Its OK to be elite

What is your number one goal in life? Do you even have a number one goal in life? I find that many people I come across have no major/ultimate goals in life, accompanied by a lack of any true passion for anything in life. I came across many of those people while in undergrad and was constantly baffled by the absence of drive, dedication, and mostly, direction. Now that I am in Physical Therapy school, I am surrounded by driven, goal-oriented young adults who are striving to be the best of the best. Our professor reminded us of that today in Anatomy lecture:

"It's OK to be elite," he said. I thought that was an excellent quote. I immediately wrote it down in my notes to remember for later. I also think that its a good mantra, and a motivational one at that. In today's world, living a good life is majorly dependent on achieving a certain level of success. Of course, the definitions of "good life" and "success" are different from person to person, but we would be kidding ourselves if we believed that settling for mediocrity would ultimately result in true happiness (especially with a lack of passion). So we strive to succeed. A lot of times it is difficult. The level of academic degree that is requisite for attaining good jobs these days continues to climb. That means more and more school for many of us. And the schooling gets harder. Trust me. I think that in order to continue and persevere through it, we must remind ourselves that it is OK to be elite, and OK to strive to be elite. Hell, it may even be imperative.

That being said, this is a fitness blog (although I'm having fun with the whole "Life Improvement" angle as well). So what the heck have I been up to since I last wrote?

Well, last week I hit my first 70 mile week. I capped the week off with a 16 mile long run early Sunday morning, and was rewarded for my efforts with a severely inflamed right Achilles tendon. I had planned to string together back to back 70 mile weeks, but unfortunately was forced to bite the bullet and give my Achilles a day off to heal up. Achilles injuries are no joke. Luckily as of this writing, I have gotten the inflammation under control and am back to running.

Hit a nice 12 miler this afternoon. It is hot though! 88 degrees while I was out. Luckily, the humidity was fairly low, which makes things noticeably better. Still doesn't keep me from being extremely thirsty by the end of the run! Hydration is key, friends. This weekend I will be returning to my lovely home of Northern Virginia where I hope to arrange for a long run with one or a few of my closest friends. How nice.

No sex has been seen on the runs as of late, but I was called "Gay" multiple times the other day. Oh, and today I saw a snake. Scared the crap out of me.

Power on, people.