To highlight some of your teammates who'll be following along with Vision 21, we asked some Heartbreakers what their goals are and what they're most looking forward to within the program. Here's Maria Kousi. [Black and white portrait by Daniel Portal]
HB: What are you looking forward to in 2021?
MK: Health, social life, normalcy! Resuming group training sessions and collectively working towards our individual and/or common goals.
HB: Which of our athlete consultants are you most excited to hear from?
MK: First of all, I still can't believe that we will be having access to these amazing athletes! It will be exciting to hear from all of them and their individual take on the sport, training and tips to commonly or rarely asked questions! I love this idea and I am really looking forward to the interactions with all of them!
HB: What’s your big running goal for the year?
MK: Running a full marathon. I went through the training for the 2020 Boston marathon before it was cancelled and have ran up to 22 miles, so I know it is within reach, but I really want to go the full distance! Until this moment comes, I have the utmost respect for my fellow teammates that have this achievement under their belt!!
HB: How do you expect the Heartbreakers/Vision21 will help?
MK: Heartbreakers/Vision21 gives us the motivation that we have been struggling to identify during these past months. I love the idea of the monthly challenges; attainable frequent goals sounds perfect right now and it gives us something new to be looking forward to every month! In my opinion, the program provides all the stimuli that can help with motivation by having access to elite athletes, accountability by having a plan to follow and creating purpose with the challenges, Q&A and sense of community. I have had a hard time identifying a purpose to continue training, as well as keep myself motivated and accountable. I am convinced that the versatility of Vision21 will certainly help me overcome at least some (if not all) of these roadblocks one step at a time.
[Maria adds this postscript] "I think that's it! What I really wanted to write for the last question is "if this was a marathon analogy, everyone feels like we have been stuck at mile 20 for some time and want to just give up! I see Vision21 as the teammate that you trained with or your biggest supporter that keeps reminding you that you can do this and you have to keep going, eventually taking you to the finish line". I decided however to go with a more normal response :)"
HB: What are you looking forward to in 2021?
MK: Health, social life, normalcy! Resuming group training sessions and collectively working towards our individual and/or common goals.
HB: Which of our athlete consultants are you most excited to hear from?
MK: First of all, I still can't believe that we will be having access to these amazing athletes! It will be exciting to hear from all of them and their individual take on the sport, training and tips to commonly or rarely asked questions! I love this idea and I am really looking forward to the interactions with all of them!
HB: What’s your big running goal for the year?
MK: Running a full marathon. I went through the training for the 2020 Boston marathon before it was cancelled and have ran up to 22 miles, so I know it is within reach, but I really want to go the full distance! Until this moment comes, I have the utmost respect for my fellow teammates that have this achievement under their belt!!
HB: How do you expect the Heartbreakers/Vision21 will help?
MK: Heartbreakers/Vision21 gives us the motivation that we have been struggling to identify during these past months. I love the idea of the monthly challenges; attainable frequent goals sounds perfect right now and it gives us something new to be looking forward to every month! In my opinion, the program provides all the stimuli that can help with motivation by having access to elite athletes, accountability by having a plan to follow and creating purpose with the challenges, Q&A and sense of community. I have had a hard time identifying a purpose to continue training, as well as keep myself motivated and accountable. I am convinced that the versatility of Vision21 will certainly help me overcome at least some (if not all) of these roadblocks one step at a time.
[Maria adds this postscript] "I think that's it! What I really wanted to write for the last question is "if this was a marathon analogy, everyone feels like we have been stuck at mile 20 for some time and want to just give up! I see Vision21 as the teammate that you trained with or your biggest supporter that keeps reminding you that you can do this and you have to keep going, eventually taking you to the finish line". I decided however to go with a more normal response :)"