My apologies for not following through with my commitment to posting more frequently, I promise I write at least one post a week from this point forward. I have a lot to discuss but one thing has taken a priority above all else. I'm proud to announce that I am now a member of the College of Charleston Men's Cross Country team!
Over the past three years, I have become much more serious and knowledgeable about the sport of distance running. It went from something where I thought I had some potential in but never put forth much effort on my own to now a sport that I have fully integrated into my life with passion and discipline. I always dreamed of being able to compete on the next level after high school but my times in high school never seemed good for even a walk on spot. I could have easily given up for not achieving such a farfetched dream, but I came to realize how much I loved this sport and my burning desire to improve, regardless of being a part of a team. My high school running career was plagued by setbacks, but each new one gave me an even greater desire to get back on my feet to do what I love.
This past summer, I was coming back from an injury that I had sustained in March/April which ended my high school track career. I had no structure plan to get back to racing for most of the summer, just running lower mileage and easy efforts. I will say, it was nice to have a break from higher mileage and workouts but I still had that deep desire to improve my fitness and race faster than ever before. So, in late July, I developed my own training plan using the coaching philosophy of the well-known distance running coach, Jack Daniels. I set the plan around racing the Kiawah Island Half Marathon (which I will race on December 9th) and then signed up for some other races. It was only a few weeks into my plan that I had begun my freshman year of college, adapting to this new chapter in my life. By September, my fitness was already stellar, and I ran my first race in six months.
During the first month of college, I began to network with some of the freshmen on the country team at school and not too long after the head coach knew who I was (though I wasn't even aware of it until later). By October, fall break was coming along and I had found a college cross country race during the break. I ended up signing up for the race when I saw that the College of Charleston team would be racing there. For my first college 8k cross country race, I have to say it went well considering I ran 27:42 and I beat several College of Charleston guys. After that, I emailed their coach, and we met the following week. By the second meeting, I was offered a walk-on spot and for that I am eternally grateful for the entire team for welcoming me with warm hearts.
If I was told a year ago that I would be on a D1 cross country team, I wouldn't believe it. But I should believe it because my hard work and discipline is now yielding the results I always wanted. It was just a matter of time, and I stayed patient and diligent. I listened to and trusted myself. I tried by best to ignore negativity as hard as it was sometimes (especially from my high school teammates). If I have one key takeaway for anyone it's to not lose sight of what you truly want for yourself no matter the circumstance. It's only a matter of time.
Me winning the IOP 10k (masterclass in action)
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