Winter's Reality

It’s 5:24pm and the night has come already under an eerie quiet Athens evening.  Medical students are the few left in the now much smaller town. Its population has decreased by fifty percent this week, which for most of us called “townies”, is a very enjoyable time. No lines to get your local court street water holes, no trash thrown recklessly in your lawn, and of course no lines at Chipotle. Athens is a beautiful town this time of year, and I’m looking forward to spending my second winter in southeastern Ohio.

As the promise of a warm Carolina spring blazing down the track begins to once again creep it’s way into my head, the reality of a harsh winter ahead is becoming easier to accept.  In fact, winter is my favorite season of the year. There’s something beautiful about nature’s preparation for hard times. There’s no hiding or covering up. Nature rises to the occasion, gets strong, and prevails. I like to use this as an analogy for the type of person you have to become in order to be a successful distance runner. This mentality of acceptance of hard times, and the readiness of standing tall.

 Jeremy and myself raced at Kent State this past Friday, and though neither of us where happy about the outcome, I think it helped get our minds right leading into this next block. It was a harsh shock racing around an indoor track again, but competing is something I’ve always loved, and it was nice to get back in that shark tank.

I’ve reached out to my old teammate and now current Assistant men’s and women’s Cross Country and Track Coach at Bowling Green State University, Chuck Wentz, to help me with training and coaching. Chuck has been very successful at BGSU, and I’m excited to see where he can take me in my running. I’ve had some goals since 2012 I’ve wanted to achieve, and it seems like I’ve put myself in a good position to go after it this Spring. Athens has been a staple in my life now, and I’m anxious to continue to work hard everyday and grow as a runner, and in my career path with Morison Healthcare.

There’s no easy way to do it. Nowhere to hide or cover up from the harsh reality of hard work prospers. So grow strong, and continue to work hard towards unfulfilled potential.

-BJW