For some of us our competitive season has come to an end. Mine ended earlier than I had hoped. I wish I could have been able to compete at the World Championships, but it hasn’t stopped me from training, and there is good reason why I don’t think you should stop either.

The usual format in America, is to compete at the college meets from March to May and peak for the USA Championships at the end of June. For the 87% of athletes that compete at USA’s and don’t make the team, what are our options?

Because of the event’s popularity, runners who don’t make the team, can still compete in Europe and make money. But in the field events this may not be a financially possible option.

Jarred Rome (68.44m discus thrower) always said you need to go to as many B meets in Europe as possible to get your name out there.

I saved as much money as I possibly could and competed overseas last year. Typical B meet prize money for me was about 200 euros ($218 U.S.), it included little to no travel funding, and I still had to compete against the best javelin throwers in the world.

My teammate Sean Furey (2015 U.S. javelin Champion) said that when he goes overseas it’s not about making money,

“I either throw far, or I learn something.”

I am a huge advocate of competing overseas. I think it’s the best way to gain experience, and a great way to learn about the rest of the world, as well as yourself. But even if you don’t have the funds to travel across the world I think there are many things we can learn while staying at home.

A big surprise to athletes who make championship teams is not the meet format, or stadiums with 40,000+ fans. The biggest surprise is learning how hard it is to train and maintain fitness throughout the summer. But how do we expect to win medals in August if we aren’t accustomed training that long?

Now there is something to be said about taking some down time. Rest is good. It can help our body get long term recovery that is necessary from training nine plus months of the year.

But rest doesn’t need to be three months, it doesn’t even have to be six weeks. There are plenty of ways to get your rest while still staying active.

I took two weeks off after USA Championships. My body needed it. But I don’t want my muscles to atrophy or lose my cardiovascular shape.

I don’t want to lose all the hard work I put in, and have to start over at square one.

I think the greatest thing we can take away from a bad season is to keep training as if we had the perfect season.

What do I mean by that? Well, the last thing I want is to make the Olympic Team and feel burnt out in July because I am used to the American college competition format.

My dream isn’t to win Mt. SAC Relays. My dream is to be on the podium at the Olympic Games!

So this summer I am training.

I am staying active. I am still running. I am still lifting. I am still throwing. And I am going to be ready for the perfect season.

#Ready4Rio #TrainBIG