The time I spend in the morning - praying, sipping coffee, and coming up with my list - is a ritual I relish. I have done it for so long now that I subconsciously measure whether or not the things I'm doing match with what I should be doing, what I want to be doing, and the life I want to live.

Because cycling is a repetitive front to back motion you never go side to side with your legs, the muscles and joints are really going to protect themselves when you have arthritis. So continually working on opening things up helps to alleviate pain.

I find significance in all kinds of small details when I run; I'm hyper aware of my surroundings, the sensations in my body, and the thoughts running through my mind. Everything is clearer, heightened. I might be more addicted to this clarity than I am to running itself.

In high school you just kind of go with it, you belong to a sport and you're lettering and there is a very social part. With cycling, a lot of people will steer away because you can't letter, and lettering is still cool and it's very important for scholarships and other stuff.

When the seasons shift, even the subtle beginning, the scent of a promised change, I feel something stir inside me. Hopefulness? Gratitude? Openness? Whatever it is, it's welcome.

The first day I was told that I had osteoarthritis, I thought it was the worst thing that could possibly happen to me; I was done. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't run so my life was over. But because I'm a competitive person, I wasn't going to let anything slow me down and I turned it around and made it a positive.

Take care of yourself. Eat well, rest, train hard and smart, make time to think and breathe. Be intentional with your time.