Expectations (and Gratitude)

I throw at USAs tomorrow!!!!!!

I really can't believe I'm returning to competition in less than a day.  As long as this row has seemed to hoe at times, I've really had an awesome, awesome year.

1. I seriously love rehab.  Like, I actually enjoy it, not just because I know it's good for me in the long run but because it's fun.  Doing new exercises all the time makes me happy.

2. Photography is my favorite.  Finding the beauty around me every day has been so fun.

3. My mind is getting a workout.  I get so much joy out of my MBA classes through DeVry University's Keller Graduate School of Management.  I feel so much more fulfilled than I have in a long time, and I know it's because I'm expanding my horizons in the academic area again. 

4. My new home is awesome.  Colorado Springs took me a while to warm up to, but now I'm totally invested.  Any new place is tough to adjust to, but the people, scenery, opportunities, and way of life just make sense to me.  So happy.

5. Traveling is a blast.  I'll be traveling a lot more in the next few years during the training season than I had been from San Diego: Ty is in New Orleans, I want to go back to Chula Vista periodically, and I am not shy about going home when I want to.  I've taken the opportunity to go where I want, when I want this year, but I always fit the training in.  I'm in my element when I'm figuring out how to get a workout in before going to lunch with a long-lost friend in a new city, etc.  It energizes me.  And I've gotten to see more important people in my life than I can count right now.  Life balance, blam.

5. I am SO grateful.  Grateful for my health, thanks mainly to Dr. Chao, Chris Garcia, Dr. Rintala, Jamie Myers, Ty Sevin, Wendy Borlabi, Amber Donaldson, and Heather Linden.  Grateful for the amazing people in my life: Family (mine and Russ's), friends (near and far), and fans who've lifted me up when I really needed it.  Grateful for ASICS and the USATF Foundation and the USOC for supporting me exactly when I needed to be held up.  Grateful for each and every javelin throw I take, and that I've remembered the absolute joy of things coming together correctly. 

I've been laser-focused on the date of USAs for months now.  I didn't know if it would be possible to even compete tomorrow, just because it hasn't even been nine whole months since my surgery yet.  Every check-up with Dr. Chao went fantastically, I get nothing but positive feedback from my athletic trainers (in Chula Vista and Colorado Springs), and my one week working with Ty in New Orleans could not have gone better.  I've put absolutely everything I could have at this point in my recovery into being prepared to compete tomorrow.  I'm super excited. 

This is what success will look like for me at the end of Thursday (in order of importance):

1. I will stay healthy.
2. I will have FUN.
3. I will hit the positions I've been working on in practice.

Anything is possible.  See this link for tons of coverage information.