Word of the Day: Stress

2nd Monday in a row and I'm on a roll! :) I have SO many things I could write about that I'm having a hard time getting anything written because my mind is so scrambled.

STRESS.
Stress comes with the territory, this territory. In a profession where your livelihood and ability to provide for yourself is almost solely based on what your body can do and how it can perform, you begin to realize how important every little thing you do (and don't do) can affect your performance. And then comes the stress, exponentially piling up because you realize that you are no longer 100% in control of your actions so in turn, no longer in control of your stress levels.

The best way to describe my current situation is "the period of change". I briefly alluded to it on my last post but it's the changes in my living situation and training that are stressing me out the most. And when this Queen stresses, everybody watch out!
To those that don't know my coach (LJ) left his position out here at Clemson University last January and ever since then the burning question has been, "Where are we going next?" Last year because of good "pre-kicked out" preseason training, great coaching, greater hard work&talent, and the GRACE of GOD I was able to still have my best post-collegiate season thus far but that didn't come without struggle and a whole lot of hardship. But again those tales will be saved for another post but to give you a BIT of insight, below is a picture of me doing squats. Common right? Yeah, most track athletes squat but do you see where I'm doing them at? There is no gym and no squat rack, instead I am lifting at the high school track we had came to train at after getting put out of Clemson's track, weight room, etc. 

Yeah, just take that in! lol Now I'm definitely not complaining, the job got done for the year and I finished with the #2 time in the WHOLE WORLD this season (Thank God!!) but sometimes I wonder if I subtracted the struggle and minus the cold days we were left without training, if it could've been an even grander season. ?? Answers I'll never know and can't find out so best not to dwell on them.

Instead I've just been focusing on this season and beyond and doing the things necessary to keep from ever being put in that kind of situation again, which can be pretty hard in this sport. Being a professional track and field athlete, unlike the NFL or NBA, doesn't mean being drafted to a team or getting picked up by an owner to represent them, getting flown out to a brand new city and receiving the best of the best treatments and training on a daily basis in order to perform at your highest level. Instead, most track athletes stay with their college coaches the first couple years out, pray they get a lucrative sponsorship from one of the major athletic shoe companies, and have to rely on their own money in order to receive treatment and necessary recovery methods to perform at their best level. Yes, that is professional athletics for you lol.
A change will come in this sport, that I am sure of, but in the mean time I have to rely on my own funds and the benefits that I get from being an elite Tier 1 athlete (health insurance, grant money, and access to the Olympic training center) to prepare me for years to come. 

Speaking of Olympic training center (OTC), I recently (or not so recently) played with the idea of moving out to the training center in Chula Vista, CA to do my training during these cold weather months in South Carolina and while my coach is still ironing out the details of when we'll be leaving Clemson and where to. It's located right near San Diego is sunny Southern California boasting the best facilities, treatments, on campus dining, and Olympic coaches free of charge to me. If that's not reason enough for me to jump on the next thing smoking and want to move out West, my boyfriend now lives out there which makes this offer all the more tantalizing lol. One of the drawbacks though is that there are no sprint/hurdle coaches out there & I would have to be away from my coach. The OTC facilitates mostly jumpers, throwers, and multi-event athletes because they are known to usually receive the least funding in the sport so the center decided they want to offer these services to the most needy. But in a period where everything is so volatile in my life I think going out there to focus 100% on training and getting my workouts sent to me from my coach and looked over my the staff at the center, will give me a sense of ease and allow me to escape all the craziness going on with moving and relocating going on over here and especially since my lease at my current apartment is up the end of November so I HAVE to move regardless!

Now do you see why I'm stressing?? lol. I knew 25 was going to bring change and I prayed that it would all be for the better and I honestly think that with this new opportunity presenting itself to me is a testament to just that. Change is good, and change is going to come. I'll just have to trust my gut instincts and let my hard work and determination carry me the rest of the way.
Wow I actually feel a little better just from typing that!! :)

Well that's all folks! What are some ways you all deal when you have unwanted stress put upon you? And how do you keep reminding yourself that this isn't going to last forever? Let me know and thank you all for reading! Until next time..


*MUAH!