After all those weeks of training, it seems like a very surreal dream.

You put in weeks and months of blood, sweat, and tears. 

Good runs and bad. Hard runs and easy ones. Cross-train, and deal with injuries.

Then you make it to race day. And you push and push. And when it gets hard, you push some more. 

You remember the pain is temporary, and it will only hurt for a little while. So you give a little more, and push a little harder.

Then it’s over.

It’s instantly a memory in the back of your mind. You ask yourself, “did that really happen?”

You hold your medal in your hands and look at photos from the race. You review your training logs.

Yeah, that really happened.

It’s important to be fully present. To be fully in the moment, in EVERY moment.

For everything you work so hard for, you want to remember what got you there.

Portland training officially started yesterday for me. I think it’s time to take my own advice.