McMillanElite :: Training Blog - New Blog Every Monday and Thursday!
Entry #200 It’s been a good run here in Flagstaff with McMillanElite and Team USA Arizona, but unfortunately it will come to an end on August 1 when I run my last race for the group. I will be attending law school this fall and will be leaving the team and Flagstaff for the University of Arizona in Tucson. This was a decision I struggled with for a long time. My original plan was to defer school for 1-2 more years to continue giving running everything I had, however, a disappointing and embarrassing indoor season caused me to look back at my professional career as a whole. I realized that the highs weren’t high enough and the lows were far too low. I was tired of being frustrated with running and feeling completely unproductive when things weren’t going well. So I decided to go back to school. I plan to continue running during school. Although it will be difficult, there are plenty of examples out there of people who have competed on a high level athletically while pursuing a higher degree. I think it just comes down to time management and how dedicated you are. I suppose I’ll find out soon enough. I do want to thank Greg and Tracy for starting this group and giving me the opportunity to run professionally. I have learned a lot during my time here and had many great experiences that would not have been possible without their efforts. I also want to thank all the adidas personnel that support us and for always being there when we needed them.
Entry #199 Congratulations to my teammate Lindsay Allen on her third place finish at the USA Track and Field Championships in the Women’s Steeplechase! Lindsay’s gutsy race performance was inspiring to watch and a result of hard work and attention to all the small details on and off the track. She and Jordan Horn are now headed to Europe for more racing and the team wishes them safe travel and fast feet and legs. It’s been awhile since I have written a blog and a lot has happened. Last week, there were several forest fires around Flagstaff. The Schultz fire, in particular, had everyone looking to the peaks and mountains to see how much the fire had spread. Fortunately, the fire didn’t burn all of the peaks and it is now 75% contained. It looked like a volcano had erupted the day the fire started. Running and training is a continuous process of learning, evaluating, and applying lessons learned. The last several months have been spent making adjustments to improve my running performances. I have changed my iron intake regimen, worked on improving my running form, and spent time with family and friends. In May, I discovered the cause of feeling sluggish in workouts, races, and my activities of daily living, was a low iron level. I was very surprised because I was already taking iron regularly. I made some adjustments in my supplementation routine and am feeling much better. Changing my running form has been a very big challenge for me in the last month and a half. My running stride has been short and choppy for several years now. Most running days have been spent doing form drills and maintaining new form during strides, sprints, and steady states. After weeks of being very sore and fatigued, my body is slowly adapting and I’m finding myself able to maintain my new stride for longer periods of time. Honestly, there were days when I dreaded running because of how uncomfortable everything felt. The positive feed back Greg and Trina give me about improvements (even small ones) make all the work and discomfort worth it. The end of May and early June was spent visiting family and friends. I can easily get caught up in just being a runner or student and living like a hermit to the point where I have neglected other parts of my life. I went to a Navajo wedding where the groom gave his new father-in-law a horse as a gift for his daughter. My nephew who is handicapped also graduated from high school. His medals from the Special Olympics were on display at this graduation party. That was pretty awesome. I am feeling rejuvenated and back in balance.
Entry #198 Being true to yourself... In high school and college, I was very confident in who I was and what I believed in. Yes, of course there are always little things that we may question about ourselves along the way, but that's to be expected as we grow and evolve as individuals. I wasn't easily swayed by my peers and was comfortable doing what I felt was right and needed to do to achieve the goals I had set for myself. At times, this has resulted in me being a loner, which I am okay with, just as long as I keep a healthy balance. There is a small group of people whose opinions truly matter to me, and these people have in some way shown me they are genuine, grounded, logical people who stick to their guns, which I respect a great deal. Following your own instincts and sticking to what you believe in is much easier to do when all is going well, however it's when cracks start to appear in your foundation that you might be tempted to stray from who you are. Somewhere over the past couple years, I've felt as if I have strayed from who I am at times. I come back around and ask myself "What was I thinking, that's not me? Was I really conforming to the norm for no good reason?" Now, I'm not always saying that stepping outside your box is a bad thing. Sometimes it's necessary to change your perspective of yourself and embrace a new outlook. Once you've embraced a new, positive perspective, it's amazing how much better you feel. My reasoning for this is that, although this may be a new idea or approach for you to take, in many ways it is not. The reason you feel so motivated by this "new approach" is that it is taking you back to being true to yourself. My belief is to always follow your instinct, and if you find yourself questioning something more often than not, step back and be brutally honest with yourself. Ask, is this really me and what I believe in? Without faith in what you are doing or in who you are, you're overall well-being begins to decline, and what's the point in living life if you're not having fun? So, be true to yourself. Not every person you meet has to agree with you and vice versa. You can agree to disagree and move on. There are plenty of people in the world to surround yourself with who hold the same values and ideas as you do. As a side note, I 'd like to express my gratitude to Dr. John Ball, Monica, and Greg. These individuals can never be thanked enough. What each of them does is a vital piece of the puzzle for many people on our team and to their success.
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