5 Things the Road to Success is NOT

My experience as a University of Georgia cross country and mile runner has shaped my character in more ways than I can count. Like the majority of athletes, I have always been driven to reach success. However, my definition of success has dramatically transformed over my past three years at UGA. Through victory, defeat, heartbreak, and breakthroughs, my road to success has been an evolving journey, and it will continue to be that way. 

For an outsider looking in on my track career, it might appear that my path has always been full of blue skies and podium appearances. They might be surprised to hear the real story behind the medals, and I have been even more surprised to discover that the road to the medals has not been exactly what I envisioned it would be.   

5 Things the Road to Success is NOT:

1. A STRAIGHT SHOT DOWN THE HIGHWAY

There are those perfect times when the journey is like a road-trip with your friends: windows down, perfect weather, great music, clear roads. 

Anyone who has driven through Atlanta at rush-hour knows that this is not always the case. You will get stuck in traffic. You will get bored with the drive, and wonder if the destination is really worth all the trouble? You will get lost. You will get back on the right track, then wind up lost again. You will hit an occasional pothole that slows you down, or get involved in a serious accident that changes your destination completely. 

I have fallen in races. I broke my foot the week of the SEC championships. I have been slowed down by anemia, mono, strep, food poisoning, the swine flu, the regular flu, strep again. You name it. I have been disqualified. I missed qualifying for a national championship by less than half a second. Twice. The truth? As rough as all of these experiences were at the time, I am thankful for those struggles and potholes. They make the victories and clear roads sweeter. 

2. CONSISTENT 

Coming out of high school with list of accolades, including a state championship title, I assumed that my triumphs would carry over into immediate collegiate success. I was wrong. I ran slower times in my freshman year of college than I ran during my freshman year of high school. By the time the SEC cross country championships rolled around, I felt so weak that I could not physically finish the race. I was confused and humiliated with my performance. I later learned that I had become severely anemic, and learned a bigger lesson that the road to success has its peaks and dips. I was clearly in a dip, but I had a choice. I decided to let go of my embarrassment, overloaded on my intake of iron, and get back into training with a new fire (and raised hemoglobin levels). At the SEC championships one year later, I had the best race to that point of my career and captured a 4th place podium finish. 

No matter how consistent I am with my diet and supplements, I can still get sick. No matter how consistently I see the trainers, I can still get injured. In the unpredictable world of track & field, the only thing I have complete control over is my attitude and behavior. Although the road to success is not consistent, attitude and work ethic SHOULD be.

3. EASY

You've heard the phrase, "If it were easy, everyone would do it." Cliche? Yes. Overused? Yes. True? Yes. I've been knocked down more times than I can count. I've accumulated a leg full of spike scars. I've woken up before the sun comes out every day to get my miles in before class. The road to success can be lonely. If you are the very best, you might look around and notice that few others have hiked to the same "above and beyond" level. It's all fun and games until you reach that point in the race where you can't tell which burns worse - your lungs or your legs - and it takes all of your strength not to collapse before the finish line. In my case, going that extra mile is not just a metaphorical phrase, and it makes all the difference.

4. GLAMOROUS 

My freshman year at Georgia, I was nothing more than a mediocre college runner. My goals were mediocre, my work ethic was mediocre, and as a result, my performance was mediocre. I looked at the girls grabbing the top spots at NCAA meets like they were a foreign breed of humanity. In my head, they did not put in the hard work; they were simply born fast. In my head, I did not think racing was painful for them. I did not think they had to give anything up to reach that level. They lived in a perfect world of speed, glamour, and awards. 

One year and 14 seconds shaved off my mile PR later, I found out that I was completely wrong about those girls. I had worked my way to the "All-American" status that I had previously gawked at, but realized it required all of my mental and physical strength, plus some. Unfortunately, races never became any less painful. In fact, they hurt like hell. I traveled to compete almost every weekend, so my "glamourous" Friday nights were replaced with carb-ing up on pasta dinners and watching HGTV in a hotel room before calling it a night at 9:00pm. When I was actually in town, numerous tears were shed walking around UGA's hilly campus after grueling workouts. 

The awards are glamorous. Getting there is not. 

(Completely worth it though).

5. ENDING

The road to success will never end. You might reach your goal. You might exceed your goal. What does that mean? Time to go find yourself a new goal. 

I have learned that the road to success is not always what it appears to be from the outside, but the journey itself makes it worthwhile.