Don't Settle for Less Than the Best, Be the Best

Since running my very first half marathon on Saturday, I have been designing a training plan for my next half in March. I have been trying to think about what I want to achieve from this race and how to achieve those goals. In doing all of this I started thinking about what kinds of training elite and professional runners do.

I have always been involved in some type of athletic activity: soccer and dance when I was a kid, swimming growing up and through high school, and now running. I was a pretty successful swimmer, qualifying for nationals, but I never really reached my full potential. 

I have always settled for being mediocre and for no good reason at all. Now I know I will never be as fast as a Kenyan, and I am okay with that, but I sure as hell can be better than I am now. I have only been running for a few months now, and most of my training has been extremely inconsistent. 

I started wondering what I could achieve if I really put my heart and soul into running and trained consistently. I have absolutely no idea what I could I achieve, but you know what, I want to find out. I want to be a runner.

I know I have the drive and determination to do great things, and honestly I am so sick of just settling. This is my life and I should strive to achieve the best for myself. I am only sabotaging myself by not putting my all into my training. 

I am ready to be happy and proud of myself and to be the best version of myself. I want to know that I put my all into everything and that I deserve to do great things. 

And this goes for more than just running. I don't want to settle for a B in school when I know an A is possible with an extra hour of studying. I want to be the best sister, daughter, friend, student, girlfriend possible. 

I think it is really important, though, to make sure that I am only doing the things that I love and that I would to dedicate myself to. With passion there really is nothing anymore. 

I have big dreams for myself, I always have and I always will. I don't want to be what is holding me back any longer. I want to do an Ironman someday, I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon someday. If I never achieve the goals I set for myself I want to know that I gave it my all and couldn't have tried any harder.

No day but today. Get moving and start achieving those dreams!