I've never been good at making decisions quickly. When choosing a college, I waited until the last possible day to send in my declaration, and God help me if a restaurant's menu is more than a page long - I'll be wavering between 5 choices as the waitress impatiently awaits my order. There's so many good options, I just don't want to miss out!
That's how I've been feeling this spring - there are so many exciting opportunities in front of me, it has been difficult to decide what to say yes to and what to decline. Having so many options is a blessing I'm very grateful for - there are trade-offs to each decision, but I know I'm lucky to have these choices to make.
One big decision I made recently was to defer my enrollment to grad school. I'm a book-loving, addicted-to-learning, can't-get-enough-of-school kind of person and I've been eagerly waiting for the right time in my life to tackle grad school. I thought that time was this fall, and I was excited to join Brown University's incoming class of Master of Public Health students.
Then, I ran 32:09. Running the Olympic Games standard was a game-changer for me, opening new doors and opportunities for my running. Although it wasn't easy to put school on hold for one more year, you only get so many chances to go after a dream. The moment is now, and I'm extremely grateful for Brown's support as I defer my enrollment and make running my focus this next year.
The other big decision I was faced with recently is whether or not to run at the USA Track Championships in June. Usually, this would be a no-brainer - it's a World Championships year, I'm well-positioned to compete for a Worlds spot, and in the best shape of my life. Why WOULDN'T I race?
Well, sometimes the calendar just doesn't line up. My husband's vacation schedule is extremely limited, and we have one small window in which to take our belated honeymoon. Unfortunately, that window is right smack in the middle of USA's. It hasn't been easy to choose to forego racing at Nationals, but I'm so excited to celebrate one year of marriage (and many more to come!) with my husband atop Mt. Kilimanjaro in just a few weeks! Marriage is like a marathon - you're in it for the long haul :) There will be other USA's and other World Championships, but just one chance to go to Africa on your honeymoon. So happily, off I go!
But first, I've got 2 more races left this season - a 5k on the track at the Adrian Martinez Classic next week, and then the culmination of a what's been a fantastically fun spring at the New York Road Runners Oakley Mini 10k on June 13. Looking forward to it!
