Racing Your Best Doesn't Have to be a PR

It is easy to think about all of the things that are going wrong and to wonder how you're going to be able to continue training and pushing through various problems. It is easy to get caught up in the things that you can't control. I think it is far more difficult, but far more important to focus on the things that you can control. You can't always control your racing conditions. What you can control is your effort. Not every race is going to be a PR. But you should finish every race confident that you did your best with what you had that day. Use your workouts as stepping stones and work as hard as you can when you're doing maximal efforts.

Be confident in the work that you have been able to accomplish. Use that as motivation. Be realistic and get to the finish line knowing that you've done all that you can do. Everyone who is lining up at the start of a race has something to deal with. You may not know what it is, but I can guarantee that everyone around you has had setbacks of some kind.

I ended up having extra stress in the way due to a bad school situation. It was not at all how I planned, and I did end up losing training time over things that were beyond my control. Most of us have other responsibilities (although it would be nice if we didn't), and we need to recognize and take care of priorities. As difficult as it is, sometimes that means we don't get to go to the gym or hit the bike trail as much as we want. But that's all part of life. Do what you can do.

With recent health issues on top of this, I have not been able to train as much as I want. I was recently diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. I have been doing everything I can to train as much as possible. It has not been easy, though. I've missed a lot of training, unfortunately. I haven't been able to eat/absorb as much as I should be, especially for this type of training. I've lost weight. I'm exhausted all the time. I've been in pain. Sometimes my training involves just trying to make it to the next port-a-potty.

I'm not where I want to be three weeks out from the start of the season, but I'm going to get to the finish line. I have thought about pulling out of this race because I know that I won't be my fastest. But that seems like a stupid reason not to do something that I love. Racing is what I enjoy doing. And I am going to go out there and give my all and do the best that I can. If I wait for "perfect" racing conditions, I'm going to miss out on racing with all of the amazing athletes who will be out there.

I do want to take a moment to thank my parents for taking care of me and supporting me. I couldn't do this without their encouragement.

See you in Auburn.