Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / 370. Uncharted Territory: Preparing For The Race Of A Lifetime & How To Find Your Flow With Marathoner Erika Kemp

Transcript

370. Uncharted Territory: Preparing For The Race Of A Lifetime & How To Find Your Flow With Marathoner Erika Kemp · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I will not rest and I will not retire or
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: like feel good until I know how far I could go.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: That is, you know, the wood like stoking my fires.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Just like we're not done yet. I don't feel like
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: we're anywhere close to done yet.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Hey, hey, Emily, here, you are listening to episode three
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  Speaker 2: hundred and seventy of Hurdle a While this focus podcast
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: where I talk to inspirational people about everything from their
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: highest ties and toughest moments to essential tips on how
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life. We all
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: go through our fair share of hurdles. My goal through
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  Speaker 2: these discussions is to empower you to better navigate yours
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  Speaker 2: and move with intention so that you can stride toward
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  Speaker 2: your own big potential and of course, have some fun
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  Speaker 2: along the way. For today's episode, I am chatting with
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  Speaker 2: Erica Kemp. She is a professional runner with Brooks. She's
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  Speaker 2: also the fastest American born black female marathon her What
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  Speaker 2: a title. I had the opportunity to catch up with
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  Speaker 2: Erica recently before she heads over to Tokyo to represent
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  Speaker 2: the United States in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships.
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  Speaker 2: For those of you that may not be familiar. These
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: are the World Champs or Track and Field is the
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  Speaker 2: pinnacle event, the event that everybody wants to tow the
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  Speaker 2: starting line at an Erica is one of three women
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  Speaker 2: that's going to be representing Team USA. Now, fun fact
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  Speaker 2: about all three of these women is that they are
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  Speaker 2: all Brooks athletes, which is kind of fun. And actually,
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: if you follow Hurdle over on social and I hope
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: that you do over at Hurdle Podcast, We're going to
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: be throwing out some information of about this starting lineup
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: over the next week, helping you to meet the women
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  Speaker 2: that are showing up and showing out for Team USA
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  Speaker 2: at the World Champs. But back to Erica today, As always,
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: we get into Erica's backstory. We talk about when she
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  Speaker 2: found her love for the sport of running and how
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  Speaker 2: it has evolved with time. We talk about the challenges
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  Speaker 2: of being a professional runner, including finding the right coach
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  Speaker 2: and making time for recovery amidst all of the miles.
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  Speaker 2: Erica also opens up about her relationship and what it's
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: like to finally be in the same time zone as
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: her partner after doing a long distance for quite some time.
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  Speaker 2: And then of course we talk about Tokyo. We talk
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  Speaker 2: about what feels like for her to be representing her
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  Speaker 2: country out there at World champs and what success will
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: both look and feel like for her come September. Make
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: sure if you're not yet following along with Hurdle on
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: social you do so. Today it's over at Hurdle Podcast again.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: I'm at Emily a Body and gotta give the love
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: weekly Hurdle newsletter every single Friday, directly in your inbox.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: The link to subscribe is in the show notes. With that,
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: let's get to it. Let's get to hurdling today. I
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  Speaker 2: am sitting down with Eric Kemp. She is a Brooks athlete,
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  Speaker 2: a marathoner for Team USA at the twenty twenty five
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  Speaker 2: World Championships. Welcome to Hurdle, Erica.
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  Speaker 3: How are you doing good? Thanks for having me?
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  Speaker 2: Oh my god, thanks for being here when in New York.
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: Oh ways, we must get you into the studio. There's
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: a lot happening right now. So how are you doing? Really?
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  Speaker 2: I think I'm doing okay, okay.
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  Speaker 1: I'm very grateful for this like break. We're kind of
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: getting in that heat wave because, like like you.
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: Said, there's just been so much going on.
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  Speaker 1: And then I also felt like we were hitting like
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: heat advisory after heat advisory and like the world is
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: still on fire, but it was like literally on fire
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  Speaker 1: for like six weeks. So I'm enjoying like just a
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  Speaker 1: few days of.
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  Speaker 3: A reprieve right now.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, to like refocus, settle down a little bit,
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  Speaker 1: like calm the nervous system, and then it's like less
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  Speaker 1: than six weeks to go or the.
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  Speaker 2: Big day weeks to go. Oh my gosh. So this
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  Speaker 2: episode will be coming out about I think two weeks
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  Speaker 2: before you tow the starting line in Tokyo. When I
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: say that to you before you toe the starting line
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  Speaker 2: in Tokyo, like, is that surreal?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: And I don't think it's going to feel real until
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  Speaker 1: we like get off the plane in Tokyo, like at
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  Speaker 1: you know, pre camp with my other books teammates and
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  Speaker 1: we're all like in the team USA Nike kids and
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  Speaker 1: like not wearing our books stuff, and it's to be like, oh,
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  Speaker 1: we're like here here.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's been a really special few years for you.
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  Speaker 2: And that's where I want to start us off today
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  Speaker 2: because I'm sure if you were to tell yourself even
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  Speaker 2: I don't know eight years ago, that you'd be in
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  Speaker 2: this position right now. I'm not entirely sure that you'd
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  Speaker 2: believe it, would you. No, Yeah, So give us some
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: insight into how Erico was doing eight years ago.
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  Speaker 1: Oh boy, I was in college. Yeah, which feels like
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  Speaker 1: a lifetime ago, but also like yesterday. So that's like
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  Speaker 1: very scary because where did.
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  Speaker 3: The time go?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean twenty seventeen, I was in college. I
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  Speaker 1: was still like loving the five k. That was like
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  Speaker 1: my favorite event. I only ran the ten k like
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  Speaker 1: once a year, and it was like always good, but
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  Speaker 1: I didn't love it. I didn't have this like passion
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  Speaker 1: for a long distance running, but I didn't quite have
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  Speaker 1: the turnover to be the mid distance runner of my dreams.
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  Speaker 1: So I was like a five k girl, and like
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  Speaker 1: kind of thought that would be my career.
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  Speaker 3: I didn't really.
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  Speaker 1: Think that I would find the level of success I
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  Speaker 1: had with the marathon, even though, like my coaches and
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  Speaker 1: even like when I graduated, a lot of people around
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  Speaker 1: me were like, we see a future for you in
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  Speaker 1: the marathon. But when you've never done that before and
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  Speaker 1: you didn't grow up with like a passion for distance
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  Speaker 1: running or even like the desire to do that, You're
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: like I mean, I hear you, but I don't know.
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  Speaker 3: If it's in the cards for me.
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  Speaker 1: And then I found really early success on the roads
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  Speaker 1: in like twenty nineteen and twenty twenty one, winning like
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  Speaker 1: national titles in the fifteen K and then the twenty K,
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  Speaker 1: and you're like, maybe the long distance stuff isn't so bad.
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  Speaker 1: And then also I'm kinda good at it, and just
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: like building that confidence over the years. And then obviously
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  Speaker 1: the big turning point for me was twenty twenty three
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  Speaker 1: signing with Brooks, getting a new coach, And in my
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: very first conversation with Kurt Benninger and Molly Huddle's husband
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  Speaker 1: who's now my coach, we were just talking about like goals,
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  Speaker 1: and he's like, what do you think this next chapter
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  Speaker 1: of your career looks?
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  Speaker 3: Like?
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  Speaker 1: Like what is like this marathon chapter for you? What
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  Speaker 1: do you think you can do? And I really thought
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: about it. I'm never I've never been great at those
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: questions of like where do you see yourself in five years,
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  Speaker 1: because I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow, Like,
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: don't ask. But I told Kurt that I really thought
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: I could make teams in like the marathon. I was like,
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  Speaker 1: I think I can win titles. I think I can
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  Speaker 1: make these teams, Like I think I can compete with
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  Speaker 1: the best in the marathon. And he was like, I
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: think so too, and like that's kind of where it started.
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  Speaker 1: And that was like eight weeks out from my marathon
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  Speaker 1: debut in Boston, and here we are two years later,
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  Speaker 1: here we are, we did it.
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  Speaker 2: It's really beautiful to hear that you had this sense
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  Speaker 2: of self belief despite not having so much experience doing it,
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  Speaker 2: Like you were really good at recognizing what you knew
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  Speaker 2: to be true. In fact, you were like, I am
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  Speaker 2: good at these distances, and conventionally speaking, if you're okay
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  Speaker 2: at these distances, then there's like a lot of promise
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  Speaker 2: for me to try something else.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: It's motivating because you see that and it's like, well,
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  Speaker 2: if she had the you know, the guts to try this,
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  Speaker 2: then like maybe I can have the guts to try
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  Speaker 2: something like this too. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: I feel like that's been a huge part of like
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  Speaker 1: the success I've found at this distance. Is that just
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: like belief in that confidence because I don't think I
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  Speaker 1: necessarily do like traditional marathon training. I don't log like
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  Speaker 1: huge miles. I don't do a ton of long runs.
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  Speaker 1: So like when you're only doing two or three long
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  Speaker 1: runs in a build up, you have to have so
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  Speaker 1: much confidence that what you did was enough and that
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  Speaker 1: like you are capable of like the performance you want
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  Speaker 1: to have. Yeah, And leading into Houston this year, I
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: got her on the front side of the build so
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  Speaker 1: then we like only had like seven weeks, but everything
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  Speaker 1: we did was like good, even though everything we did
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  Speaker 1: was like a couple of things, but we just had
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  Speaker 1: so much confidence in what we did and what I
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  Speaker 1: was capable of that I like felt so sure on
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  Speaker 1: that start line that like I was going to have
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  Speaker 1: a great.
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  Speaker 2: Day, and a great day you had with that two
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  Speaker 2: twenty two Yeah, yeah, making you the fastest American born
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  Speaker 2: black woman to ever run a marathon. Oh, I have
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: goosebump saying that out loud. It's just so exciting and
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: it's such a major accomplishment. Again, say the sentence yourself
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  Speaker 2: eight ten years ago. Wild Yeah. Yeah, you say that
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  Speaker 2: you don't do long runs often, I'm of the mindset also,
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  Speaker 2: or I'm of the understanding that for you, a long
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: run is over about.
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  Speaker 3: Sixteen miles, Yeah, like somewhere around there.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, So in your conventional marathon build up, you're saying
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: you're only going long long about three times. Yeah, what
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: a treat.
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: So if you're not going long run, then talk to
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: us about what training could look like for you.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: I would say it feels like ninety percent of the
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: time we're training to be the best like ten k
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  Speaker 1: runner or like half marathon runner, that we could be like.
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  Speaker 3: A lot of like k's a lot of.
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  Speaker 1: Miles, maybe two mile repeats, a lot of like six
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  Speaker 1: mile tempos, and like maybe an eight mile tempo here
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: or there, but like we really don't do a ton
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: of like the big marathon like volume throughout the build up.
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: For you, as you get deeper into a marathon build up,
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: obviously there's an inevitable amount of fatigue that occurs. Do
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: you believe that this approach helps you kind of level
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: set and navigate that fatigue a little bit better?
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: Yes, Because we are in peak training right now, and
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: this is like the heaviest week, Like I will have
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: like I did by far, my biggest workout a few
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: days ago, and then I have another really big session
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: on Sunday. So in the seven days or the six
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: days between those two sessions. I just do one set
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: of like we did ten four hundreds yesterday just to
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: shake out the legs, but like a lot of people
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: would do another workout somewhere in between that I wouldn't
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: really say those four hundreds are like supposed to be
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: a workout, because it's literally supposed to be like just
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: feel your legs again after all that volume. So it's
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: just really helped me like stay you know, healthy and
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: also like feel good about it because like I get
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: more out of my workouts when I'm like not dead
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: going into them.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, And there's.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: Like the belief that, oh, because like marathon training so heavy,
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: like you're just going to feel bad all the time.
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: And I feel like we've learned you don't have to
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: feel bad all the time.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, And it's actually like really productive when you feel
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: good most of the time.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: Mm hmmm.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: I'm just like really grateful that, Like Kurt noticed that
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: and also like listened and he was like, wow, like
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: you respond to all of these really better if we
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: just like give you extra rest. There was definitely a
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: period internally where like I feel like a little guilty
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: or like you start to like second guess, like ah,
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: like we're resting so much, like am I doing enough?
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: And then it's like I'm doing what I need to
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: do to like be the best version of myself? And
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: why would you change that?
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: Why would you change that? What I'm hearing you say
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: is that your superpower is knowing your boundaries. Would you agree?
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Do you think that that is the thing that helps
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: give you the edge when it comes to running in competition?
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: I think so.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: I think I've always been like pretty in tune with
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: my body, but like more like the older I get,
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: and like the more time I spend in this sport,
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: and especially like at this distance, Like being so intuitive
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: is so helpful when you're out there for two plus
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: hours on your own, Like your coach can't hold your
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: hand or bike next to you the whole time, Like
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: you don't always have like your best friend pacing you,
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  Speaker 1: Like there's going to be long stretches where it's just
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: you and you have to make a lot of decisions,
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: and like even out on your training runs, like if
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: you don't have, you know, a five man crew with you,
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: you have to make a lot of choices, and being
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: super in tune with yourself, you can make the best
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: choices and before every race. The last thing Kur always
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: leaves me with is like trust yourself. He's like, you
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: have great instincts, like just believe in them.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: Mm hmm. How did you get to a place where
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: you feel confident in being able to trust yourself? Do
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: you remember a time or an event that you finally
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: did and that kind of paved the way for where
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: we are now?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, Oh that's a good question. I mean probably back
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: in high.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: School, because I also notoriously didn't train a lot, even
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: though it was high school. So like not training a
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: lot in high school is like literally less than twenty
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: miles a week because I famously like didn't know what
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: like OEO meant on the schedule, which is on your own,
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: So I just didn't do a single run on my
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: own if I wasn't at practice, So I was missing
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: out on like a lot of miles.
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: But my coach just like threw me into like.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: A few like thirty two hundreds and a few miles
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: like my freshman year, since I had never done track before,
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: and I just like instantly like found my rhythm. Like
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: I went out, I knew how many laps I had
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: to run, and I just like found an effort and
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: like didn't fade and I was like, oh, like I
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: can do this. But I feel like I just like
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: had that feeling so early and even now, like when
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: I go out to do any sort of workout, Kurt
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: could be like run this pace and like would not
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: even looking at my watch. I'm like within a few
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: seconds of it. But that's just like muscle memory over time.
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: How did running make you feel then versus how does
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: running make it make you feel now?
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: The same?
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and that it like makes me feel really good
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: about myself.
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's fun.
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: Obviously like to win and like be in the front
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: and like be good at something. But there's just something
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: about having like a goal and like wanting your body
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: to do something and then it actually responding. Like for me,
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: that's like such a validating feeling because you're like, oh,
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: I want to go out and I want to run this,
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: and then you do it, and it's just this like
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: circle of like gratification because you're like I put in
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: the work, I wanted to do this, and oh my god,
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: I did it, and then like I get that experience
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: like every single time I go for a run.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's just like keeps you writing pretty high.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: Keeps you writing pretty high. And it's interesting because it's
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: not just about winning, right, Like it's this constant reminder
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: that you can do something that is challenging. Even on
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: the days where you don't feel like it goes as well,
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: or maybe the numbers are telling you that it's not
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: going as well, you still have this opportunity to reframe
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: and be like, yeah, but I did that for myself,
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: right Yeah.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: Like even like this morning, like I didn't feel great
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: because I like have some pretty heavy legs, but I
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: was like, my goal today is to run an hour
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: and to like feel warmed up by the end of it,
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: Like I just want to like not feel like creaky
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: and like I'm falling apart. Yeah, and like with that
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: is like my intention for my run. You know, by
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: the end of the hour, I'm like okay, like I'm
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: warmed up, I'm a little loose.
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: Like we did it. We did it, and that's my
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: win for the day.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: And you said that you thought that the five k
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: would be your thing, which also insinuates that you always
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: had this thought that you would run professionally.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: Yes, I would say maybe like sophomore junior year of college,
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: like when I won ACC's indoors for the three K
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: my junior year, and like I made outdoor nationals as
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: a sophomore. Once you start doing those things, you're like, oh,
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: like all the girls that do these things usually just
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: keep running. So like, I think it might be like
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: an option for.
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: Me, as an option if you were to think back
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: about what the other path could have been. What were
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: you gearing up to do outside of running?
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: For a while, I really thought I wanted to be
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: a therapist. I majored in psych. Like seventy five percent
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: of girls run cross country.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: Well, I did not know that this is a thing.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: I well, I might be making up the seventy five percent,
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: but at leased on my team when I was there,
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: it was like at least fifty percent of the cross
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: team at all times was majoring in psych.
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: That's so interesting. Yeah, I wonder what that parallel is.
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: Just like wanting to push the boundaries of your own performance,
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: so you're very interested in the mind.
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: I think part of it was really easy schedule fund.
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: You're like, absolutely not, there's no correligion.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: Those STEM girls had a real hard time when there's
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: only one section offered for their like you know, chemical engineering,
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: class at like seven am, and it's like, good luck
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: with that. It'sch It's like you have a lot more
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: flexibility in your schedule mm hmm.
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: But also a lot of us just like really gravitated
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: towards it.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: We really liked it, and you obviously like can learn
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: a lot of things that are helped full. But like
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: I thought of psych as like majoring in people, which
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: is like super fun and super enjoyable, and like you
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: can just learn a lot about like yourself, your teammates,
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: like everyone around you. I always felt bad for people
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: who like majored in things they didn't love because then
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: it's like, oh, you're not having a good time.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: Yes, you have teammates, But generally speaking, running is a
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: very individual sport. So for you did being part of
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: a team. Was that very helpful for you also as
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: an individual?
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure, because there is like you know, the
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: bonding of common suffering, like we're all going through this together,
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: we're all especially down in like Raleigh, North Carolina, those
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: like early preseason stuff in like August when it's ninety
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: degrees one hundred percent humidity.
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: Maybe we didn't do all of the.
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: Summer training we were supposed to do, and the coaches
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: are making us do a long tempo that no one
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: is ready for, Like at least we're in it together
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: and there's like a bond there that's like so Sea.
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: I recently talked to your teammate Susannah Sillivan, and we
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: were talking about how she feels like something that really
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: helps her when it comes to running is the fact
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: that her attention is divided that she is a teacher
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: and then she also is a professional runner. What do
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: you think helps you show up as your best self?
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: I feel like I'm really good at like being present.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: I guess I would say like my attention during the
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: day isn't necessarily divided because I don't have like another
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: career outside of running, So it does seem like that's
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: like the only thing I like do professionally, which like.
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: Technically it is.
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: But I'm really good at turning everything off, like when
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: I show up to run, when I'm out on my run,
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: I don't bring my phone when I am at practice,
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: like the second my workout starts, like that is the
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: only thing I'm thinking about.
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: M M.
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: And like people ask like, oh, like do you like
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: run with people? And I was like honestly prefer to
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: do a lot of easy runs alone because like that's
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: my like thinking time. That's when I'm like visualizing like
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: the race. That's when I'm visualizing like my next workout.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: Like I just think practicing you know what you're going
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: to think about, or like how you deal with things
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: during your runs is so helpful because it's like mental
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: muscle memory. Yeah, like oh, when I feel bad, where
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: does my headspace go? So I feel like I'm constantly
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: doing that.
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: That's so helpful and not just in the context of running.
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: This idea that Okay, if I think about what could
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: happen if I am in a place of resistance or
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: if maybe things aren't going as I would hope. If
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: you think that through, then maybe you'll be happier with
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: the way that you respond than if you haven't. Right
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: for you, how have you seen that skill set payoff
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: in the past? Can you give us an example?
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean during Houston at mile fifteen, we like
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: came through and like we were running great, we were
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: right on pace. I like felt amazing, and like both
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: of my hamstrings like seized up, and I was like,
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: what is happening? And yeah, like why would you do.
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: This second thought was like at least it's symmetrical. But
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: then it was like I still have eleven miles to go,
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: which is like so scary because you're like I'm running
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: so well and otherwise I feel so good. So that's
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: when I go to like, Okay, if Kurt was like
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: on the bike next to me, like what would he say,
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: Like what should I do right now? And it was like,
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: do all of those little things like stay tall, relax
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: your shoulders, like all of the little things you can
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: like practice that we've drilled in like over and over,
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: like saved me because I was just thinking about like
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: latching onto those things and not focusing on like, oh
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: my hamstrings don't feel very good. I was like no,
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: like your pace is good, your stride is good, like
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: stay tall, like all of those things over and over
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: and like I didn't break stride, I didn't slow down,
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: like my splits were super even.
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: And it was like, great, it's.
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: So impressive that you have the capacity to speak so
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: positively to yourself. And I'm sure that that's not something
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: that just clear over naim No, especially because it's human
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: nature to have more negative than positive thoughts. Yeah, when
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: you were younger. Did you have a climate of positive
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: thoughts within you or was this something that you've really
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: worked on over the years.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: I feel like it was a little bit of something
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: I always had, probably just like the like speed at
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: which I turn over thoughts is also super helpful because
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: it's not like I have only positive thoughts like trust me.
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: I'm also thinking like what am I doing here? I
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: feel horrible? This is horrible, Like you know, who wants
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: to do this? Why did I sign up for this?
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: And I think that often, but I like think that
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: and let it go versus like there were definitely periods
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: of time where you try to bury those feelings because
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: you're like embarrassed by them and you're like, I am
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: should be grateful, like I chose this, Like how dare
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: I think that? And like that is like the spiral
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: you don't want to go down. But like having that
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: initial like oh, I feel terrible is like okay, but
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: it's like what do you do after that? And I
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: think over the years, especially like with like marathon training
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: and like raising the marathon, like figuring out how to
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: respond to yourself when you're like, oh, I feel terrible
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: right now, It's like Okay, just get to the next
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: like half mile, run this pace for another two minutes,
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: focus on anything else, and just being able to redirect
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: was definitely something of like learned over.
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: The years, breaking it up into little doables. Yeah, yeah,
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: this is about running, it's not about running. That is
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: such a helpful tip. And I'm sure that there are
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: people that come to you on social media, maybe in
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: your DMS, and they're like, oh my god, right now,
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: it's one hundred degrees. We're just talking about the heat wave, right,
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: like it's one hundred degrees. How do you do this?
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: And they're in this negative thought spiral. Perhaps, what do
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: you say to someone who comes to you in that.
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: Spiral, especially if it's in the heat.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: That's tough because like there's nothing you can do about it,
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: but just like give yourself a little grace, like it's
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: hot for everyone, which is always the first thing you
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: think during like the race, when there's like terrible conditions.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: It's like we are all feeling how warm it is,
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: like we are not the only people on the planet
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: right now that are like feeling this heat. But also
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: like it's okay to slow down, It's okay, like just
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: being able to let go of like the watch in
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: like those splits, and we did that, especially during those
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: heat advisories, and we were still running just as fast
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: as we wanted to. But taking away that stress of
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: having to like run your PB splits or like run
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: a PB when it's one hundred degrees is like very freeing.
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, how did it feel for you going back to
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: your performance in Houston? I know, after you ran that
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: to twenty two, not that there weren't eyes on you before,
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: but then all of a sudden, it was like you
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: were going slowly up the mountain and then you like
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: found the express track right, and so a lot of
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: eyes on you, a lot of conversations are had. How
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: did that influx of attention make you feel?
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: I would say it was yeah, because I always thought
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: I was like that good, and so it's like a
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: very like funny experience when like you think you're that good,
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: and like the people closest to me think I'm that good,
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: but like it's not like everyone else really had reason
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: to It's not like there was anyone doubting me, but
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: like there's also nothing on paper for them to be like.
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: No, no, no, Like she's really really good.
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: Validating again to just like have that performance that anybody
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: could look at and be like, oh no, like she
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: actually is like pretty good.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: At this mm hmm. Any negatives come with that.
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: Not yet.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: I've both like been lucky but also like curated a
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: very nice bubble for myself and it's just been like
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: an influx of like very very positive attention.
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, which is I feel as though partly because that
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: is the way that you model for everyone else, Like
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: you teach people how to treat you right, And so
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: that doesn't mean that there aren't going to be the
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: sporadic people that infiltrate the bubble and like have nasty
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: things to say, but generally speak like you're met with
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: the energy that you put into the world. So if
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: you're coming into their world with all of this positivity
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: and like good vibes and like, that's exactly what's going
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: to come back through your door. Yeah, which is helpful,
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: very it's helpful when you're working, you're about off prepping
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: for such a major moment like you are now. I
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: want to talk a little bit about your support system.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: Talk to me about who's in the squad.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: My number one fan would probably be my boyfriend, Yeah,
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: and he just recently moved back. He's in the army.
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: He was stationed overseas for the last three plus years.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: He's back stateside, So that's been huge, especially like my
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: Houston build happened overlap with like obviously like Christmas and stuff,
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: so he was able to be home and like be
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: around for those like peak weeks, which is what I'm
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: in right now, and like thankfully he's back again. Because
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: you're just so physically and emotionally drained, it like cannot
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: be understated, like how nice it is to just like
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: come home and have someone like do things for you
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: or just like look out for you because you're like
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: completely wiped, like mentally and emotionally.
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: You're like I'm forgetting things.
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: I'm so hungry, but like I don't want to get
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: up and make food, Like I don't want to go
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: fill up my water bottle like I'm dead. But like
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: just having someone there as like your comfort that like
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: is also willing to like do whatever you need in
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: those like two.
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: Weeks is unbelievable.
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: Mm hmmm.
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: It's like a huge difference.
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: It makes a massive difference. And I also feel like
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: you must communicate that that's important to you because if
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: you don't, then you can't just expect someone to like
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: pick up the slack or do something. Yeah, you would
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: hope that maybe they would understand, right, but you need
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: to be like, hey, it would really help me if
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: you would do this at least once, so then they
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: can understand that that's something that would be helpful in
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: the future. Yeah, this is me talking to myself and
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: reminding myself that from my future partner, Like, you can't
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: expect him just to know Emily.
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: Right, But it's also like totally okay to ask, like
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: ask if you need something, like if you're like I
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: feel horrible right now, Like it would be really helpful
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: if you did this, Like that's perfectly okay to say.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: And it's also like you get information then about how
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: that person reacts when you ask something of them in
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: this moment. It's like, hey, can we be a team together?
• 27:06
  Speaker 3: Right?
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: How does this function? Right? And you need that? Okay,
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: So boyfriend, big part of the squad.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, my whole like Rhode Island Track Club, which is
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: who I usually like meet to run with a few
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: days a week. That's a group that Kurt coaches in Providence.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: So obviously, like Kurt is like a huge part of it. Yeah,
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: he's like in charge of everything, and he's just been
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: really great the last couple of years. Like there was
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: like a long stretch earlier my professional career where there's
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: like literally a running bit where it's like the coach
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: doesn't care how Erica feels, because like he would ask
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: and then like nothing would change. Like I could be like, oh,
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: like this really hurts or I feel horrible or this
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: or that, or like I feel under the weather, and
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: he's like, oh, we'll just okay, just like do whatever anyways,
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: and like there would be no adjustment. It like didn't
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: really feel like he was like listening, and it was
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: like really weird. And Kurt's like the polar opposite of that,
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: where like he when he checks, he like actually means it.
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: And it's just been like insane how impactful it is
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: when your coach just like listens to you, because at
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: first you're like, am I being crazy? And it's like no,
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: like if you're not supposed to feel like this or
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: if that's not supposed to feel like that, then like
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: it's okay to adjust. And like right before we started
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: like the build for Tokyo earlier in the summer. I
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: was just like really like overwhelmed by like how much
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: time we had this was like twelve fourteen weeks out
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: because the thought of a long build like terrifies me,
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: and I was spiraling.
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: So I like went to Kurt and was like, how
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: much are we going to do? Like how long is
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: the build going to be?
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: Like I'm like literally losing sleep because I'm like so
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: stressed about this, and he was like, first off, relax,
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: but also like I never want you to feel like
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: you are not in control of this, Like we can
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: always adjust, we can always move things around if it's
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: too much, like we will change things. Like don't ever
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: feel like you don't have any say, like you don't
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: have any power, Like we are going to do what's
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: going to make you feel the best. And I was like,
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: oh okay, and it just like was such a weight
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: off my shoulders.
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: Did we pivot from a fourteen week build? Oh yeah?
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: Which shortened that real quick, right yeah? And that's like
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: so interesting. A it's really beautiful to hear that he
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: really listens to you and values your feedback. I think
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: that's a really important aspect within a coach an athlete
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: relationship and I think that a lot of individuals also
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: struggle with, well, this person. I work with this person
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: because they know what's best for me, assuming that what's
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: best for you might not feel the best for you.
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: And so to be in this place where they can
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: meld together, it feels really special.
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah, because like that's why you have a coach, because like,
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: if I knew what the best training was for myself,
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: I would just do it myself.
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: But like I obviously have no idea. Yeah, so I
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: have a coach.
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: But then you like feel guilty going to your coach
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: to like talk about potential because you're like, well, this
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: is their plan, and like if I want to like
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: have the results, I need to like follow their plan.
• 30:05
  Speaker 3: And that's you know, I've.
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: Been in coaching situations before where it was like my
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: way or the highway, and you're like there is no
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: room to adjust, there's no getting off this highway, and
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: it's like you just feel very like boxed in and
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: it's like a little scary, and just like it's even
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: when it's like working, it still doesn't quite feel like right.
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: But it's not even like we deviate from like Kurt's plan.
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: Often it's just knowing that like, if we have to
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: make a turn, it's okay. That was like so incredible.
• 30:39
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  Speaker 2: beach days, or workouts can drain your electrolytes. I don't
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: know about you guys, but I am prone to headaches
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: in the summer, especially when I'm going after my active goals.
• 32:42
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• 33:16
  Speaker 2: With that, let's get back to it mentally. Also, I
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: can't imagine that that approach makes you feel good and
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: correct me if I'm wrong, But I would assume there's
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: got to be a certain amount of mental stress that
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: also came with the fact that your partner was overseas
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: for a better part of the last three years.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that six hour time difference is really
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: inconvenient when you're like coming home.
• 33:45
  Speaker 3: From like a bad workout, or just like a day
• 33:47
  Speaker 3: where it's just.
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: Like all kind of coming down on you, or like
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: you're a few days out from like your biggest race
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: of the year and you're like, I just want to
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: talk to them, and it's like three am their time,
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: and they're asleep, and you're like, I guess I'll wait
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: till tomorrow, which like does not feel good.
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: Now that he's back in New York, it sounds like
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: you guys are gonna have the opportunity to spend a
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: lot more time together.
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's actually been like the first time he came
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: to visit after we moved back was a little unsettling
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: for me because he just texted me. No, he called
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: me like out of the blue, because I thought he
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: was like busy, like doing homework or something. And he
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: called me and was like, I'll be there in three hours.
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: And I was like, what do you mean you'll be
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: here in three hours? Because like we're only a few
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: hours apart now, so you can just come over like
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: literally whenever. And I was like wow. Normally, be like
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: an international flight, we'd have to plan it like a
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: couple months in advance. And I'm like, that's so nice
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: that we can just be like, oh, do you want
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: to do something tomorrow and just like make it happen.
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: But what also a really great instance of reframing because
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: some people might hear a three hour difference and they're like, oh,
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: they're so far away, and you hear a three hour
• 34:50
  Speaker 2: difference and you're like, wow, what an opportunity, Like we're
• 34:52
  Speaker 2: so close now, this is so awesome. Yeah.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah, after the intercontinental relationship, we were just like, please
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: be in the same time, Like I can't do the
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: six hour times in anymore.
• 35:03
  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh. Well, looking forward right now,
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: when we think about Tokyo, what would you say that
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: success would look like for you? There?
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: Oh that's a good one. We all still think about
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: World Championships. In twenty two in Eugene, team USA Women
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: three in the top ten. I like wholeheartedly think we
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: can obviously do that again, but potentially even better. I
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: think we have a really special team and it's like
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: very exciting. So I think, like, obviously shooting for top ten,
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: but you know, you're shooting for the stars.
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: A big through line has been for me in recent
• 35:39
  Speaker 2: years is this understanding that if I'm not willing to
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: speak it into existence, then I don't get anything that
• 35:46
  Speaker 2: I'm not willing to say if I want a dream
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: job with someone, or if I want to feel a
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: certain way, if I'm not willing to say this is
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: what I want, then I'm not I don't deserve it.
• 35:59
  Speaker 2: And so I believe that it's so cool to now
• 36:04
  Speaker 2: see you in this position where you never really aspired
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: to necessarily maybe get that to twenty two or or
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: garnered the titles that came with it, right, but then
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: you did, and that taught you to aim big.
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: Mm hm.
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: So now when I ask you again, what could success
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: look like for you in Tokyo? What does it look like?
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: And it could be winning? Yeah, I mean obviously, like
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: you always want to win. That'd be sick, you know.
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: I would settle for metal and then like obviously shooting for.
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: Top ten, shooting for top ten. How do you want
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: to feel?
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: I want to feel, honestly, I want to feel like
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: empty at the end. Yeah, Like I want to feel
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: like I did everything I possibly could and like finish
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: on eat in Tokyo.
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: And practically what does that involve? Would you say?
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: I think it's a mental thing, just because there's like
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: different types of runners. I actually talked about this with
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: Nalohas a few years ago, and we were dying because
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: we were like we're not like grindy people.
• 37:00
  Speaker 3: Like there's some people.
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: Are really gritty and like they can like be in
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: that pain cave forever and it's like so impressive and
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: like so inspiring. But like none of my best performances
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: have come when I'm like in the pain cave. They've
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: come when like I'm in like this like amazing flow
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: state and like everything almost feels like easy, and it's
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: like I was meant to do this and like everything's
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: going my way. So I feel like the last few
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: years have been figuring out how to like almost force
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: myself into that state and like finding it. So if
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: I can find that in Tokyo and just like give
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: it my all there, I will be so stoked.
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: What do you think the most challenging aspect of this
• 37:42
  Speaker 2: being in Tokyo is for you?
• 37:45
  Speaker 3: Probably the weather.
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: Obviously the travel is going to be like a bit
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: rough on the body because it's all the way across
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: the world. But I usually get really excited about like
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: new locations. I do better on courses I haven't seen,
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: so like all of those things are good for me.
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: It's not particularly hilly. I don't think I'm like good
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: or bad on hilly courses, but like Houston wasn't very hilly,
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: So like I'm not mad that Tokyo.
• 38:09
  Speaker 3: Is not gonna be like Boston.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: It's gonna be tough because when it's like that humid
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: and that hot, you just have to fuel a lot
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: more than you normally would, and that's like my least
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: favorite thing. So just getting comfortable with like how uncomfortable
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: that's gonna feel.
• 38:25
  Speaker 2: As we speak about things that could be difficult, what
• 38:27
  Speaker 2: would you say has been the most difficult part for
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: you within your running career thus far?
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: Ironically probably my marathon debut, just because I had such
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: high hopes for it, but like I was also coming
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: off this three month period of like major life changes
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: and like a lot of stress and like switch brands,
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: switch coaches, and leading up to that, I was like
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: having a horrible time. So and then I was like, oh,
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: don't forget, you have to like debut in the marathon,
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: And then I had such high hopes for it, like
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: everyone else had such high hopes for it, and then
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: get hit with food poisoning like a week out, and
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: it was like what is happening? Like why am I
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: being tested like this? Like this was supposed to be
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: this incredible debut. Nothing's really going my way and I
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: don't feel very good.
• 39:13
  Speaker 3: My life is in shambles.
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: I'm like putting it back together, but still like it
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: was coming off a very rough stretch of just like life.
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: And then I obviously, like I finished Boston, and then
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: I get the news that like I broke the record
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: for being like the fastest US born Black woman and
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: then it turned into this like beautiful, like historical moment,
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: and like all of these people lifted me up and
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: we're like, we are so proud of you, we see you.
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: And I was like, oh, so it was like this
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: like awful personal moment leading into the race, and I
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: thought I had like missed the mark by a mile,
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: and then it still ended up being like one of
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: the most memorable days of my career that like showed
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: me how much I could do in the marathon.
• 39:53
  Speaker 2: Can we talk a little bit more about why it
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: was so hard for you?
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: That was April of twenty twenty three, and starting in
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: like three four months before that, so like October November
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: of twenty two, I was just like essentially being coached
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: by myself because my coach at the time had like
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: stopped speaking to me because we like had a bit
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: of a falling out. We like just didn't see eye
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: to eye on like quite a few things, and I
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: had like declined my offer to renew because I didn't
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: want to like work with them anymore. And it was
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: just like deeply unpleasant and like very stressful. But then
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: my contract didn't run out until like the end of December,
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: so It's not like I can like get a new
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: coach or get a new brand. So then there's this
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: like awkward, like two month period where I'm like just
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: on my own. And it's also winter in Boston, which
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: is like gray and windy and wet, and also I
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: have to run a marathon, which I've never done before,
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: and I had been training with people who were running
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: a three k indoors, so I just.
• 40:57
  Speaker 3: Like felt wildly unprepared.
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: And I'll so like just like alone out at sea
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: on like not even a life raft, just like a
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: piece of driftwood.
• 41:06
  Speaker 3: And I was like, am I could feel okay?
• 41:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, completely understandable. Right, It's so many changes all at once,
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: and you're just like hoping for the best but feeling
• 41:15
  Speaker 2: so isolated. Yeah, in that experience for you, on the
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: days that you don't feel so shiny or like I've
• 41:23
  Speaker 2: got this, how do you help yourself? What do you
• 41:28
  Speaker 2: do for yourself when it feels like I have no
• 41:32
  Speaker 2: control over what's going on here?
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: Little things like I just I will do like all
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: of my like favorite little things like at home, so
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: like I will make like one of my favorite dinners.
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: I will like make myself my favorite latte. I will
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: like walk through my favorite part of the park, I
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: will sit by my favorite part of the river, just
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: like those little gems that remind you that like life
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: isn't horrible and like the world doesn't completely suck, Like
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: you just need like a moment of happiness to kind
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: of like get you out of that funk.
• 42:02
  Speaker 2: Oftentimes we get into this spiral where like one thing
• 42:05
  Speaker 2: goes wrong and then we truly feel like the entire
• 42:07
  Speaker 2: world is out to get us. Right. Oh yeah, you're like, yes,
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: I know. I was just saying this to a friend
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: yesterday when she texted me something positive. I was like,
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna save this for the next time that you spiral,
• 42:16
  Speaker 2: Like we have this good moment and we can reflect
• 42:18
  Speaker 2: on that. And that is truly why for me, when
• 42:22
  Speaker 2: I feel like the world is out to get me,
• 42:23
  Speaker 2: that journaling is so helpful because then I have that
• 42:26
  Speaker 2: opportunity to look back at the good moments too. Yeah,
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: oh my god, because when it feels like the world
• 42:32
  Speaker 2: is falling out from under you.
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I am like pretty superstitious. Oh I think to
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: like an unhealthy degree, but I do like believe. And
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: it's so funny because my belief is like very like
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: conditional if it like serves.
• 42:48
  Speaker 2: Me or not.
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: But I'm like, oh, bad things happen in threes, which
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: is good and bad because like when something bad happens,
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: like oh my god, I woke up and spilled my coffee,
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: I'm like waiting for the next like two things to happen,
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: so I move on. But then there's some days where
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: like three little bad things will happen at once, and
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: I'm like I'm set, like I'm good to go, Like
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: all the bad things have happened, They've gotten themselves out
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: of the way, and we are.
• 43:10
  Speaker 2: Like we're good. Have you found it to be true
• 43:14
  Speaker 2: that it's always in threes?
• 43:16
  Speaker 3: I just stopped counting. Okay, That's what I mean by
• 43:19
  Speaker 3: it's like very conditional.
• 43:20
  Speaker 2: In life coaching, I'm a certified professional coach that you can,
• 43:23
  Speaker 2: like it do a life coach, And so we always
• 43:25
  Speaker 2: ask you like questions like do you have proof for
• 43:27
  Speaker 2: this thought that you have?
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: Right?
• 43:28
  Speaker 2: So, like you're like, well, it happens in threes, and
• 43:30
  Speaker 2: I'm like, well, does it always happen in threes? Are
• 43:32
  Speaker 2: there days where just one bad thing happens? Have you
• 43:34
  Speaker 2: ever noticed that? Yes? Okay, I don't want there to
• 43:37
  Speaker 2: be three bad things that happened to you every time
• 43:39
  Speaker 2: a bad thing happens to you.
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: Well, I also like, will count really minor inconveniences as
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: like a bad thing just to like move.
• 43:45
  Speaker 2: On, oh, to graduate from it? Yeah, because it's like.
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: Oh, like one bad thing happened, and then it's like
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: two not bad things, but like slightly inconvenient things happen.
• 43:53
  Speaker 3: But it's like, oh, my three are done.
• 43:55
  Speaker 2: Does this happen with good things too? In threes, good
• 43:58
  Speaker 2: things are unlimited? Oh okay, yeah, that's much better. Yeah,
• 44:01
  Speaker 2: when you take a look right now at your journey
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: and what you have going on, what would you say
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: powers you curiosity?
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: I will not rest and I will not retire or
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: like feel good until I know how far I could go.
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: That is, you know, the wood like stoking my fires,
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: just like we're not done yet. I don't feel like
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: we're anywhere close to done yet. So it just makes
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: it easy to get up and be like how much
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: further are we going to go with this thing?
• 44:27
  Speaker 2: What kind of aspirations do you have? How far do
• 44:29
  Speaker 2: you want to take it?
• 44:31
  Speaker 3: And you want to take it all the way?
• 44:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah? I mean, well, I mean, what's all the way
• 44:34
  Speaker 2: to you?
• 44:35
  Speaker 3: Olympic gold.
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: I mean, Joe Minoy is like waiting for another American
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: woman to like when she's so sweet and she did it.
• 44:42
  Speaker 3: She inspired all of us. You know, Lims Around the
• 44:45
  Speaker 3: corner again.
• 44:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, now around the corner again La twenty eight. It's
• 44:49
  Speaker 2: going to be here before we know it. But again, Tokyo,
• 44:51
  Speaker 2: the first step in that journey. When you are thinking
• 44:55
  Speaker 2: about the prep for this race, beyond the physical, what
• 44:59
  Speaker 2: would you say our integral components to your training, Things
• 45:03
  Speaker 2: that you do week after week that help you show
• 45:05
  Speaker 2: up your best day in and day out.
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: One thing we've done this past year is like I
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: don't love to get any sort of like body work done,
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: regardless of if I need it, and I for sure do,
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: I just like I don't like it. I feel like
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: a little off, like the next day because like you
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: get used to like how much tension is in your body,
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: and I know it's not good for you, but it's
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: also like what I'm used to, So like when you
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: take away that tension, I feel like a noodle, Like
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: I feel weird. I don't feel like snappy and strong.
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: But Kurt convinced me to see someone more regularly, and
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: that's definitely helped me like stay on top of my game.
• 45:43
  Speaker 2: I'm like just sitting here and I'm like, if I
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: was a professional and like this was like somehow a
• 45:47
  Speaker 2: part of what I did, and someone would like help
• 45:49
  Speaker 2: fund the fact that someone could help, yeah, make my
• 45:52
  Speaker 2: body feel better regularly. And You're like, I don't know
• 45:55
  Speaker 2: if I really.
• 45:55
  Speaker 3: Like it, Like, do I have a budget for it? Yes?
• 45:57
  Speaker 3: Do I like utilize it as much as I said,
• 46:01
  Speaker 3: more so now than ever before.
• 46:03
  Speaker 2: Okay, but not just bodywork as a part of that
• 46:05
  Speaker 2: recovery equation. Yeah, what else is in the routine?
• 46:08
  Speaker 3: Always working on the sleep routine? You can always do
• 46:11
  Speaker 3: betterm hmm.
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: Just like I've always found sleep to be so boring.
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: It just feels like such a waste of time.
• 46:19
  Speaker 2: Erica, I love sleep. It's like my favorite thing in
• 46:22
  Speaker 2: the world.
• 46:23
  Speaker 3: I want you to need to be like that.
• 46:25
  Speaker 2: Oh my god, So what does your sleep look like?
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: I mean, I do my best to get my like
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: eight hours, but it's just like why because you can't
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: do anything when you're sleeping. So I find it really
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: hard to like shut down everything. But I don't have
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: trouble like falling asleep, I'm going to sleep within like
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: ten fifteen minutes of like hitting a pillow. But I
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: don't like stay asleep super long, Like I'll stay asleep
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: seven hours, I'd say probably average seven. I should ever tire,
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: but it's fine. But then I wake up and I'm
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: like sweet, like I'm awake, I can like do stuff again.
• 46:58
  Speaker 2: It's so funny because you know what's happening for you
• 47:00
  Speaker 2: during your sleep is that your body is recovering, and
• 47:03
  Speaker 2: then that recovery helps you be a better runner.
• 47:06
  Speaker 3: No, it's crazy if I like actually get like nine
• 47:09
  Speaker 3: and a half. Yeah, I'm like, I feel like a
• 47:10
  Speaker 3: new person. See, wow, I should do this everything.
• 47:13
  Speaker 2: So what I'm hearing you say is that you've experienced
• 47:15
  Speaker 2: and felt the benefits of a good night's rest before,
• 47:17
  Speaker 2: but it still doesn't make you feel fulfilled.
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: So we'd rather be up and doing things. Really, I'm
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: just not sold. I mean, there is so much evidence
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: that I've personally experienced as to the benefits of sleep
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: I'm working on.
• 47:32
  Speaker 2: I really find it impressive that you being a realist
• 47:35
  Speaker 2: to yourself is just being like, this is how it
• 47:37
  Speaker 2: is now, and by accepting that I can kind of
• 47:40
  Speaker 2: move forward, knowing that oftentimes on the show, I talk
• 47:45
  Speaker 2: to people about what I call I AM statements, and
• 47:47
  Speaker 2: those are like factual statements of things that we know
• 47:49
  Speaker 2: to be true in the same vein. So when I'm
• 47:51
  Speaker 2: feeling stressed or anxious, I will go through a list
• 47:54
  Speaker 2: of I AM statements, and those help me move forward
• 47:58
  Speaker 2: despite whatever anxiety that I might be feeling. So right now,
• 48:03
  Speaker 2: if I was to get on stage in front of
• 48:04
  Speaker 2: a bunch of people, maybe my I AM statements would
• 48:07
  Speaker 2: be I am good at my job. I am a
• 48:11
  Speaker 2: veteran journalist. I speak well in front of other people.
• 48:14
  Speaker 2: When you think of your I AM statements going into Tokyo,
• 48:18
  Speaker 2: if you were feeling a little bit anxious, what would
• 48:21
  Speaker 2: your I AM statements be to help you show up
• 48:24
  Speaker 2: on the starting line as your best self?
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: Oh, I mean my number one that I always tell myself,
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: And I used to say I out loud a lot
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: more with my old team, but I always just tell myself.
• 48:35
  Speaker 2: I'm really good at running. I'm really good at running.
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: Which like sounds silly, but it's like so important to
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: remember that while you're doing that thing, that like, I'm
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: actually really good at this. Even if like I feel
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: really bad right now, I'm still good at this. So
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: that's always like my number one. I would say, I
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: am resilient, and that doesn't just come from like me,
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: It comes from like other people through out like my
• 49:00
  Speaker 1: career have like said that about me. So there's like
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: a piece of me that's like I can't not be
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: resilient right now. I am like known for this thing,
• 49:08
  Speaker 1: Like I can't give up this quality. That would be
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: like so helpful in this moment and just reminding yourself that,
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: like you're.
• 49:13
  Speaker 3: Capable of being resilient, yeah, and not just like crumbling.
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: And then like I'm a competitor in anything, so like
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: if I am in the race, like I am competing,
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: I'm not just like a body out here with a
• 49:30
  Speaker 1: bib going for a job, Like I am a competitor.
• 49:33
  Speaker 3: This is a competition.
• 49:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I always tell myself, and I know it's so lame.
• 49:37
  Speaker 2: And then Kim Kardashian said it like I didn't come
• 49:39
  Speaker 2: this far to only come this far, right, And so
• 49:42
  Speaker 2: whatever I did something with that she did, I mean
• 49:44
  Speaker 2: she did something with that, and now, but now everybody,
• 49:46
  Speaker 2: I was saying that to myself before Kim Kardashian said
• 49:48
  Speaker 2: it out loud, and so I always laugh now when
• 49:51
  Speaker 2: I say it to myself. But it's like a reminder, right,
• 49:53
  Speaker 2: like you didn't put in all of the work just
• 49:55
  Speaker 2: to show up and not show up for yourself, And
• 49:59
  Speaker 2: so I can really relate to what you're saying here.
• 50:01
  Speaker 2: It's like, no, like this is how it is now.
• 50:03
  Speaker 2: I am a competitor and I'm here to compete. So
• 50:07
  Speaker 2: when someone comes to your Instagram page, they see this
• 50:10
  Speaker 2: professional runner. If they know anything about your history, they
• 50:13
  Speaker 2: know your accomplishments. But when you look in the mirror,
• 50:17
  Speaker 2: what is it that you see looking back at you?
• 50:20
  Speaker 3: Oh? Varies wildly.
• 50:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 50:22
  Speaker 3: Day to day? How did I sleep less night?
• 50:26
  Speaker 2: Sub seven hours? More than seven hours?
• 50:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say, I just like I see someone
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: like I'm proud of, Like I'm like proud of the
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: athlete like I see in the mirror every day that's
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: like getting ready to like go out for her run
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: and like following her routines because you don't always wake
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: up with like the same motivation or like the same energy.
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: But when I like see that person in the mirror,
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: I'm like, no matter what she's going to put her
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: shoes on, she's going to do her hair, she's going
• 50:55
  Speaker 1: to put her hat on, and she's going to like
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: get the miles in.
• 50:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's interesting that you said I see an athlete, which, yes,
• 51:03
  Speaker 2: you are an athlete. But when you look in the mirror,
• 51:06
  Speaker 2: do you always start with like that GUIs of who
• 51:08
  Speaker 2: you are?
• 51:09
  Speaker 3: I think so.
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, And that's probably a lot to do with just
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: because it's like the first thing I do, Like that's
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: how I start my day. Is like running is literally
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: the first third of my day. It's not like I
• 51:20
  Speaker 1: can like take off my running stuff and like be
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: just Erica for like a few hours. Like she doesn't
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: wake up until like nuone. Erica the athlete is up
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: at like five point thirty, but like Erica the person
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: doesn't show up until like afternoon.
• 51:33
  Speaker 2: What about Erica the person makes you proud?
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: That's a good question. Wow, I don't think about that
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: a lot. Yeah, she exists for sure.
• 51:43
  Speaker 2: Right now it's harder to think about her than usual.
• 51:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, she's really good at reading.
• 51:47
  Speaker 2: What does she like to read?
• 51:48
  Speaker 3: Variety?
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: Like love good historical fiction, the romanticy books are super fun,
• 51:53
  Speaker 1: but also love a good nonfiction.
• 51:55
  Speaker 3: Variety is a spice of.
• 51:56
  Speaker 2: Life, varieties, a space of life.
• 51:57
  Speaker 3: You love everything?
• 51:58
  Speaker 2: Okay, what about regular Erica makes you.
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: How present she is like the same as it's super
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: similar to like Eric the athlete, but like Eric and
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: the person's just like here for a good time, whatever
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: I'm doing, wherever I am in the world. Just being
• 52:12
  Speaker 1: able to like fully embrace those moments or like the
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: people around you, like I am so so content to
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: just like look at a good tree. It could be
• 52:24
  Speaker 1: the highlight of my week, or like a really like
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: cool bird, or like what.
• 52:29
  Speaker 2: Makes a good tree? Is it fuller?
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: Oh? It depends, just like tell me, yeah, I mean
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: I would say definitely, Like the leaves are probably the
• 52:38
  Speaker 1: first thing you notice, but even like out of season,
• 52:41
  Speaker 1: like the size of them, the shape of them, how
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: the branches twist. But like I don't know, sometimes you
• 52:46
  Speaker 1: just like walk by a good tree and you're like
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: that that's nice. That's a nice Yeah. But just like
• 52:50
  Speaker 1: being able to like find beauty and like joy and
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: like very like nondescript things like I could just like
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: you know, get a good rock.
• 53:03
  Speaker 2: I'm losing it.
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: It doesn't take much to make Eric of the person happy,
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: and like I love that about her, like it's not like,
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: oh I like need this, this, this, and this.
• 53:13
  Speaker 3: It's like even on like a rainy day, like there's
• 53:16
  Speaker 3: something out.
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: There that's like not super expensive, not super like intricate,
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: there's like something that will like make me happy.
• 53:23
  Speaker 3: I love that.
• 53:25
  Speaker 2: I love that for you too. Yeah, that is something
• 53:27
  Speaker 2: that sometimes takes work. That's an attitude or a viewpoint
• 53:32
  Speaker 2: that takes work to get to. Often I have felt
• 53:35
  Speaker 2: in my life, at least up until like the last
• 53:38
  Speaker 2: few years, that there were more things than that I
• 53:41
  Speaker 2: needed than I actually do. And I co sign that
• 53:45
  Speaker 2: getting to a place where I understand what it's like
• 53:47
  Speaker 2: to be present has really helped with that, because there
• 53:51
  Speaker 2: can be so much joy in these small moments, but
• 53:54
  Speaker 2: you have to have an understanding of that and then
• 53:57
  Speaker 2: open yourself up to the fact that there can be
• 54:00
  Speaker 2: just so much goodness in a really beautiful tree also
• 54:02
  Speaker 2: spoken like such a new Englander. We do have really
• 54:06
  Speaker 2: good treating, really good treats.
• 54:08
  Speaker 3: It falls right around the corner.
• 54:09
  Speaker 2: Oh my god, don't bring me this joy. I think
• 54:12
  Speaker 2: when we get back from Tokyo, it's going to be
• 54:14
  Speaker 2: like Chef's kits that's going to be so good chef's
• 54:17
  Speaker 2: kiss here. Yeah, you talked about the challenges that came
• 54:19
  Speaker 2: hand in hand before showing that starting line in Boston
• 54:22
  Speaker 2: for your marathon debut. Obviously a very different climate surrounding
• 54:26
  Speaker 2: you right now as a Brooks athlete and working with Kurt.
• 54:30
  Speaker 2: What has it meant for you to be a Brooks
• 54:33
  Speaker 2: athlete in this build up at such an important time
• 54:36
  Speaker 2: of your career.
• 54:37
  Speaker 1: I feel really safe because there's no fear that like
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: if I have a bad day, I'm going to get
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: dropped or like they're going to think less of me.
• 54:47
  Speaker 1: And additionally, like the team that Brooks has been able
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: to like put together over the last few years, just
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: the energy on this roster has been absolutely incredible and
• 54:56
  Speaker 1: it's just like so contagious. When Susannah ran and should
• 55:00
  Speaker 1: we were all like freaking out, And then I ran
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: in Houston and everyone was so excited for me. And
• 55:05
  Speaker 1: then Jess crushed Boston and we were so excited for her,
• 55:08
  Speaker 1: And like, the group chats have been incredible, Like the
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: energy at like headquarters have been incredible, and you're just
• 55:14
  Speaker 1: like you're not afraid to really go for it because
• 55:17
  Speaker 1: you know they will catch you if you fall. Yeah,
• 55:19
  Speaker 1: so like that's what it's been like to be a
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: Brooks athlete is you're like, I can shoot as high
• 55:23
  Speaker 1: as I want to because I know like they'll still
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: be behind me if I miss, But also like that's
• 55:28
  Speaker 1: the only way you're going to get to the top
• 55:30
  Speaker 1: is if you really go for it.
• 55:31
  Speaker 2: It's so cool now to see the three of you
• 55:34
  Speaker 2: gearing up. Where were you when you got the news
• 55:36
  Speaker 2: that Jess was going to be coming into the mix
• 55:39
  Speaker 2: for Betsy.
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: That's really funny. I think I was home when I
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: like literally saw this statement. Yeah, but like a couple
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: months before that, there had been like rumblings, but there
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: was like obviously nothing public to like believe in it.
• 55:52
  Speaker 1: But Alophine, another Brooks athlete, was in our group chats
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: like consistently like guys, it's going to be an all
• 55:58
  Speaker 1: Brooks team, Like this is incredible, and we're like, Alophine,
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: there is no reason for you to say this.
• 56:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, don't hype us up.
• 56:03
  Speaker 3: Like yeah.
• 56:04
  Speaker 1: There was like this six week period of us being like, oh,
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: would be nice, and then when we all like saw
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: the posts, I like texted Jess immediately, even though it
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: was like I checked the time because she's in Phoenix
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: and I was like, ooh, it's like five am her time.
• 56:18
  Speaker 3: And then I was like, but it's hot, so I.
• 56:20
  Speaker 2: Think she's awake, she's got to get out.
• 56:23
  Speaker 3: She was like up before five am, and I was like, oh,
• 56:25
  Speaker 3: I love this.
• 56:25
  Speaker 2: Oh my god. Who's most active in the group chat?
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: I would say the one with like me, just and Susannah,
• 56:31
  Speaker 1: Like Jess and I are probably like equally as active,
• 56:33
  Speaker 1: but it's because Susannah.
• 56:34
  Speaker 3: I don't think it's on her phone pots.
• 56:38
  Speaker 2: You're the one. She's just the one that's liking everything. Yeah, like,
• 56:41
  Speaker 2: oh this looks good.
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: Like between the three of us, I am the one
• 56:43
  Speaker 1: that's like on TikTok ninety percent of the day while
• 56:46
  Speaker 1: they're at work.
• 56:47
  Speaker 2: Oh my god.
• 56:48
  Speaker 3: Well again, someone has to hold down the fort.
• 56:50
  Speaker 2: That's what I'm saying exactly right now, you have an
• 56:53
  Speaker 2: opportunity to offer yourself a piece of advice. Let's go
• 56:55
  Speaker 2: back to that difficult Boston build up. Knowing what you
• 56:57
  Speaker 2: know now, going through that hurdle moment, what would you
• 57:01
  Speaker 2: tell yourself?
• 57:02
  Speaker 1: I think I would tell myself to just like not
• 57:04
  Speaker 1: panic quite as much, because when you know, I towed
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: the line like not feeling one hundred percent, like the
• 57:11
  Speaker 1: whole thing was so scary, and like it's okay when
• 57:14
  Speaker 1: things are really scary. I mean, Houston was scary, but
• 57:16
  Speaker 1: I was much better prepared for it. But I also
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: was like much better equipped to like handle that panic
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: instead just being like, oh no, like it's not going perfectly,
• 57:26
  Speaker 1: like what do I do?
• 57:27
  Speaker 3: How do I pivot?
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: But because I was like kind of sick going into Boston,
• 57:32
  Speaker 1: it was so new to me, I like didn't quite
• 57:34
  Speaker 1: know what to do with myself because I was like,
• 57:36
  Speaker 1: I don't know how you're supposed to feel fifteen miles
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: into a marathon, Like this is uncharted territory for me,
• 57:43
  Speaker 1: so I don't know if this is like normal bad
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: And everyone kept telling me like there's going to be
• 57:47
  Speaker 1: like long bad stretches and like they'll go away, and
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: I'm like what does that even mean? Like how is
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: that supposed to feel? But I would just tell her
• 57:54
  Speaker 1: to like relax, like it'll be fine, you will finish,
• 57:59
  Speaker 1: you will do great.
• 58:00
  Speaker 2: You don't know what you've never done. And it is
• 58:03
  Speaker 2: so easy to be hard on ourselves for something that
• 58:05
  Speaker 2: we have no control over. But what's the point, right,
• 58:09
  Speaker 2: And so for you to be in this place now
• 58:12
  Speaker 2: where you have this understanding, like you know what A like.
• 58:15
  Speaker 2: It's important to me, but it's not that serious. And
• 58:19
  Speaker 2: all I can do is truly the best I can
• 58:21
  Speaker 2: with what I have. What an opportunity there isn't that. Yeah,
• 58:24
  Speaker 2: I'm so happy that you came into the studio today. Yeah,
• 58:27
  Speaker 2: this is so fun Erica. For those that aren't following
• 58:29
  Speaker 2: along with you, just yet give us your information how
• 58:32
  Speaker 2: they keep up with you.
• 58:33
  Speaker 1: I really only post on Instagram, so I'm tiny Rick
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: on Instagram. It is a Rick and Morty reference from
• 58:40
  Speaker 1: like eight years ago, but it's there.
• 58:42
  Speaker 2: But it's there, and that's where they can find you.
• 58:44
  Speaker 2: I'm over at Hurdle Podcasts and at Emily a Body
• 58:47
  Speaker 2: another hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time.