This year I am giving myself a reason to believe in myself again. To believe in my abilities as a professional athlete. To believe in my abilities to be atop the podium again.
How is this different from the past? I mean, I’ve always believed I could do great things. Well, the past few years, even though I’ve believed in myself, I haven’t lived like I believe in myself. I have suffered many setbacks and injuries since I ran the 2012 Olympic Marathon. In addition to the difficulty I was having in staying healthy, I was also a professional struggling as well. I was no longer comfortable in the place where I was, and I made the decision to move my family to another state so that I could train with a new coach and search for new sponsorship opportunities.
Last year I believed in myself enough to change coaches and to partner with companies who also believe in me. It was an incredible experience to be a mother in her mid 30s and finally ask myself, “Who do I want to be? What do I want to represent?” Last year was one of the most meaningful of my life, meeting with companies, forming relationships, taking control of my professional life. But this travel and personal exploration took away from my racing career. I traveled a lot, spent too much time away from my training partners and coaches, and had too many days out of my training routine.
As I stare 2015 in the face, I have made the goal to believe in my running. In doing so I have to give myself a reason to believe, and therein lies the goal for the year. With my professional relationships solid and squared away, I now will focus back on what it takes to be back at the highest elite level. When I made my first Olympic team in 2008, the distractions in my life were so minimal. In 2012 I had a child, pretty big distraction (!) but I managed it well. As I head toward 2016 I find myself with too many distractions to manage. So this is the year I minimize the distractions and focus on all the right stuff. I am going to relieve myself from trying to be super mom and super wife. While I’m still going to cook dinner every night, I am going to have someone else get the groceries, someone else clean the house. I am going to put my spare time back to my family, my nutrition, and my rest. This year you’ll find me napping more, and cooking more real food. I am going to prioritize my time and I’m going to let go of many of the responsibilities of my life. I have had an awakening and it is this - I am still good enough to make another Olympic team, but I am not good enough to make it without making sacrifices and going back to live the professional athlete lifestyle.
So there it is, this is the year I am giving myself a reason to believe. You may not see me at as many expos or walking down the aisles at Whole Foods, but I BELIEVE that you will see me standing on top of the podium again. Hope you are all making time for yourselves in 2015, and that you are believing in you.
I’m only penciling things in this year, I will only race when I am truly ready, but these are all races I am interested in:
May 2: Payton Jordan 5k or 10k.
May 15: Oxy High Peformance 5k.
May 30: Pre Classic 3k or 5k.
June 13: New York Diamond League 5k.
June 13/14: Portland Track Festival 5k.
June 25-28: USATF Championships 5k or 10k.
July: Possible racing in Europe.
August 22-30: IAAF World Track and Field Championships or fast half-marathon somewhere.
September/October: Fall marathon.
November: Build up for Olympic Trials Marathon Feb 13, 2016.
