Hi everyone! Happy Monday. I hope you've had a great start to the week. This is merely a simple life update blog post for both future me as I look back on life, and anyone out there who's wondering if I'm running track right now! I also just wanted to share some adorable pictures of me as a toddler running at one of my first ever track meets. 🥰
I took off the indoor track season to get in some good training, go to some doctor's appointments, and just recover from cross country. The end of cross country season was exhausting both physically and emotionally, so while I was sad to not line up on the indoor oval, I knew it was for the best. I got in a great winter of training and got hyped up for outdoors!
I'm now 3 meets into the outdoor track season.... well... maybe 3.5-ish. I've gone to 4 meets but one got cancelled 20 minutes before my race due to weather, lol. It's gone quite well, but I'm definitely having to work on my overall outlook on racing right now. After an impressive amount of doctor's appointments, it's been established that I have dysautonomia - an auto-nervous system malfunction while racing. We're closer to a solution, but it's still hard to not really know if I'm racing to my fullest potential. But I'm trying to thoroughly enjoy the competitive season, no matter what's happening in my body! So far I've felt quite healthy and more physically strong in my races than I have in a while. I've run suuuper close to my PRs in the mile and two mile, and I recently PRed in the 800 meter run. This past weekend I ran at the United Invitational, and actually set a meet record in the 2 mile!! This was super exciting and unexpected, and truly a sign of God's presence in the stressful moments. All of this is delightful, and while the times I'm running are not as fast as I'd love in an ideal world, I feel that God is trying to teach me some humbling lessons this season.
I'm continually reminded in this season of my life to committing my work to the Lord and waiting for His timing on my dreams and aspirations. Committing to college is all coming together, truly in the Lord's timing (more on that later), and the school year is wrapping up in scary rapidity. I'm working my hardest and trying to enjoy the process as much as possible, as this is my last time experiencing so many of these meets and competitors. "Lasts" of everything are always difficult and make everything feel bittersweet, and this season is helping me to appreciate where I come from and what made me who I am. I love my local Pennsylvania and hometown running community and while I'll miss it so much, I'm so thankful for the impact I've been able to have. I'm sure I'll do a big end-of-high-school-running post, but for now - I'm thankful for where I'm at and excited to push myself even more in the future. Here's to enjoying the journey and pushing the limits. ⚡️
13 years after these pictures, still running in big ovals.