Passion and Purpose

There are many days when I am standing outside of the house in the dark and cold at 5 am where I wonder what in the hell I am doing.  There is a perfectly warm, comfortable bed waiting for me only a few feet away and I'm out here getting myself psyched up for putting some miles in before the sun comes up. More often than not people deem runners to be crazy; and in some sense they are right, you could say we are a masochistic bunch.  Yet underneath that crazy layer is a deep passion.  A passion that starts deep within and spreads throughout your soul.

It is this passion that keeps me going, even at 5 am when it is dark and cold, it is this passion that propels me through miles and miles because when it takes a hold of you, you realize that this is exactly where you are supposed to be. Passion often gets overlooked in thee act of trying to find your purpose in life.  The idea of having a purpose in life is hammered into us at a young age, whether it be that you are supposed to be destined to attend a certain college, obtained a certain career, or be specific kind of athlete.  Often discovering our passions get lost in the shuffle of life.

The idea of finding your passion first and letting that lead you towards your purpose was so backwards to me that I still often have a hard time following that path.  When you are expected, or expect something out of yourself, for so long to go a certain path it becomes hard to stray from that path.

Finding your passion

Finding you passion can come in many different ways.  For me I believe it was always there but it took the right motivator to remind me of it.  That motivator for me came from meeting my incredible fiance.  Becoming a part of his life showed me a side of people who embody a dedication and determination to live a life of faith, belief, and strength; it is through this that I was able to tap into my own strength in order to realize my passion for leading a strong and healthy life.

Once you have found that passion the question arises as to how you turn that into purpose.  The key is to give in to that passion, let it take over deep in your soul so that it becomes a part of you, then your purpose will arise.

This was one of those weeks in which my deep passion for running and the beauty that encompass the sport for me is all that kept me trudging forward.  Every week I set a week long goal with this week being feeling confident in my runs.  It took me reminding myself that this is my life and I was born to live it as I see fit

Goals: Confidence in my runs Mileage Goals: 40 miles

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Running Rest day	11.3 miles 5XMile repeats	REST DAY	4 miles (AM)	8.8 miles (AM)	12.5 miles	11 miles

It is these week long goals that keep me on track and help to feed my passion; and this week it kept me on track.  Each mile was tough this week and as you can see I gave in more than once this week taking an extra rest day and only going 4 miles on Thursday.  Yes, sometimes you just have to give in and let your body take control.  Feeding a passion is similar to training you have to give it a rest every once in awhile in order for it to recharge and remind you why you do what you do.

What comes next?

With six weeks left to go before my first race of the season I am counting on my passion for running to carry me through.  For the next six weeks I plan on focusing continually building confidence in my runs, increasing my strength, power, and speed, and most importantly enjoying each step I take on this journey.  It may be clique but enjoying what you do and being able to come across the proverbial finish line with a smile on your face.