Jon Rankin: Life’s Certainties
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #9)
Posted March 27th, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Jon Rankin
Section: News & Results, Cross Country, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin
Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of The Final Sprint’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Be sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry at http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com/
“Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”
- Benjamin Franklin
I really don’t know how to interpret the above quote from Benjamin Franklin. Without a doubt it’s tax time. Yikes!! Honestly, I think that it’s kind of funny because it would be a very dreary life if death and taxes were the only things truly certain in life. What about love? What about running? What about the sweet smell of freshly cut grass in the early morning hours prior to a cross country race? If death and taxes are the only things certain I thank God for every day that I do get to run because I’ve been injured way too many times not to realize how lucky I am to be where I’m at today, just a few months away from make one of my biggest dreams a more certain part of my reality.
As I sit here and write this entry (taking a much needed break from doing my taxes) I ponder and dream about this upcoming Olympic Trials and I can’t help it but wonder about this period in my life. A few weeks ago I spoke at Casillas Elementary school here in Chula Vista, California and it was an enlightening experience for me. I was telling the kids, ages 8-12, about my dream to be an Olympian and how long it’s been since I first had that dream – it’s been nearly 12 years since I first began dreaming about becoming an Olympian.
When I first had this dream I had no idea how to make it come true or whether I was even good enough to make it come true. Now I look at myself and where I stand in relation to making that dream a reality and I’m amazed and grateful. When I first started running it wasn’t certain then that I would get to this point, so close to making my dream come true; and even though it’s uncertain now whether or not I will make the team at the end of June I’ve come to believe that it doesn’t matter what happens. I’m happiest knowing that I didn’t allow fear of the unknown and uncertain from trying. Like Michael Jordan has said, “I can’t accept failure, but I cannot accept not trying.”
Over the past few weeks I’ve been truly challenged emotionally and physically. I’ve been pretty banged up from a lot of mileage that I put in during the fall and winter months. This is more mileage than I’ve ever done before. I was training so well that I got to the point where I stopped listening to my body when it began to ask for a break. When things started aching beyond just the normal day to day pains I pushed harder because I was encouraged by constant progress. The result was my body finally revolting by forming multiple large knots in my left quad. These knots were certainly not severe injuries, but they certainly caused a lot of damage to the whole left side of my body. I was forced to take about 4 days completely off from any training and another 7 days of cross training.
The weeks leading up to the nearly 2 weeks of cross training was very frustrating, but also eye opening. I’ve come to realize that these are the moments that matter most. Without the hard times, without the failures, without the moments when one wants to give up these moments when you realize how far you’ve come because you never gave up, they mean more than any one achievement. The realization of your triumph over your self is the greatest victory! That’s what never giving up means to me.
Now I sit here writing this entry healthy and excited. I feel awesome because I finally gave in and began to listen to my body. And during the down time I was able to critique my training regime to find my weaknesses and areas where I could improve. I wouldn’t have done this had I not gotten a minor injury; And now I’m grateful for the injury because I’ll be better for it.
Over these last 12 years of dreaming, hoping and waiting the thing that has been consistent and what is certain now is that I will continue to do what I’ve done for the last 12 years during the next 3 ½ months:
Dream Big, Be Consistent, Take Chances,
Have Faith, and Never Give Up.
I cannot guarantee a win or even 2nd or 3rd place, but I can be certain that I will try to win and at the very least finish no worse than 3rd.
The lesson that stands out most as I look back on this last month of tests in addition to the last 12 years of ups and downs is that:
Life truly is most certain in retrospect.
It’s easiest to gain wisdom from all the mistakes and moments of tests once they have been made and once they have passed, never while in the midst of it.
- Jon
Check back on Wednesday, April 9 for Jon’s latest entry at: http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com/
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Tags: Be Consistent, chances, cross training, determination, Dream Big, dreams, elite athlete blog, elite athlete blog series, faith, frustration, goals, Have Faith, health, injury, jon rankin, life, Never Give Up, perseverance, professional running blog, reality, san diego, Take Chances, the final sprint elite athlete blog series, thefinalsprint.com elite athlete blog series, training, truth
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