The sky to the west faded to purple, with rosy hues of yellow and fuschia, as the sun set just after 6:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time last night. I watched it happen as I sprinted through my weekly club run in Speedway, Indiana.

I turned around to head back to the brewery where we meet each week as darkness descended around me. It was then I, for the first time in what seems like years, began to practice gratitude in my mind.

Practicing gratitude during a run is something I learned from former Olympian Deena Kastor. When your body aches, when your muscles are tired, think about everything you are grateful for in that moment. It can be a little thing, like, “I didn’t step in dog poop during my run.”

As I hustled in the quickly dropping temperatures, my breathe puffing in front of my face, I saw the purple lights of the pagoda from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They were like a beacon over the west side of the city. I’d never noticed it before due to the sun still being high in the sky prior to falling back this past weekend.

I fell in love with life all over again as I sprinted down Crawfordsville Road.

In the past four days, the universe righted itself repeatedly. I don’t have the proper words to truly express just how grateful I am for what has happened. Some of it I can’t even share anyway.

Either way, I felt this tremendous swell of excitement for the opportunities that lay ahead in my path. I have worked tirelessly to get where I am and what presented itself as my next career step is an opportunity that feels like it was tailor-made for me.

I’m so grateful for the people who helped me get through the last couple of months. I am grateful to run, to practice jiujitsu, and to be in the company of a support network that is truly an embarrassment of riches. I am grateful for everyone who got me out of the house or gave me little projects to do.