that I can put back to back seasons of full health. I'd love to race all three seasons of the year!
Not to overlook cross, as that's by far my favourite season, but track is getting me excited, too. I'm known to set lofty goals, but that's what drives me. Without working towards hard, yet attainable goals, I'm not going to work to my full potential. With that being said, the Olympic trials are this upcoming year. Hitting the "B" standard for the 5000m is 13:50 and the 10000m is 29:00. Both of which I believe will be attainable by the end of the year, but those times won't get you into the trials unless something absurd happens. In 2008, it required a 13:44 5000m (will probably be a good bit faster than that this year) and a 28:28 10000m. With all that considered, track this year is hopefully going to be geared towards doing very well at the NCAA level, but also trying to run a fast enough time that could qualify me for the trials. Dreams, prayers and wishes!
That's looking a bit far ahead though, because cross is finally just kicking off! :) It's also hard to overlook cross because of how good this team can be. I don't want to drill it in because I probably say it every week, but there's so much potential. I am very excited for what we can do this season. The first race for most people on the team (probably not Pat, Tito and me) is this weekend at Colgate. It will be great to see the new guys race and see who we can expect to play a role this season. Then after Colgate, there's Paul Short. That's at the end of the month and most likely where I will be opening up. After that, it's Wisconsin, Big East, Regions and NCAA's. Short season, but packed and stacked full of racing starting at the end of this month. Very excited for what is ahead of me.

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."
Opportunita!
Life is good! :)

*Pockets