When I think of 2016, these 3 words come to mind: Dream.Believe.Achieve. I honestly never dreamed I would be sitting here today with my name on the athlete roster for The Boston Marathon, 70.3 World Championships in Australia, and the Ironman World Championships in 2016. Yes, ME, a mom of 4 kids who tries to balance training, cooking, cleaning, classroom volunteering, kid’s activities and homework, my husband’s training, and sleep on a daily basis. I would be lying if I said that every day was a perfect balance of all these activities – it’s far from a perfect balance but the nice thing about each new day is the chance to start over fresh and create a balance that works. It’s like that moment just before the first glimpse of the sunrise -the feeling that anything is possible that day.
Just before my Ironman Wisconsin race last fall, I wrote the word “Believe” on my right hand. Throughout the race, when I was feeling mentally and physically exhausted I looked down at my hand for the reminder to believe in myself. When I start a new week of training, I often write the word BELIEVE at the top of the page as a reminder that I CAN do anything if I just believe. For those times that a workout doesn’t go as planned, it fuels a fire inside me to get it right the next time.
In 2015, I had a lot of early morning workouts, long training sessions on the weekend, and mentally and physically pushing myself beyond what I thought was possible to achieve my goals but all of these goals started with a dream – a dream to be a better person than I was the day before. I am excited and honored to be a part of Team Freeplay 2016. I hope to encourage other women to dream, believe, and achieve things that they never thought were possible. It starts with a dream and a belief that YOU can do it – it’s going to take hard work and dedication but mile by mile and day by day you will get there. I have learned that life is about the journey and not the destination. I want to set a good example for my kids by showing them that their dreams can come true with hard work and dedication.
