Something I am an expert at

Something I love and have been fairly good at is cross country. I love the sport and have a passion for it. Most people automatically think "ugh running, I hate running" but distance running is completely mental. This year, my junior year, I really focused on the mental part of it and keeping my focus to maintain my pace and speed. My focus was lowering my time a little bit each race. In preparation to do that I had to not only on race day but at practice too. During long easy runs I could allow my mind to wonder or even chat with my team mates but on hard runs or speed work outs I needed to stay concentrated. "Push through the pain," "Don't slow down," "Stay consistent," had to be the thoughts going through my mind. One might ask what a speed work out it, it's very simple; timed repeats. During these repeats of 400m or 800m laps i had my watch with me timing each lap, checking in with my check points of where i should be. I would push these shorter distances just slightly faster than my race pace and do them over and over again. Averagely there might be 3 sets of 3 800's or 4 sets of 4 400's. I enjoyed the 400's more because i could push myself to go just a tat bit faster building up strong mussels in my legs. I don't necessarily love the actual action of running but I love how I feel when I'm finished, my mind feels clear and I feel aware of everything after a run. Not only do I have feel physical good but mentally I am satisfied that I completed it and I'm finished. :)