When I entered college as a freshman in 2015, my goal wasn’t to win a national title. I had fantasized over photos of athletes competing at the NCAA Championships and hoisting All-American trophies above their heads, but I thought of that as something to maybe possibly happen for me far in the future. When I first began college, my main goal was to make the travel team at Boise State. All of that changed after my freshman year cross season, when I shocked myself by hanging with the best runners in the nation for 6k over grass. After finishing second at nationals, winning a national title no longer felt out of reach: it was at the front of my mind.
I chased that goal tirelessly, even through two stress fractures and three red shirted seasons. However, when I finally nabbed a national title in the steeplechase in 2017, the euphoria and satisfaction were fleeting. Although I was ecstatic to have won a title, my mind immediately jumped to what I could do next. The thoughts running through my head weren’t: “yes, I did it!” or “woohoo! Let’s celebrate!”. They were: “How do I get better?” and “What can I do to top this?”.
My answer to these questions was to win another title. So, after soaking in my title for 30 seconds, I turned my focus toward the next season. Watch the video below to see my thoughts going into that race and how I responded to the pressure of being the defending champion.
