Initially, I was so scared of what it would mean to take the
summer off….for my contract, my agent, my coach and what my running peers would
think of me in general…..
That I am a wimp for giving up on the season just because I
didn’t make the team.....
That I am ungrateful to my coach, agent, and sponsors for
everything they have done for me the past few years.....
That I will get out of shape and lose all the great fitness I had.....
That I don’t love running as much as I should.....
None of this is true, however. And as the days go by and I catch up on sleep
and my body begins to relax, I realize how little I really care about what
other people think.
To me, this is not that big of a deal. I have been traveling to Europe the past
three years and as much fun as I have had, I am ready for a change of
scenery. There are things in Oregon that
I have always wanted to do-camping, hiking, mountain biking, bikram Yoga, etc.
I have looked for an opportunity but it has never come up with my running
schedule. Post Olympics, this past year,
I have found myself thinking about them more than ever. Why
should I continue wondering whether the grass is greener on the other side of
the fence when I have a chance to go over there and see for myself?! I refuse to live a passive life. I don’t settle with something, just because it’s
the way I have always done things if there are other things that I would like
to do and experience. When I commit to
something, I like to be all in. I am going
to take this opportunity to go and see and do all these things so that I can
come back and KNOW that this is where I want to be- wherever that is!
Running or not, Happiness
is one of my core values. I firmly
believe that passion comes out of happiness and success comes out of
passion. So wherever I end up after this
summer, I trust that I will be able to be more bought in and therefore more
successful than I would have been otherwise.
That is my risk but it is one I am excited and willing to take!
