I am currently headed a bit north to the University of Notre Dame to make my 2012 debut in the 800 meters! It has been quite the journey back after my stress fracture this Fall, and I am FINALLY feeling like myself again. My holiday season wasn’t as cheerful as I would have liked due to my injury, but being around my family and the people closest to me made it as tolerable as it was ever going to be. I never realized how much my sport contributed to other aspects of my life besides “my job” and “what I do for fun.” It provides me with endorphins that I can’t seem to get out of any other activity, and I feel a sense of calmness and clarity after getting a work out in. At first I thought this was a bit embarrassing and I even felt a little like an exercise addict, but then I remembered that this has been something apart of my life every single day for the last six years now. Something that I have grown to put hours of excruciating pain into, changed my entire lifestyle for, and put every ounce of my physical and mental being into. Although it was only momentarily taken away from me, I took it pretty hard! I knew being smart about the injury was my only option, so I took a full 6 weeks off of running and knowingly felt myself getting more and more out of shape. So many days I would wake up with optimism and go to bed in tears...another day behind. A ticking time bomb- getting one more day closer to the Olympic Trials.
I was released January 1st to start getting after it again, and boy have things been “going.” I have zero pain in my stressed area of my shin and I am feeling better than I have ever felt March 1st of any year thus far. I have not missed a work out in two solid months, and I have been working my A$$ off to catch up, and I believe I finally have. I love testing myself at this point in the season because it gives me an opportunity to make changes that I need before my outdoor season takes off. It is absolutely necessary that my mental state of mind is positive and enthusiastic during this important time in my career.
On the lighter side of things, Reed has permanently moved down to Bloomington and bought a beautiful condo! It has been so much fun for me to be the interior decorator and it has been keeping me very busy. Shopping for nic-naks has become a lot of what I do during the daytime. Having him in the same city for the first time in our relationship has been a very positive experience. I have always been a tremendously independent person and it was hard to imagine sharing A LOT of my time with another person. This sounds totally selfish, but it was true. However, the transition with Reed has been effortless. I get to spend time every night with my boyfriend and/or best friend and he doesn’t begin to distract me from my own goals and motivations. He is the supporter I want to be there with me this summer at the Olympic Trials when I am at my most vulnerable self. He is great at putting things into perspective when I need a reality check, and for this, I am thankful :)
If anyone is interested, I think flotrack.org will be broadcasting my event tomorrow afternoon (not sure what time my race is yet...probably between 12-2 PM). The meet is called Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame, 800 meters. This link should take you there:
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