Earlier this month, I raced in my old stomping grounds of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. I was excited to head back to the city where I first chased my running dreams. For those of you who have been reading this blog for the past 5 years (has it really been that long?!), you might remember that it was originally titled Running Joyfully in SF. Since then, I’ve dropped the SF. The cities have changed (San Francisco to Cleveland to Providence), but the goal remains the same: to compete at the Olympic Trials.

Actually, I should amend that – the goal has changed too. Back when I first started competing post-collegiately, I was chasing the Olympic Trials standard – it was all about getting to the Track Trials and racing amongst our country's best at Hayward Field. But in the past 5 years, I’ve grown as an athlete, and in turn, so have my goals. Now it’s not just about getting to the Trials – it’s about kicking ass at the Trials, and beyond! It’s about competing on the world stage, representing my country, and running really darn fast.

And at Cross-Country Club Nationals, I made some progress on these goals. In my first cross-country race in 3 years, I finished 7th in a 6k PR of 20:05, and in the process punched my ticket to Edinburgh, Scotland and earned a place on my first USA team. On January 9th, I'll be representing the US and racing in the red, white, and blue - and let me tell you, I couldn't be more excited! :)

There's still plenty of work to be done, and I'm logging more miles than ever in preparation for 2016. But with the unwavering support of family, friends, coaches, and teammates, I'm running joyfully every step (well, most of them!) of the way :)

Recently, this New York Times op-ed on gratitude has been making its way across the interwebs, and with good reason. In the article, author Arthur Brooks explains how choosing to practice gratitude actually increases your happiness. The simple act of listing the things you are grateful for has been shown to increase your overall life satisfaction. So simple! you might think; why don't we all do this more often?

Well, because life isn't all rainbows and ponies and happily-ever-afters. It can be cruel, unfair, incomprehensible, horrific - the recent attacks on Paris are an awful reminder. With so many tragic things in our world, it can be hard to find the good amidst the sadness.

But if we can look beyond the tragedies, we do indeed have so much to be grateful for. This Thanksgiving, here's a small sample of my gratitude list:

My husband - 1.5 years of marriage down, a lifetime to go! <3
My family - their love and support boosts me up me in every race.
My coach - expertly guiding me toward my running dreams. Olympic Trials, let's do this!
Training partners - I'm blessed with kind, inspiring, tough, kick-ass friends and running buddies who challenge me to be better.
A healthy body - knock on wood, I'm injury-free!
The opportunity to train - I recently quit my jobs to focus on training for the upcoming Olympic year. I'm grateful for the chance to go all-in on my running dreams.

My dad, Bill Gregg, introduced me to the act of practicing gratitude. As a high school cross-country and track coach, he teaches his athletes to run with gratitude (and with joy!), approaching each race and each season as a gift.

Running is a blessing, he says, something we have the wonderful opportunity to do. My dad reminds his team of how lucky they are -- to have a roof over their heads, food on the table, and a community that loves and accepts them. This is not the case for many across the world - so when the stresses or pressures of racing seem like too much, one needs to simply remind him or herself that running is a gift, and one to be grateful for.

If you find yourself along the Pacific Crest Trail near Donner Summit at the end of August each year, you just might hear a bunch of high school runners shouting, "I'm the luckiest kid alive!" If you hear this call of gratitude echoing across the mountaintops, you've happened upon the Davis High School XC team, at their annual pre-season camp. These kids are out for a long trail run, running together filled with appreciation. Call it hippy-dippy, but shouting out this declaration of thankfulness works for them and it works for me, and I challenge you to try it to. You just might find yourself feeling happier and running joyfully :)