Another Beginning

The 2010 cross country season is under way and the team is looking fantastic. The guys have a solid core group of returning veterans with some serious training under their belts, while the women's recruiting class has got to be one of the best ever. I'm stuck in training group E with the other out-of-shape and injured guys, but things are finally starting to look up again after a couple months of setbacks. My hip flexor is finally getting back to where it should be and an achilles issue from last week turned out to be just a minor nuisance. Some ice and a massive heel wedge managed to take care of it and keep me out on the roads. I'm up to 3-4 miles a day now and am slowly getting back into shape.

Classes start tomorrow morning and I'm not really sure if I'm ready or not. I took care of most of my hardest classes last year so this semester shouldn't be too much of a burden. Still, it feels strange to close the book on this summer. The cycle of seasons continues.

Do Not Put Out the Spirit's Fire

Over the past couple of weeks I've been trying to stay focused, putting in a lot of hours on the bike and elliptical while also getting back to running a few miles here and there. I'm in pretty good shape overall and just need to get my running legs back into gear before mid semester rolls around. Summer is winding down, although I've still had time for a few adventures. This past Friday I drove down to Clinton to spend the night with Dave and Muff at the annual "Gasfest" that their friends have been putting on for years. There were some pretty big fires involved and a little bit of questionable judgement, but for the most part everyone was pretty responsible and nobody was hurt (besides a few minor burns). It turned out to be a really good time. The next morning Dave took me out for a six mile run as we toured the entire neighborhood and surrounding countryside, including downtown, cornfields, an industrial park, and a nice off-road trail. Next weekend I'm heading up north with Ash and a couple of old friends to hang out in the supposedly-haunted woods.

There's less than two weeks remaining before the start of training camp and it's more important now than ever that I (and everyone else) stay in the right state of mind. One of my favorite Bible verses is 1 Thessalonians 5:19. It reads "Do not put out the Spirit's fire." You need to pursue your goal, your passion, with a fire that never goes out, no matter obstacles rise up against you, or you'll never find out if you can succeed. Believe in that Spirit, and impossibility is only an opinion.