A Cinderella Story...Dreams Come True

Tosha at the Olympic Trials 2012

"A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true"
- Cinderella

There may be no better feeling in the world than the joy of accomplishing a dream that no one else ever expected you to. Just ask Natosha Rogers- she came in second in the 10k at the Olympic Trials this past June 2012. At the time of the trials, Natosha was a middle to low pack qualifier which means that the other runners in the race had entered with race times faster than hers. Barely anyone had heard of her because (1) This was only her 4th time racing the 10k and (2) Previous to this past track season, she had few successes to her credit.

During the first mile in the race- Natosha went down and hard. She was tripped, trampled, and at the back of the pack. No one thought she could get back up and maintain a second place pace when she got back up and pressed the leaders at the beginning of the second mile mark. As she kept pressing the pace, the crowd began to roar- people started asking, "Who is she?" especially when she started to take the lead. The commentator of the race expected her to fade- he even announced it but Natosha never did. Somewhere in her heart she found the courage and stamina to finish strong.

Natosha achieved what others thought was the impossible- but she did it by committing herself day in and day out- never stopping her dream engine and always believing in herself. She wanted to be one of the leaders in that race and she did it. But it took her 3 years to get to this point- it was not easy. 

Does it seem like the road to your dream is a grueling race? Keep Natosha in mind before you give up or think achieving your dream is out of reach. Believe in yourself like Natosha did. We all enjoy achieving a dream but sometimes we forget that we have to do the small things to get there and that it takes a strong and patient mentality.  Being faithful in doing the small things like rehab for injuries, drills, strides, ice baths, recovering, being healthy, and resting...are all ways to gain, maintain, and demonstrate the strength needed to accomplish something great.

Watch these links to learn more about Natosha and how awesome she is:

http://www.flotrack.org/speaker/10820-Natosha-Rogers/video/643436-Natosha-Rogers-finds-inner-spark-this-year-for-huge-breakthroughs-at-2012-US-Olympic-Trials

http://www.flotrack.org/article/13137-Natosha-Rogers-Shocks-the-World-Day-1-Performance-of-the-Night

Goal Setting

Starting over is something we all have experienced. I have been out of running shape for 10 weeks so my plan is to walk 5 minutes and run 10 minutes 2x a week and increase the duration of running time by 5 minutes every two weeks if I do not feel any pain. Eventually I will run every other day and then if all is well, I will run every day. Obviously my plan is slow and gradual so it will take some time to get there. Through this time though, I have discovered some new goals for myself- this is what I LOVE about starting over...the opportunity to set new goals and get after them.

My goals are to:

1. Small Goal: Be able to run 30 minutes every other day by the end of August

2. Training Goal 1:Be able to jog a 5k with my mom and dad September 1st! Its called the Devil Dash and looks really fun- its basically a mud run/obstacle course so I will not be running the whole time. Also, to keep increasing my minutes and mileage at a slow gradual pace.

3. Training Goal 2: Begin training for a Sprint Triathlon- Early season begins in January and the big races start in May/June

4. Big Dream: Complete a 1/2 Iron Man by the end of next summer

(I always have to see my dream to remind myself of what I am here to do so I printed these out and put them on my mirror)

Starting out at 10 minutes is hard considering that I used to be able to run 45-80 minutes no problem...10 minutes-I have to start out small and then work toward bigger things as I get stronger and wiser. I learned that making unrealistic goals only brings frustration and opportunities to give up. Unrealistic goals should be steered away from but BIG DREAMS should be strived for- BIG DREAMS= hard but doable. It is important to keep in mind that one should never underestimate oneself; by this I mean to make small goals but small goals that are challenging and goals that call you out of your comfort zone.

You will never go anywhere or feel any satisfaction if you do not get out of your comfort zone and allow yourself to be challenged. Don't be afraid of failure! Incremental small goals are the best because they help you keep track of your progress. If you do fail, than the solution is simple:make adjustments to your plan and continue to press forward- Small incremental goals serve as stepping stones to the big dream.

For many of you it is the beginning of a new season, a chance to start over and make some goals for yourself. Map out your goals- challenge yourself and make them incremental- understand that with big dreams come big challenges but with every challenge there are new opportunities to learn and to get stronger. Do not fall susceptible to low expectations of yourself or low expectations of other people- this will cause you to stop pushing yourself. Continue to hold yourself at a high standard and believe that you can do anything. If you work toward your dreams with faith and endurance and allow room for adjustment, you will become extraordinary.

Goal Ideas:

1. Have a better mentality during races- I will practice strong mentality every day at practice and come up with several methods to keep myself in check

2. Place in the top _____ in the first race _____ at the second race and ______ by the end of the season. I will ask the coaches which practice groups I need to be in in order to get strong enough to accomplish this goal.

3. Figure out a good training plan that will sustain my health and stamina for the whole season- I will understand which days to push myself and which days to take easy. I will take ____ as a recovery day to re-energize.

There are so many more- if you want to share yours please do so- we can all support you and give advice to help accomplish your dream. Also, my friend Kyle Rewick designed a dream website. Its AMAZING and it helps you keep track of your goals and other people support your efforts. Check it out! http://www.dreamengin.com/index.php

Oh for Poops Sake!

"When you hit and run to first
And you feel you're gonna burst
Diarrhea, diarrhea!
And off you run to second,
You can't wait another second,
Diarrhea, diarrhea!
You make it on to third
And you feel a squishy turd,
Diarrhea, diarrhea!"


Alright, Alright- admit it we have ALL had it. You know what I am talking about....The infamous runner poops! hahahaa I just laugh every time because its hilarious. Like I said, getting back into running brings back some good memories but not so good feelings. I had one of those feelings today...here is my story:

Today, I went for a ten minute jog around my block early in the morning. I was so excited because I LOVE the mornings and I was running! I was having a nice little jog and enjoying the beautiful Colorado scenery when all of a sudden a little drop in my stomach jolted me out of my zen. Not only was there a jolt but also a little rumble. I told myself that I would not run under 9 minute mile pace until I was running 30 minutes continuously without any pain but that rule had to be broken on this day. Thank the LORD that I was only five minutes out from my house because I had to MOVE IT back in order to prevent my old neighbors and the wild animals such as deer and rabbit from witnessing a horrendous scene. I was pretty much sprinting down my street and my sweet neighbor tried to make conversation with me but I just blew right past him- I did not have one once of energy to waste-not even a head nod.

I finally got to my house but my mom had locked the front door- the feeling was just getting worse- growing more and more unstable. So I leaped off my porch and slammed into my garage code thing and quickly typed it in.  Just to let you know, I made it just in time! Share your famous poop story below! You can be anonymous or not but I want to see who has a better one!

Journey to Recovery

The last track season of my college career I was diagnosed with a calcaneus stress fracture in my heel bone and I have not run from May 6th until July 20th! This was the longest I have ever been away from running and let me tell you, I feel like Bambi learning to walk again. Even though this break from running was hard on my heart, I am so glad that it happened because I grew in so many ways. I will share many of the ways  I grew throughout preceding posts but the main one I want to share today is Resilience.

Resilience is the ability to recover from set backs stronger than you were before-rather than letting the curve balls of life  (the unknown, failures, or set backs) drain you and take your spirit and fight away, resilience allows you to rise above negativity. It also provides the ability to press forward.
At first, I took the easy route. I felt sorry for myself for about 3 weeks. Laying around, thinking that I should have been at Regionals and Nationals- that I deserved to be there and that it was not fair. Then, I even convinced myself that running was completely off the table- I would never run again because I would not recover or ever be able to get back into the shape that I was in. WOW! what I crybaby right?

I was able to overcome this stage of my life by reading a passage from a book called Do Hard Things (You should read it, its good). It basically said that its easy to be negative, to feel sorry for yourself, and to give up. But it is HARD to keep going and to have a positive attitude despite the storm in your life; however, this harder road lends itself to a brighter present and future. Negative people cause the present to be miserable for not only themselves but for those around them. Also, negative people cannot even see the light at the end of the tunnel because they choose to reside in a dark pool of self pity. Rising above negativity and self pity allows a person to see setbacks or failures as a form of helpful feedback- something to help them grow and change their course of direction.

Look back on your life- do you remember an event that you thought would ruin your life? Like braces? Or breaking up with a boyfriend? but then came to realize after time that the set back or failure actually guided you onto a better path? Sometimes life hurts but wounds and scars are reminders of what to do and what not to do again. Plus, wounds and scars are just marks- we are still alive after all. And, here I am again, after an injury ready to run again. It will be a long journey back but it is one that I am willing to take on because running makes me happy and I want it back in my life. Sometimes life causes a little bit of trauma to re-direct you and show you that sometimes it is necessary in order to discover true happiness.