Ohio Take Two

     You may be able to guess what I am doing this very moment. Right now, I am in my usual chair with all of my blinds open looking out of the windows. And yes, I have my tea :) I should be proof reading a paper for class and getting ready for my day BUT I was craving to blog. So, instead I am writing a little something to fix my small addiction.
     This last week was one that I will absolutely remember for the rest of my life. It was a fork in the road and I worked so hard to turn one direction. Track and field has been a part of my life since the fifth grade. I remember when my friend asked me to run track with her so we could get a picture in the elementary year book, so I agreed. Who doesn't want an extra picture in the year book in the fifth grade, right? Well, when it turned out that I was the fastest fifth grade girl in the city it became more than a year book picture. Now, I am a senior in college and qualified for the track and field indoor national championships for the second year in a row. But let me tell you about the last couple of months.
   
     I had three shots to make the qualifying time for indoor nationals this year, opposed to about seven times last year. Talk about pressure. In January I ran my opening indoor meet at Boise State. In the 60 meter dash I ran an 8.22 and 200 meter dash a 26.98. Not my best times. I was frustrated. I continued two weeks later at the University of Washington to run an 8.04 in the 60 meter dash and a 26.21 in the 200 meter. I was happier than Boise, but I still threw my water in frustration. My head coach gave me a huge hug and said "Christi, you can do this. You still have next weekend. You will nail it." (We have a new coaching staff this year as well. I forgot to mention that, but they are amazing. I am still in contact with my old coach, and he is very proud of me.) The next week I worked on preparing for my last chance meet in Portland to qualify for the national championships in the 60 meter dash (I worked for the 200 meter race as well, but my heart was set on the 60). I worked so hard. My coaches worked on my drive phase, we fixed an issue that we found in my block starts, and I was mentally focused. Nothing was going to stop me. Thursday night came around and I woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible cramp in quad. I saw my chiropractor and his assistant Friday and sure enough, I strained my right quad. WHAT? As an athlete, the race or the game must go on. I was out of practice for two days and Friday I had small tears with my coach. This is what he told me, "Christi, the hay is in the barn. These two days of practice won't change tomorrow's race. You are a veteran, and you will qualify!"
     After practice that evening I drove to the mountain behind my college. I hiked to the top where I always sit when I need Jesus time. I remember going up there as a freshman to overlook the city and just think. Well, here I was a senior about to run one of the races of my life. This was a race that I had been training for ever since I was a little girl. I would jog down the streets while listening to my headphones and pretend that I was running some big race that I worked hard for. This was that race. This was that time. I sat there for a moment...I said, "God, I didn't work this hard to not qualify to be a national competitor. And I know you didn't give me this gift to settle. Show me what you gave me." I left that quiet place on the mountain remembering being a little girl and working for this race. I put my race in God's hands.
     Saturday morning came. I have never been so focused in my track career. Everyone knew that I was running for the national qualifier and even writing about it now my heart still skips a beat from my intensity. I wrapped up my quad with icey-hot and an ace bandage and warmed up for my races. I lined up for my race and set up my blocks. I looked up to see my coach on the side line. He looked me straight in the eyes from a distance and said, "You got this." I got in my blocks, the gun went off, and everything was silent. I left my opponents, crossed the finish line, and looked right over at the timing table. About 20 people surrounded the table, including my coach. A friend looked up at me with a smile, my coach raised his hands and said, "SHE NAILED IT. SHE GOT IT." The only other time I have jumped that high off the ground and screamed was last year when I qualified. But there is a huge difference between this year and last year; last year I didn't expect to go, it just happened. This year I worked, focused, and knew I could do it. And guess what...

I did it.

     My 60 meter time was a 7.80 and my 200 meter time was a 25.99. I broke my own school record in the 200 meter and tied my 60 meter time. I was 0.3 seconds off of nationals for the 200 meter but I am completely okay with that. I made the qualification in the 60 meter dash, and that was where my heart was. This past week I was also nominated Red Lion Athlete of the Week in my collegiate conference for my race performances. I now wait for Monday to travel to Geneva, Ohio for the national championships where I will compete Friday. 

Sorry for all of the typos! It is definitely time to get ready for class! AND proof read my paper :) 

Blessings.

Remember Deb? She was my first friend on campus my freshmen year. Her, Rachel, and I have been best friends since the third day of college. She qualified for nationals in the high jump. What a perfect way to end out indoor season of collegiate track and field. Ohio, you better be ready because we are unstoppable.

Where Does Your Strength Lie?

     I am sitting in my kitchen, near my window of course, able to blog. The truth is that I have had time to blog but with so many things happening around me there were times when I could not write. A glimpse of what has happened is...

-All three of my graduate applications are submitted. Now I play the waiting game for a couple of months. Talk about nerve racking! 

-Christmas break has come and gone. The break was full of unexpected surprises and blessings.

-I have officially started my last track season. Talk about crazy...

-I am only taking 13 credits for classes! I can honestly say it feels close to Heaven to be able to not have a heavy class load. I do not have classes on Mondays or Fridays, but I do have eight track practices Monday-Friday, so I still have tasks that are exhausting that take up my days. Fridays are full of my internship work. I work under an equestrian assisted therapist and help individuals with mental, emotional, and physical disabilities. Together we work with horses to accomplish things such as boosting confidence, speech and body development, post traumatic stress disorder and so much more! I have never been a part of something so rewarding. Research equestrian assisted therapy and you will see what I want my future to be!

     Now I wait. I sit. I wonder. I get excited. I fear. I second guess. I am proud. I re-think. I move forward. I step back. I re-visit. I take chances. I take precautions. I smile. I frown. I sleep. I become tired. I am aware. I am blind sited. I am behind. I am ahead. Where does my strength lie? We live in a generation that is constantly changing. I ask questions that can not be researched because there is not a "google go" button in my heart. Questions are answered immediately by asking Siri on our iPhones and health is being "upgraded" by the swallow of a pill. Gratification is found from how many pictures are liked on one of our pictures from Facebook and something can be bought with money that does not actually exist in our bank accounts from the swipe of a plastic card. Where does our mind go when we do not have an answer? Where is our nutrition when medication is not able to help our bodies? Where is our confidence when someone does not reassure us that they like what we do? How do we survive when we are not able to have what we want?            When questions such as these are answered, I think we see a glimpse of strength. I think we can see an amount of confidence that God provides us with. All of these "things" on Earth are just "things." I think strength is being able to sit in a quiet place and listen to yourself; listening to what your mind is saying, understanding where your heart is going, and being able to navigate between the two. I had a realization a couple of days ago that I listen and listen and listen to what my mind and heart are saying, but I don't do anything with what they tell me. I just listen. So what happens to everything I hear? Well, what happens when you don't answer a question when someone asks you? They ask again, waiting for an answer. Right now, I am trying to answer what my heart and mind are asking. I can not only listen to my heart and mind, but I need to navigate them to the best of my abilities to give them answers. They may not hear the answer they are looking for, and let me just say that "I don't know" is an answer that can fulfill their questions. 

     Where does your strength lie? My strength lies in the hands of God. But where is God showing me the strength he provides? There is a divine answer to this question that I think only one person can answer, and that is you. My strength is in the hands of God, but where does he place my strength in my every day life? Where does he place your strength in every day life? Even the simple response of "I don't know" is an answer. "I don't know" is a starting point, and without a starting point, there is no beginning :)

Every Sunday a group of girls and I go to a place called, Waffle Window. BEST WAFFLES EVER.
Thank goodness for Waffle Window Sunday :)