Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / The Mindset of an American Record Holder: Sinclaire Johnson On Building Self-Belief, Mastering The Mile & Trusting Your Gut

Transcript

The Mindset of an American Record Holder: Sinclaire Johnson On Building Self-Belief, Mastering The Mile & Trusting Your Gut · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

0:00
Speaker 1: We're not striving for perfection, because no one's perfect. Instead,
0:03
Speaker 1: we're striving for excellence and how can I be excellent today?
0:06
Speaker 1: How can I be excellent tomorrow?
0:23
Speaker 2: Hey everyone, Emily Badi here. You are listening to another
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Speaker 2: episode of Hurdle, a podcast featuring the mindset, secrets, and
0:30
Speaker 2: true stories of the most inspiring women in sports and wellness,
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Speaker 2: empowering you to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life
0:37
Speaker 2: and of course, conquer your own hurdles.
0:40
Speaker 3: For this week's episode.
0:42
Speaker 2: I am sitting down with professional runner, hoka athlete, an
0:46
Speaker 2: American record holder in the mile, Sinclair Johnson.
0:51
Speaker 3: Sinclair gets real today.
0:53
Speaker 2: About what it actually takes to navigate the inevitable highs
0:56
Speaker 2: and lows of elite athletics, from the heartbreak of finishing
1:00
Speaker 2: or at the Olympic Trials in twenty twenty four to
1:03
Speaker 2: recovering from a misdiagnosed sacred stress reaction, making major sponsor moves,
1:09
Speaker 2: and finding joy in the day to day grind. Again,
1:13
Speaker 2: we dive into the power of self talk, stripping away
1:16
Speaker 2: the pressure of perfection in favor of excellence, and why
1:20
Speaker 2: she's bringing raw vulnerability to YouTube and how trusting her
1:24
Speaker 2: intuition has reshaped both her career.
1:27
Speaker 3: And her mindset.
1:28
Speaker 2: Plus we get into life off the track, including wedding
1:31
Speaker 2: planning with her fiance and coach Craig, and the big
1:35
Speaker 2: goals she's chasing.
1:37
Speaker 3: Next, make sure you're.
1:38
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2:00
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Speaker 2: All of the links for all of the goodness are
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2:42
Speaker 3: With that, let's get to it. Let's get to hurdling today.
2:52
Speaker 2: I am chatting with Sinclair Johnson. She is a pro
2:56
Speaker 2: athlete for HOKA. She's also the American record holder in
3:00
Speaker 2: the mile. Saint Clair, Welcome to hurdle. How are we doing?
3:03
Speaker 1: Thank you. I'm excited to be here doing great today.
3:07
Speaker 2: I know I just asked you how you're doing, but
3:09
Speaker 2: I really do like to level set to kick things off.
3:12
Speaker 3: So how are you doing? Really, I'm good.
3:17
Speaker 1: I'm in a bit of a weird spot right now.
3:20
Speaker 1: I think coming back from an injury is always just
3:24
Speaker 1: just weird, especially when it's kind of in the middle
3:26
Speaker 1: of the season and everyone's already really in shape and
3:28
Speaker 1: running fast, and so, yeah, I'm doing I'm doing good.
3:31
Speaker 1: I think this being an off year, I have the
3:34
Speaker 1: luxury of not having to be really ready right now,
3:37
Speaker 1: so that is very nice. But always coming back from
3:40
Speaker 1: injuries always not the most pleasant thing in the world.
3:43
Speaker 3: Understandable, what are we working with right now?
3:47
Speaker 1: So yeah, I'm just coming back from I had a
3:50
Speaker 1: stress reaction in my sacrum back in March, and just
3:54
Speaker 1: took me a while because unfortunately it was misdiagnosed and
3:57
Speaker 1: had to get a repat Amara and all that jazz.
4:00
Speaker 1: So yeah, I'm healthy now and just really just trying
4:03
Speaker 1: to stack some weeks and training together and yeah, hopefully
4:07
Speaker 1: have some like good performances in August is kind of
4:09
Speaker 1: what I'm looking towards now.
4:11
Speaker 2: Is this the first time that you've experienced this type
4:14
Speaker 2: of injury the sacral area?
4:17
Speaker 1: It is? Yeah, I was quite shocked that this is
4:21
Speaker 1: what the injury was because I've never dealt with anything
4:23
Speaker 1: in my sacrum, So yeah, I think, you know, in hindsight,
4:26
Speaker 1: we could have done a couple of things differently. I
4:29
Speaker 1: think during the end or season we were really pressing
4:32
Speaker 1: hard and maybe not recovering enough, and maybe the intensity
4:35
Speaker 1: and volume was up a little bit too high at times.
4:38
Speaker 1: So obviously like always a tough lesson to learn, but
4:41
Speaker 1: nonetheless like a lesson that we can take towards you know,
4:44
Speaker 1: the next training block and not make that mistake again.
4:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, And when you say we, I know that you're
4:49
Speaker 2: coached by your fiance. Talk to me a little bit
4:53
Speaker 2: about that relationship and how it works for you.
4:57
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's great. I mean we have been to other
5:00
Speaker 1: since my freshman year of college, so that was yeah,
5:04
Speaker 1: nine and a half years ago at this point. Yeah,
5:07
Speaker 1: it's been It's honestly been a lot of fun. I
5:09
Speaker 1: think we didn't really know kind of what to expect
5:12
Speaker 1: last year when he was taking on my training full time.
5:15
Speaker 1: But I think we were having a lot of fun
5:17
Speaker 1: doing it, and I had like my healthiest year last year,
5:21
Speaker 1: and yeah, I just found myself enjoying training again. I think,
5:25
Speaker 1: you know, he approaches training in a way that you're
5:28
Speaker 1: supposed to enjoy this, Like, yes, it is hard, and
5:30
Speaker 1: we're working hard, and it's not always like the most
5:33
Speaker 1: fun thing in the world. But I genuinely, like look
5:36
Speaker 1: forward to going to practice every single day, and I
5:38
Speaker 1: think that's something that he really prioritizes, and so I
5:42
Speaker 1: felt like I found my love for training and racing
5:45
Speaker 1: and running again last year, and so it's been one
5:49
Speaker 1: of the best decisions that I have made. And of course,
5:51
Speaker 1: you know, we're human, we're going to make mistakes and
5:53
Speaker 1: we're learning along the way. But it's been nice to
5:56
Speaker 1: kind of be back in the driver's seat in my career,
5:58
Speaker 1: and you know this is very much a collaboration and
6:00
Speaker 1: where we're working together to achieve big thanks.
6:03
Speaker 3: Is it ever hard spending so much time together?
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Speaker 1: No, I feel like if you ask him, he'd be like,
6:10
Speaker 1: he just wants to spend even more time, if that's
6:12
Speaker 1: even possible. Now I'm like, yeah, he is my best friend,
6:17
Speaker 1: he's my yeah, my fiance, my coach, and so we
6:20
Speaker 1: do spend a ton of time together. But I just
6:23
Speaker 1: we just love spending time together. So I think it
6:26
Speaker 1: works for us. I don't no, necessarily work for every couple,
6:29
Speaker 1: and I don't like, I wouldn't recommend spending twenty four
6:32
Speaker 1: to seven with with with your partner if you know
6:35
Speaker 1: that it's just not your vibe. But we, yeah, we
6:37
Speaker 1: absolutely love it. And I think it's fun to be
6:40
Speaker 1: able to travel together. It's fun to be able to
6:42
Speaker 1: work hard and achieve goals together. So yeah, it's been
6:47
Speaker 1: it's been a good journey.
6:49
Speaker 2: What I'm hearing you say also is that over the
6:51
Speaker 2: last year mixing things up, it's actually felt really good.
6:56
Speaker 2: You've not only mixed up your coaching situation, but now
6:59
Speaker 2: you're also a hoka athlete. What is this like for
7:03
Speaker 2: you stepping into this chapter, how are you feeling.
7:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's been very new. I think I had no
7:11
Speaker 1: I I honestly did not expect this to be where
7:15
Speaker 1: I was at. I guess this time last year, I think,
7:18
Speaker 1: you know, having been with Nike for a long time,
7:20
Speaker 1: I think there was a lot of loyalty there. But
7:22
Speaker 1: when Hoka approached me in the fall, it just was really,
7:25
Speaker 1: honestly like an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. And
7:28
Speaker 1: it's really cool seeing the company from more of an
7:32
Speaker 1: inside perspective of seeing all this talent and this resources
7:36
Speaker 1: that they're really putting into track and field, and you
7:39
Speaker 1: know where they're heading into three four years, and it
7:42
Speaker 1: just really excited me and I kind of like the
7:45
Speaker 1: opportunity to kind of be at the forefront of that.
7:47
Speaker 1: And you know, we're now we're starting this team in Portland.
7:50
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's been a lot of change, and I
7:52
Speaker 1: think it's been nice that it has been an off
7:55
Speaker 1: year to try and get settled with the change. But
7:59
Speaker 1: I am really excited for the future and I know
8:01
Speaker 1: it's just going to get better and better, and yeah,
8:04
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a lot of.
8:04
Speaker 2: Fun and proceeding a lot of these changes. You yourself
8:09
Speaker 2: went through a pretty challenging hurdle moment, as we call
8:12
Speaker 2: them on the show, coming in fourth at the Trials.
8:15
Speaker 2: Take me back to that race and talk to me
8:18
Speaker 2: a little bit about your perspective during, your perspective after,
8:22
Speaker 2: and your perspective.
8:23
Speaker 3: Now.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, that was definitely one of the more heartbreaking moments
8:28
Speaker 1: that I've had in my career. Going into the race,
8:32
Speaker 1: I felt good. I felt like, you know, I didn't
8:34
Speaker 1: have the most ideal bill. That was also coming off
8:37
Speaker 1: of another injury in the winter, and I had literally
8:40
Speaker 1: ten weeks to get ready for the Olympic Trials, which
8:44
Speaker 1: was not going to be an easy feat. But I
8:45
Speaker 1: knew I was up for the challenge, and I worked
8:47
Speaker 1: my butt off and I got to a place where
8:49
Speaker 1: I felt really confident and I felt like I could
8:51
Speaker 1: truly make that team. And when I was standing on
8:54
Speaker 1: that line for the Olympic Trials final, yeah, I believed
8:58
Speaker 1: I could make the team. I believe that I was
8:59
Speaker 1: going to have my best day and that was going
9:01
Speaker 1: to be enough to make the team. And I did
9:04
Speaker 1: have my best day ever. I PRD by over two seconds,
9:07
Speaker 1: but unfortunately it.
9:08
Speaker 3: Just wasn't enough.
9:09
Speaker 1: On the day, and it was a very weird feeling
9:14
Speaker 1: ending the race immediately because obviously I'm sad, Like obviously
9:18
Speaker 1: I am heartbroken. I wanted to make that oly Olympic team
9:21
Speaker 1: so bad and to be so close was definitely painful.
9:25
Speaker 1: But I think looking at the time, I was also
9:27
Speaker 1: very confused because I'm like, how does that not make
9:30
Speaker 1: the team? I would have won every single US champs
9:34
Speaker 1: you know, previous to this and still to this day
9:37
Speaker 1: that time would have won every single championship except for
9:40
Speaker 1: that year in twenty twenty four. So it was very confusing.
9:43
Speaker 1: But I think, you know, looking back on it now
9:46
Speaker 1: and I feel like I quickly had this perspective is
9:49
Speaker 1: I was just so proud. I think I truly believe
9:52
Speaker 1: that everything happens for a reason, and I think, you know,
9:55
Speaker 1: having that twenty twenty four year is what propelled me
9:59
Speaker 1: into being coached by and where I'm at now. And
10:01
Speaker 1: so yeah, I was. I did the best I could
10:06
Speaker 1: on the day, and unfortunately, sometimes it's just not enough
10:09
Speaker 1: in sport. But I can look back on those ten
10:12
Speaker 1: weeks and I had some really really low moments in
10:15
Speaker 1: March when I was trying to figure out what was
10:17
Speaker 1: going on with my body, and yeah, to get myself
10:20
Speaker 1: in a place of being on that start line actually
10:23
Speaker 1: truly believing that I could make the team was something
10:25
Speaker 1: that I'm always forever going to be proud of.
10:27
Speaker 2: There's something so special about the opportunity to exercise self
10:33
Speaker 2: belief and truly firmly stand in that. So just show
10:38
Speaker 2: up that day after what you had been through, have
10:42
Speaker 2: that performance. It's totally understandable all of those different feelings
10:47
Speaker 2: that you were describing in the aftermath. I love what
10:51
Speaker 2: you said about that this time and any other time
10:55
Speaker 2: would have been the time to be and it speaks
10:59
Speaker 2: to what is going on right now within this sport
11:03
Speaker 2: and within women's running.
11:05
Speaker 3: What do you think about that?
11:07
Speaker 2: What do you think about the direction that the sport
11:10
Speaker 2: is heading in right now?
11:12
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I think it's super cool. Especially I
11:15
Speaker 1: think in the women's fifteen hundred. You know, in years previous,
11:18
Speaker 1: it was kind of you know, the Ethiopians and the
11:21
Speaker 1: Kenyans and then the rest of the field, And I
11:23
Speaker 1: feel like since twenty twenty four really has been that
11:28
Speaker 1: gap has closed significantly. I mean, just seeing Nicky Hillt's
11:32
Speaker 1: beat faith, it's like already proof that you know, us
11:35
Speaker 1: Americans are, We're getting it figured out, and we're figuring
11:38
Speaker 1: out how to show up in these big time races
11:41
Speaker 1: and beat these people that we never thought we could
11:44
Speaker 1: beat before. So yeah, it's been really cool to be
11:47
Speaker 1: a part of. I think it's just going to obviously
11:49
Speaker 1: continue to get better. But yeah, I feel really proud
11:52
Speaker 1: of being an American, especially in this era of middle
11:57
Speaker 1: distance running and just seeing how much, you know, we're
12:00
Speaker 1: really raising the bar.
12:02
Speaker 2: Would you say that there's a mental shift from thinking
12:06
Speaker 2: I'm trying to belong here to being more like I'm
12:11
Speaker 2: one of the fastest women in American history.
12:14
Speaker 1: Yeah, I totally agree. I think in twenty twenty two,
12:17
Speaker 1: when I made my first World Championship team, I very
12:20
Speaker 1: much had the I just I'm just happy to be here,
12:24
Speaker 1: like I you know, just making it one step further,
12:27
Speaker 1: making it to semifinal, making to the final, standing right
12:30
Speaker 1: next to Kipia Gone and Gudov Sage and you know
12:33
Speaker 1: women like that. I was just like, honestly a little
12:36
Speaker 1: bit starstruck and just happy to be there. And I
12:38
Speaker 1: think last year, the way I showed up to World
12:42
Speaker 1: Championships in Tokyo, I was a completely different athlete, and
12:46
Speaker 1: there was no thinking about what everyone else had done
12:49
Speaker 1: or is going to do, or thinking, you know, they're
12:51
Speaker 1: on a pedestal. Like I felt like I truly belonged there,
12:54
Speaker 1: and I definitely found myself racing like that, actually putting
12:57
Speaker 1: myself in the race and not just letting the race
13:01
Speaker 1: kind of happen to me.
13:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's really special to see and you can
13:06
Speaker 2: see it from the stands when someone is truly ready
13:10
Speaker 2: to truly stick their nose in it.
13:12
Speaker 3: And that's what I love watching from you.
13:16
Speaker 2: So much of the ability to do that comes from
13:20
Speaker 2: the way that you speak to yourself, and whether we're
13:24
Speaker 2: talking about running or whether we're just talking about doing
13:27
Speaker 2: a hard thing in everyday life, that is a muscle
13:30
Speaker 2: that needs to be strengthened. So talk to me a
13:32
Speaker 2: little bit about what your evolution with self talk has.
13:35
Speaker 3: Been and now how you view it moving forward.
13:38
Speaker 1: I think a lot of people like to say, you know,
13:40
Speaker 1: running is you know, ninety percent mental or you know,
13:44
Speaker 1: whatever the percentage is, and it truly it is maybe
13:48
Speaker 1: not ninety percent, but it is a big part of
13:51
Speaker 1: the sport. I mean, it's there have been times where
13:53
Speaker 1: I've done things that I didn't make sense on paper
13:57
Speaker 1: from my training, but because I believed I could do it,
13:59
Speaker 1: I did it. So Yeah, I think I just have
14:02
Speaker 1: leveled up my mental game every single year. I think
14:06
Speaker 1: having these experiences where I'm racing the world's best at
14:09
Speaker 1: these big you know, Diamond League or World Championship, I
14:12
Speaker 1: think having gone through those motions and gone through that,
14:16
Speaker 1: I think you just get a little bit more comfortable
14:19
Speaker 1: every year with it, and I think it becomes a
14:21
Speaker 1: little bit more yeah, obvious in your mind that this
14:24
Speaker 1: is where you belong and this is where you should be.
14:26
Speaker 1: There are still things that I'm working through, just yeah,
14:30
Speaker 1: with the self talk, especially because that's so important. But
14:33
Speaker 1: it's it's cool to see kind of like where I
14:36
Speaker 1: was in twenty twenty two as twenty three, twenty four
14:39
Speaker 1: year old to where I am now as a twenty
14:41
Speaker 1: eight year old, and how I show up on those
14:44
Speaker 1: big moments and just being able to really truly have
14:48
Speaker 1: that self belief I think is like one of the
14:50
Speaker 1: most important things you can have as a especially as
14:52
Speaker 1: a distance runner.
14:54
Speaker 2: Is there a specific place that you are sharpening these
14:58
Speaker 2: tools or are you working with someone to do that?
15:01
Speaker 1: Yeah, I am. I work with a sports psychologists, And yeah,
15:04
Speaker 1: she's been pushing me a lot this year. And I
15:07
Speaker 1: think this year, I've, like I said, I've gone through
15:10
Speaker 1: a lot of change. I had a little bit of
15:12
Speaker 1: an injury, and so I think in those moments and
15:15
Speaker 1: things feel really heavy and I think that's where you
15:18
Speaker 1: can make a lot of progress. And yeah, I think
15:21
Speaker 1: she's been just really pushing me on this like belief
15:25
Speaker 1: to be. I have this thing that I need to
15:28
Speaker 1: be perfect in every aspect of especially my training and racing,
15:31
Speaker 1: and I beat myself all up a lot when things
15:34
Speaker 1: don't go perfectly. And so yeah, she's been really challenging
15:38
Speaker 1: me on that aspect. And you know, we're not striving
15:40
Speaker 1: for perfection because no one's perfect, and instead we're striving
15:44
Speaker 1: for excellence And how can I be excellent today? How
15:47
Speaker 1: can I be excellent tomorrow? Yeah, I can just show
15:50
Speaker 1: up better in my training. And I think it goes
15:53
Speaker 1: back to that self talk. Is a workout that maybe
15:56
Speaker 1: didn't go maybe it was an a A day, but
15:59
Speaker 1: it wasn't a plus day. It's not I'm not beating
16:01
Speaker 1: myself up afterwards. It's like that was good, maybe not great,
16:04
Speaker 1: but it was good, and it's pushing my my fitness
16:06
Speaker 1: forward and I gained something from today and we're gonna
16:09
Speaker 1: move on and be better next time.
16:11
Speaker 2: So the thing about perfection is it's not at all relatable.
16:16
Speaker 2: Like you said, no one is perfect. Vulnerability is relatable,
16:21
Speaker 2: Imperfection is relatable. Would you say that knowing this and
16:26
Speaker 2: maybe being pushed by your sports psychologist could be one
16:29
Speaker 2: of the catalysts for you stepping into YouTube.
16:33
Speaker 1: Yeah? Probably, Yeah, I think you know. I struggle with
16:38
Speaker 1: Instagram a lot because it's a lot of just a
16:41
Speaker 1: snaphot snapshot of one day or one moment, and I
16:47
Speaker 1: and all my friends would tell you this is like
16:49
Speaker 1: I just am not I want to know like how
16:52
Speaker 1: you're really doing, Like I want to get down to
16:54
Speaker 1: who you truly are and what truly makes like you you.
16:58
Speaker 1: And so that's how I am in my friend and ships,
17:00
Speaker 1: and I feel like that's how I want to show
17:03
Speaker 1: up to my fans, to really the rest of the world,
17:06
Speaker 1: because there's so much more than a time or a
17:09
Speaker 1: place or you know, this one workout that I did.
17:12
Speaker 1: And so I think that's kind of led me into
17:16
Speaker 1: the YouTube aspect because it's a lot more long form
17:18
Speaker 1: content and being able to kind of, yeah, show the
17:22
Speaker 1: ins and outs, Like I did a video or a
17:26
Speaker 1: vlog of this past weekend of my race that went
17:29
Speaker 1: absolutely terrible, and you know, and I am like, I'm
17:33
Speaker 1: fully gonna post everything about it, and I'm gonna share
17:36
Speaker 1: home my thoughts and how how how I felt and
17:39
Speaker 1: how I moved forward for from things like that. So yeah,
17:43
Speaker 1: it's been a lot of fun. I'm excited to, yeah,
17:46
Speaker 1: kind of continue doing YouTube.
18:05
Speaker 2: The first thing that I want to double click on
18:07
Speaker 2: is something that you said in your last YouTube video,
18:10
Speaker 2: which was how great is it that every day you
18:13
Speaker 2: get the opportunity to feel like you're going to die?
18:15
Speaker 1: Yeah? Yeah, I feel like a lot of people like
18:20
Speaker 1: reach out to me and they're like that maybe I
18:23
Speaker 1: can't totally relate to that, but that is like a
18:25
Speaker 1: quote that is forever going to live in my mind,
18:27
Speaker 1: and it's like, yeah, there are some days where I'm like,
18:30
Speaker 1: I don't know if I'm going to make it out
18:31
Speaker 1: of this track alive. And it's truly like there's nothing
18:35
Speaker 1: that makes you feel more alive than feeling like that.
18:38
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's fun. It's a weird it's like type
18:41
Speaker 1: two fun but I love it too fun.
18:44
Speaker 2: It's a type of fun that only a very select
18:47
Speaker 2: few types of individuals can really understand, and one that
18:51
Speaker 2: you obviously know very well. The other thing to double
18:54
Speaker 2: click on is that you being someone who really likes
18:56
Speaker 2: to get down to the real who likes to know
18:58
Speaker 2: what's really going on. So tell me a little bit
19:01
Speaker 2: about what's really going on for Sinclair and how it
19:05
Speaker 2: makes you tick.
19:07
Speaker 1: What's really going on with me right now is kind
19:09
Speaker 1: of what I was talking about earlier, is just being
19:11
Speaker 1: in a weird situation where I'm not fit right now,
19:15
Speaker 1: but I want to be fit, but I want to
19:17
Speaker 1: be racing. I want to be in these you know,
19:19
Speaker 1: high caliber races, but I'm just just not right there,
19:23
Speaker 1: and so having to kind of deal with that reality,
19:26
Speaker 1: but you know, also not get so down on myself,
19:30
Speaker 1: because there is still several months or a couple months
19:34
Speaker 1: of the season left and things can really turn a corner.
19:37
Speaker 1: So trying to be optimistic and you know, trying not
19:40
Speaker 1: to compare to where everyone else is at and where
19:43
Speaker 1: I'm at and trying to be just fully on my
19:46
Speaker 1: own journey can be very very hard. But it's good
19:49
Speaker 1: for me to be in this position of like uncomfortability,
19:52
Speaker 1: because I feel like that's where I can really grow
19:54
Speaker 1: as an athlete in person.
19:56
Speaker 2: Tell me a little bit about the how in that.
20:00
Speaker 2: How do you get better at staying in your own lane?
20:03
Speaker 2: How do you navigate the temptation to fall into the
20:08
Speaker 2: comparison trap?
20:09
Speaker 3: What does that look like for you?
20:11
Speaker 1: Yeah, A lot of it really is just spending minimal
20:14
Speaker 1: time on Instagram. I think, you know there's this, Yeah,
20:18
Speaker 1: there's just a lot out there. I think there's a
20:21
Speaker 1: lot of information of where people are at, what their
20:23
Speaker 1: workouts are, and I think I can get into the
20:26
Speaker 1: trap of just, yeah, comparing myself to to those things.
20:30
Speaker 1: So I really try and stay off Instagram as much
20:33
Speaker 1: as I can. And I think it's really about just
20:37
Speaker 1: totally being like, how can I get better today? How
20:40
Speaker 1: can I get better this week? And keep it on
20:43
Speaker 1: such a micro level that I'm not getting super far
20:47
Speaker 1: ahead of myself of what's my fitness going to be
20:50
Speaker 1: like in three weeks. It's like that really I can't
20:53
Speaker 1: control that and it doesn't matter in the moment right now,
20:55
Speaker 1: and so really just being steadfast on I you know,
20:59
Speaker 1: I had a workout this morning, It's like that workout
21:02
Speaker 1: was better than I did three weeks ago. Like, you know,
21:05
Speaker 1: I'm seeing progress and I had it good one today
21:08
Speaker 1: and you know next week, No, next time I do
21:10
Speaker 1: that workout, I want to be a little bit better.
21:12
Speaker 1: So I think it's really trying to be like where
21:14
Speaker 1: my fee are and be really present in the moment,
21:17
Speaker 1: which is incredibly hard. But I think also just the
21:20
Speaker 1: people around me that I surround myself with are really
21:23
Speaker 1: crucial in helping me see that. And yeah, just reminding
21:27
Speaker 1: me of like who I am and what I'm capable of,
21:30
Speaker 1: but also kind of taking it, taking it one day
21:33
Speaker 1: at a time, and just like yeah, just trying to
21:36
Speaker 1: get better each day.
21:38
Speaker 2: Those people around you are going to be really critical,
21:40
Speaker 2: especially when you have moments like you described from last
21:43
Speaker 2: weekend where the race doesn't go as you had hoped.
21:46
Speaker 2: How has your evolution of self talk assisted you in
21:52
Speaker 2: navigating those disappointing moments? Obviously the podcast called hurdle so
21:56
Speaker 2: many people understanding and going through things that are less
21:59
Speaker 2: than I deal but knowing that it's how we learn
22:03
Speaker 2: from these moments that helps propel us forward. So talk
22:06
Speaker 2: to me a little bit about how you navigate moments
22:08
Speaker 2: like what happened last weekend.
22:09
Speaker 1: You know, initially it sucks, like I'm not going to lie,
22:12
Speaker 1: it's I feel embarrassed, I feel upset. I definitely want
22:17
Speaker 1: to go hide. I think the really the biggest thing
22:19
Speaker 1: is just having perspective and telling myself, you know, where
22:22
Speaker 1: was I five weeks ago? Could I have done that today?
22:25
Speaker 1: Absolutely not? And I think just being able to be
22:30
Speaker 1: nice yourself and give yourself grace and not out there
22:33
Speaker 1: thrown in the towel. I did my best on the
22:35
Speaker 1: day and it just, yeah, it wasn't what I had hoped.
22:38
Speaker 1: But I think that's when you know, other people come
22:41
Speaker 1: around and I feel like I had people, Yeah, just
22:44
Speaker 1: try and lift me up and try to remind me
22:45
Speaker 1: of the athlete I am. And I think those are
22:48
Speaker 1: the things that I try to focus on, is this
22:50
Speaker 1: is just where I'm at. This is not where I'm
22:53
Speaker 1: going to be permanently. That is something that I've had
22:56
Speaker 1: to remind myself, even like when I'm going through my injuries,
22:59
Speaker 1: is like, this is my prerogative right now, but this
23:02
Speaker 1: might not be my prerogative in two weeks and trying
23:05
Speaker 1: not to just dwell in I guess the current situation
23:08
Speaker 1: that I mam, that I may that I'm in Oh
23:11
Speaker 1: my gosh, and just you know, things will get better,
23:15
Speaker 1: and you kind of always have to have that wishful
23:18
Speaker 1: thinking or that positive outlook and just really being nice
23:23
Speaker 1: yourself is the best thing you can do in those moments,
23:26
Speaker 1: because especially in those moments when you just need a
23:30
Speaker 1: hug or you need a pad on the back and
23:32
Speaker 1: you need someone to be like, I see you, I
23:34
Speaker 1: hear you, and you know you're doing great.
23:37
Speaker 2: And I tell you, when I'm having these moments where
23:39
Speaker 2: I have one side of my inner dialogue that's like,
23:42
Speaker 2: you're not doing anything right, nothing is going as you'd hope.
23:45
Speaker 2: You're just getting like super gremliny and gross in there,
23:48
Speaker 2: I force myself to sit down and write down ten
23:52
Speaker 2: nice things about myself.
23:53
Speaker 1: I love that. That's so great.
23:55
Speaker 3: Sometimes I just need to get out of my own way.
23:57
Speaker 1: Exactly. I think we all need to go out of
23:59
Speaker 1: our way. I think we're all the hardest on ourselves,
24:03
Speaker 1: you know. And with more time you spend talking to
24:06
Speaker 1: yourself like that, you're going to start believing those things.
24:09
Speaker 1: And so the opposite two can happen, is like you
24:11
Speaker 1: spend more time having this positive self talk, then you
24:15
Speaker 1: just start believing those things. So yeah, I mean it's
24:18
Speaker 1: totally human to have your moments of that. It's really
24:22
Speaker 1: about pivoting and really about you know, pivoting that conversation
24:26
Speaker 1: to a positive Outlook.
24:28
Speaker 3: Yeah, what an opportunity. That is.
24:30
Speaker 2: Another opportunity, obviously, one that you know well, is this
24:33
Speaker 2: concept of career transitions, and for you specifically within the
24:38
Speaker 2: running world, they can be incredibly high pressure, also very public.
24:44
Speaker 3: For someone that may be navigating a.
24:47
Speaker 2: Transition of their own personally professionally, they might be afraid
24:52
Speaker 2: of making the air quotes wrong choice.
24:55
Speaker 3: What do you have to say to them?
24:57
Speaker 1: Your gut, your intuition, Well, honestly, ever leave you astray.
25:01
Speaker 1: I feel like every decision that I've made for myself
25:05
Speaker 1: has been something that I've felt deep inside is the
25:07
Speaker 1: right decision, and it has turned out to be the
25:11
Speaker 1: right decision, you know, And I think, yeah, I guess
25:14
Speaker 1: you don't know with one hundred percent of certainty if
25:16
Speaker 1: things are going to work out or not. But I
25:18
Speaker 1: do feel like if you if you trust yourself, you
25:21
Speaker 1: trust your God, you trust your intuition, then that's really
25:24
Speaker 1: the thing that you need to listen to.
25:27
Speaker 2: How did it feel for you making this transition. You
25:30
Speaker 2: talked about being with Nike for such a long time,
25:32
Speaker 2: making this transition that's obviously so public, sure of it
25:36
Speaker 2: for sure, but nonetheless coming with a little bit of
25:39
Speaker 2: I wonder what the people are thinking.
25:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely. I mean it is a massive change and
25:46
Speaker 1: one that I think from the outside it could look
25:49
Speaker 1: kind of confusing, like how do you go from Nike,
25:52
Speaker 1: which is this powerhouse track and field company, you know,
25:56
Speaker 1: to Hoko, which is a great company. You know, they're
25:59
Speaker 1: kind of more known for trail and road, but they're
26:03
Speaker 1: you know, up and coming on the track scene. And
26:06
Speaker 1: so I think, yeah, there were I'm sure there were
26:08
Speaker 1: a lot of people confused on what it was, but
26:13
Speaker 1: I think none of that really matters because none of
26:15
Speaker 1: them are really living my life and are in my shoes.
26:19
Speaker 1: So I felt really good about the decision. I think naturally,
26:23
Speaker 1: there there comes a little bit of uncertainty of just yeah,
26:27
Speaker 1: there's a whole new group of people that I'm going
26:29
Speaker 1: to be around. It's a whole new shoe line that
26:31
Speaker 1: I'm getting used to, and it takes time to settle
26:34
Speaker 1: into that. But now that I feel settled into that,
26:37
Speaker 1: I'm like just really truly excited about the future of
26:40
Speaker 1: Hoka and where it's going to be in even a
26:43
Speaker 1: year from now.
26:45
Speaker 3: Talk to me a little bit.
26:46
Speaker 2: You mentioned having this really cool opportunity to work behind
26:50
Speaker 2: the scenes to gain some really cool insight into product
26:55
Speaker 2: development and stuff like that.
26:56
Speaker 3: So share with us what that looks like.
27:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's been super fun because I was never the
27:03
Speaker 1: sample size at Nike, so I didn't ever really get
27:06
Speaker 1: to try any of the prototypes and I just had
27:08
Speaker 1: to kind of wait until the shoes came on the market.
27:11
Speaker 1: So I am the sample size with Hopo, which has
27:13
Speaker 1: been just super super fun. And yeah, just I mean
27:18
Speaker 1: I the first week I don't even know if I
27:20
Speaker 1: had signed just yet, but the first week of January,
27:23
Speaker 1: I was already in the office and they were like,
27:25
Speaker 1: what do you want to see in the spike? Like
27:26
Speaker 1: what do you like? What do you don't like? And
27:29
Speaker 1: you know, since then, they've sent me back several different
27:32
Speaker 1: renditions of the current model, just tweaking little things, and yeah,
27:36
Speaker 1: it's pretty cool to just see them really care about
27:40
Speaker 1: my input but then also like put action behind their
27:43
Speaker 1: words and being able to test out these different spikes,
27:47
Speaker 1: give them feedback, you know, just even going in and
27:51
Speaker 1: talking about just normal training shoes and kind of what
27:53
Speaker 1: I like and what I don't like. And they're you know,
27:56
Speaker 1: coming out with certain models that are going to be
27:58
Speaker 1: more geared towards professional So it's just really exciting to
28:01
Speaker 1: kind of see them behind the scenes and they're doing
28:04
Speaker 1: a lot of work towards LA twenty twenty eight and
28:06
Speaker 1: even kind of seeing how the evolution of the Spike
28:09
Speaker 1: is going to be by then, and I think hopefully
28:11
Speaker 1: I'll get a prototype soon, so I'm really really excited to, yeah,
28:16
Speaker 1: just be working alongside them. I mean, the office is
28:19
Speaker 1: five minutes from my house and they're like, yeah, come
28:22
Speaker 1: in anytime. And I think it's also equally beneficial for
28:25
Speaker 1: them too to have an athlete so close to be
28:27
Speaker 1: able to give them feedback. So it works out really
28:30
Speaker 1: great that way.
28:31
Speaker 2: How does it feel for you to be this athlete
28:34
Speaker 2: that's kind of at the forefront of this next chapter
28:38
Speaker 2: for them, Yes, it has advantages being able to provide
28:42
Speaker 2: this feedback living five minutes from the office, but also
28:45
Speaker 2: it's a lot of eyes on you, Sinclaire.
28:47
Speaker 3: It is.
28:48
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think initially I was kind of like me
28:51
Speaker 1: you guys want me. But yeah, it just truly like
28:54
Speaker 1: I felt so honored, and I think even my first
28:58
Speaker 1: visit at the headquarter and meeting the president and how
29:01
Speaker 1: excited she was to meet me, I was just like, WHOA,
29:04
Speaker 1: this is kind of crazy. The president of Hookah is
29:06
Speaker 1: excited to meet me and to have me as an athlete.
29:10
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think a little bit of it kind
29:12
Speaker 1: of felt like imposter syndrome and in the beginning, but yeah,
29:16
Speaker 1: I think that's going back to that self talk, is
29:18
Speaker 1: like I have to remind myself like, Okay, I am
29:20
Speaker 1: the American record holder in the mile, Like I've made
29:22
Speaker 1: two World championship teams, the finalist of run three D six,
29:25
Speaker 1: Like I am this athlete. So yeah, it's been definitely
29:30
Speaker 1: and it was definitely intimidating at first, but I feel
29:32
Speaker 1: like now I'm I feel like it more settled into
29:36
Speaker 1: the company and just getting to know everyone, and yeah,
29:39
Speaker 1: I'm just really excited to be working with this great
29:41
Speaker 1: group of people going forward.
29:42
Speaker 2: The American record holder in the mile, let's talk about
29:47
Speaker 2: that in two different ways. The first way I want
29:50
Speaker 2: to talk about it is about what it was like
29:53
Speaker 2: to set that record.
29:55
Speaker 1: Super fun, I think doing it at the London Diamond
30:00
Speaker 1: League with there was probably sixty thousand people there that
30:04
Speaker 1: day was quite surreal. And I think it was one
30:07
Speaker 1: of those things where I went in, you know, I'm
30:10
Speaker 1: knowing it was a mile, knowing what the American record was,
30:12
Speaker 1: like I definitely was. I think I could get it.
30:15
Speaker 1: I hope, I hope that happens today. But sometimes you
30:18
Speaker 1: just you just don't know. I think we were in
30:21
Speaker 1: the middle of a training block, like, you know, we
30:23
Speaker 1: were really gearing towards US Championships because that's obviously the
30:26
Speaker 1: second most important meat of the year. Just kind of
30:29
Speaker 1: curious to see how my body responded on the day.
30:32
Speaker 1: And Yeah, but walking out into that stadium, I think
30:35
Speaker 1: I will say, like that crowd really carried me that
30:38
Speaker 1: last one hundred and I think I came through like
30:41
Speaker 1: three fifty nine. I was like, oh my gosh, it's
30:43
Speaker 1: gonna be close. But just having the crowd really like
30:47
Speaker 1: just go bonkers the last one hundred meters was really
30:50
Speaker 1: really exciting.
30:51
Speaker 2: So let's break down what you think about during the mile,
30:59
Speaker 2: and maybe this particular mile, but maybe it's just a
31:02
Speaker 2: mile in general. When you are racing a mile, Bring
31:04
Speaker 2: me through the phases.
31:06
Speaker 1: So really it's just I kind of break it down
31:09
Speaker 1: into the first eight hundred of the race. So usually
31:13
Speaker 1: the first eight hundred is when I'm feeling, you know,
31:16
Speaker 1: like we're obviously running hard and fast, but I'm usually
31:19
Speaker 1: feeling in control. I'm like, this is okay, We're good,
31:22
Speaker 1: We're being connected. I'm really just trying to focus on
31:25
Speaker 1: being relaxed because obviously we still have a lot of
31:28
Speaker 1: the race to go. And then that third lap is
31:30
Speaker 1: really the where I have to turn on that mental
31:33
Speaker 1: focus of Okay, this is going to start to hurt,
31:36
Speaker 1: but you just have to get through this lap, because
31:38
Speaker 1: then I try to tell myself that I can do
31:40
Speaker 1: anything for one lap. So when I get to that
31:42
Speaker 1: third lap is really where I'm you know, yeah, focusing
31:46
Speaker 1: on not letting go of the pace, like trying to
31:48
Speaker 1: step on the gas, trying to make sure I'm staying
31:50
Speaker 1: attached to whoever's in front of me, and then knowing
31:53
Speaker 1: that when I get to the bell lap that I
31:55
Speaker 1: can do anything for a lap. And that's kind of
31:56
Speaker 1: what I tell myself, like no matter how hard, how
32:00
Speaker 1: hard you're hurting, like you can do anything for a minute. Yeah,
32:02
Speaker 1: that's kind of how I go through go through the miles.
32:05
Speaker 1: Sometimes on a bad day, I'm counting down every one
32:08
Speaker 1: hundred meters, but that particular day, I felt pretty good,
32:12
Speaker 1: was just really really excited to kind of get after it.
32:15
Speaker 2: You are saying that you break it up into smaller doables,
32:20
Speaker 2: which I think is a helpful strategy, whether you're trying
32:24
Speaker 2: to race a mile or simply trying to do any
32:29
Speaker 2: intimidating task. Right, Really, you talk about that final lap,
32:33
Speaker 2: saying to yourself, I can do anything for one lap,
32:36
Speaker 2: but then bring me more granular. What are you thinking
32:40
Speaker 2: during the final lap? And are you the type of
32:43
Speaker 2: athlete that blacks out or not?
32:46
Speaker 1: I would say most of the last lap I'm blacking
32:49
Speaker 1: out for sure. I think probably the last two hundred
32:52
Speaker 1: becomes really a blur is when I think my vision
32:55
Speaker 1: starts to go blurry, your legs are screaming, your lungs
32:59
Speaker 1: are screaming by going into the last lap, And I
33:02
Speaker 1: think it's more about just kind of the mental the
33:06
Speaker 1: more the mental game of just willing yourself to get
33:09
Speaker 1: to that to that finish line. But yeah, for sure,
33:11
Speaker 1: there's a lot of races where I'll talk to like
33:14
Speaker 1: Craig after and I'm like, oh, I think I did this,
33:16
Speaker 1: you know, the last two hundred. He's like, no, you didn't.
33:18
Speaker 1: So I'm like, sometimes I just can't remember what happened.
33:21
Speaker 1: I'm just like so focused on getting to the end
33:23
Speaker 1: that I've literally no idea where I am or Yeah,
33:27
Speaker 1: it's really funny, but what.
33:30
Speaker 2: What is it about this distance in particular that really
33:33
Speaker 2: resonates with you because you know there are some other
33:36
Speaker 2: options out there.
33:37
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I just love the mixture, the true
33:39
Speaker 1: mixture of speed and racing tactics. You know, the eight
33:45
Speaker 1: hundred I love, but I feel like sometimes it's oro
33:47
Speaker 1: so quickly and it's really just kind of about like
33:49
Speaker 1: who can hang on that second lap where there's a
33:53
Speaker 1: little bit more tactics involved with the mile, Like obviously
33:56
Speaker 1: you can't full out sprint a mile or a fifteen hundred,
34:00
Speaker 1: and so you really have to be cognizant of that.
34:03
Speaker 1: But I love also you know, you can try and
34:06
Speaker 1: go run as fast as you can and get on
34:09
Speaker 1: a hot pace and time trial it. But then there's
34:11
Speaker 1: also this aspect of the mile that can be super tactical,
34:15
Speaker 1: like kind of what we saw at Pre two weeks ago,
34:17
Speaker 1: where it's just kind of like what's everyone going to do?
34:19
Speaker 1: And sometimes it ends up just being a big kick
34:22
Speaker 1: at the end. So I love the duality of that
34:24
Speaker 1: with the mile, and I think it's just like truly
34:27
Speaker 1: the perfect combination of like speed and strength.
34:30
Speaker 2: The perfect combination of speed and strength. It's really cool
34:34
Speaker 2: having followed your career for some time now watching you
34:37
Speaker 2: come up with so many other stellar American competitors. When
34:43
Speaker 2: you think about the type of athlete, the type of
34:46
Speaker 2: competitor that you are, how do you balance having such
34:50
Speaker 2: great relationships and friendships within the sport with also being
34:54
Speaker 2: a fierce individual competitor.
34:55
Speaker 1: There definitely is a fine balance. I'm an ultra competitive person,
34:59
Speaker 1: as I'm sure everybody else in my event or that
35:03
Speaker 1: runs track and field is, and you know, when I'm
35:05
Speaker 1: on the start line, like no one is my friend
35:09
Speaker 1: and I'm trying to beat everybody. But you know, I
35:12
Speaker 1: think there's such a special bond, especially with just runners
35:16
Speaker 1: in general, like who you know, you're pushing yourself to
35:20
Speaker 1: your limits and there's kind of really no one else
35:22
Speaker 1: that fully gets that unless they're in it. And so yeah,
35:25
Speaker 1: you have this like commonality between all my competitors, and honestly,
35:30
Speaker 1: the women's fifteen hundred is one of the nicest events.
35:33
Speaker 1: I feel like sometimes I'm like, let's be a little
35:35
Speaker 1: bit more mean, not mean, but let's have a little
35:37
Speaker 1: bit more of like trash talk to each other. Like
35:39
Speaker 1: everyone is just so nice and too friendly. But yeah,
35:42
Speaker 1: I think that also makes it easy because as you
35:45
Speaker 1: can see, like when people do really well, it's like
35:48
Speaker 1: the entire the entire field is celebrating these athletes, and
35:52
Speaker 1: I think that's like a really special thing. Is you know,
35:54
Speaker 1: we can be obviously very competitive with each other when
35:57
Speaker 1: it gets to the race time, but afterwards, you know,
36:00
Speaker 1: we kind of put that guard down a little bit
36:02
Speaker 1: and we can like celebrate each other truly.
36:04
Speaker 2: Yeah. I was at the press conference before pre and
36:08
Speaker 2: to see sitting up there Jess and Nikki and Faith
36:12
Speaker 2: and the camaraderie that they had, it was a different
36:15
Speaker 2: vibe than respectfully, you see with some of the shorter
36:18
Speaker 2: sprint distances.
36:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it's definitely different. I think, you know, the sprinters,
36:24
Speaker 1: they have to keep up that facade full time.
36:26
Speaker 3: So I'm tiring.
36:28
Speaker 1: I'm tired. Yeah, don't you any friends, No, but it
36:32
Speaker 1: is I mean It is cool too, because, you know,
36:35
Speaker 1: especially when you're racing on Diamon League circuit, like you're
36:37
Speaker 1: seeing everyone a lot, and you're going to the dining
36:40
Speaker 1: hall together the night before the race, and you're seeing
36:43
Speaker 1: each other in the elevator, and you know, you're seeing
36:45
Speaker 1: each other breakfast the morning of the race. So there's
36:48
Speaker 1: a lot of time, especially at these Diamond League races
36:51
Speaker 1: where we're all kind of in the same hotel where
36:52
Speaker 1: we're spending the entire weekend together, and so naturally, you know, yeah,
36:58
Speaker 1: you you definitely get friendly with you people and get
37:00
Speaker 1: to know them more. And yeah, having trained with a
37:03
Speaker 1: couple of them like Jess and has also been you know,
37:06
Speaker 1: I got to see Jess kind of before she took
37:09
Speaker 1: this to a huge leap, and so it's just been
37:11
Speaker 1: really inspiring to see her progression as well.
37:30
Speaker 2: Now we mentioned your YouTube before, obviously part of that
37:34
Speaker 2: will be showing more of who Sinclair is off the track.
37:38
Speaker 3: Tell us a little bit about her.
37:39
Speaker 2: What are you up too lately that has absolutely nothing
37:41
Speaker 2: to do with running.
37:43
Speaker 1: Well, I'm wedding planning a lot.
37:46
Speaker 3: Talk about the wedding planning.
37:47
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's been so fun. We had a meeting with
37:50
Speaker 1: her DJ this morning, which I'm super stoked about. Yeah,
37:54
Speaker 1: it's two months away, so we are really getting into
37:58
Speaker 1: BRIT's coming up coming up very soon. We were at
38:01
Speaker 1: Craig and I after dinner last night. We were kind
38:03
Speaker 1: of practicing what our first dance was going to be.
38:06
Speaker 3: I think this is like the most wholesome thing ever.
38:09
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's gonna be a little choreographed, just because we
38:12
Speaker 1: don't want to do the whole side step slow dance
38:16
Speaker 1: for the whole thing. I want us to try and
38:18
Speaker 1: do a lift. But we'll see if that happens. I
38:22
Speaker 1: just want to wow people. I just want people to
38:24
Speaker 1: be like, whoa, it was not expecting that. So we'll see.
38:28
Speaker 1: We'll have to really practice that one.
38:30
Speaker 2: But I'm only envisioning your dirty dancing moment, Like that's
38:34
Speaker 2: the only type of lift that I can envision you
38:36
Speaker 2: doing at your wedding.
38:37
Speaker 1: Exactly exactly the vibe. So it's just been fun. I mean,
38:41
Speaker 1: like I said, we've been together for nine and a
38:44
Speaker 1: half years at this point, so in a way it
38:47
Speaker 1: feels like we are already married, like we've lived together
38:49
Speaker 1: for five years now, and yeah, we do everything together,
38:53
Speaker 1: but there is something special about kind of making it
38:56
Speaker 1: official and just having all of our closest friends and
38:59
Speaker 1: family there. So yeah, every time I get an RSVP,
39:02
Speaker 1: I'm just like so excited just because I'm like, oh,
39:04
Speaker 1: I'm envisioning that person there for the day, so it'll
39:07
Speaker 1: be so fun.
39:08
Speaker 3: It is so fun. Was there any debate between band
39:12
Speaker 3: and DJ?
39:13
Speaker 1: Uh No, there was not any debate. I think both
39:15
Speaker 1: of us we love house music, and I think eventually
39:19
Speaker 1: like we just want a massive dance party, So I
39:22
Speaker 1: think that might have been a little bit harder for
39:24
Speaker 1: a band band to do.
39:26
Speaker 3: So, yeah, we're going to be you were never going
39:29
Speaker 3: house music band.
39:30
Speaker 1: Yeah no, I was definitely not going to be on
39:33
Speaker 1: our bango card.
39:34
Speaker 2: You said earlier that there are some advantages to it
39:38
Speaker 2: being a quote unquote off year for those that maybe
39:41
Speaker 2: don't fully understand what that means.
39:43
Speaker 3: Can you provide some context?
39:45
Speaker 1: Yeah, So, as an American, this year, we don't have
39:48
Speaker 1: a World Championship and we don't have an Olympic Games,
39:52
Speaker 1: and that kind of means that this year is kind
39:55
Speaker 1: of you know, some people haven't been racing as much.
39:58
Speaker 1: Some people are racing a lot, like doing the Diamond
40:01
Speaker 1: League circuit and there is this thing called the World
40:04
Speaker 1: Ultimate Championships, which is essentially like a glorified Diamond League,
40:09
Speaker 1: but you have to be top twelve in the world
40:12
Speaker 1: in my event to qualify for that. So and regardless
40:16
Speaker 1: of nations, so there could be you know, four or
40:19
Speaker 1: five six Epiopians or Africans in the race, whereas normally
40:24
Speaker 1: in any year you have only three people per country
40:27
Speaker 1: make a championship or Olympic Games. So anyways, there's there's
40:31
Speaker 1: that this year, but there's that's not really there's no
40:35
Speaker 1: team to make is really essentially making it an off year,
40:38
Speaker 1: and it's been it's been interesting. It hasn't been or
40:42
Speaker 1: this This wasn't uh. This has been my first off year,
40:46
Speaker 1: so I've never gone through, yeah, a year like this
40:49
Speaker 1: before where I'm very goal oriented and someone that needs
40:54
Speaker 1: like some kind of yeah something to achieve or some
40:58
Speaker 1: team to make. So it's been kind of weird being
41:00
Speaker 1: in this boat of like, oh, I feel like I
41:02
Speaker 1: should I should be working towards like something really specific,
41:06
Speaker 1: and I'm not right now, so just trying to get
41:09
Speaker 1: as fit as possible, which is yeah, just a very
41:12
Speaker 1: interesting situation. But I think it's been nice, just because
41:16
Speaker 1: going through my injury and kind of you know, coming
41:18
Speaker 1: back at a lesson ideal time. I am very thankful
41:22
Speaker 1: that we have this off here this year.
41:23
Speaker 2: Yeah, it sounds like the timing is really happening for you,
41:27
Speaker 2: and the way that you describe this off here, it's
41:30
Speaker 2: something that so many people can really relate to.
41:33
Speaker 3: When you're just training because you like training. You run
41:36
Speaker 3: because you like.
41:37
Speaker 2: To run, and not having a goal or a destination
41:42
Speaker 2: makes all of it feel a little bit all.
41:44
Speaker 3: Over the place.
41:45
Speaker 2: It sounds to me also like this year is the
41:49
Speaker 2: year that you get to have the destination of coming
41:52
Speaker 2: into your own with your fiance as your coach, and
41:55
Speaker 2: then ultimately getting married.
41:57
Speaker 1: Totally. Yeah, it is. I mean we definitely this year
42:00
Speaker 1: to get married for a reason. And yeah, I think
42:04
Speaker 1: it's been a year where I can afford a big
42:08
Speaker 1: change like going to Hoka, and I think, you know,
42:10
Speaker 1: Craig and I were really dialing in things with training
42:13
Speaker 1: and I'm really looking to do big things in twenty
42:16
Speaker 1: twenty seven and definitely in twenty twenty eight. So this
42:18
Speaker 1: has been kind of a year of honing in on that,
42:21
Speaker 1: working on my mental side a lot more than I
42:24
Speaker 1: ever have and working on the training side and the little,
42:27
Speaker 1: you know, tweaks that can make such a big difference.
42:30
Speaker 1: So yeah, hopefully it'll all come together in the next
42:34
Speaker 1: two years. And that's that's kind of what this year
42:37
Speaker 1: looks like for me.
42:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, paint me a picture of the next two years.
42:41
Speaker 2: Obviously there's going to be a lot of competing, there's
42:44
Speaker 2: going to be a lot of different events and inevitably
42:48
Speaker 2: some pressure. How do you expect to handle it? What's
42:51
Speaker 2: on the horizon?
42:52
Speaker 3: Talk to me.
42:53
Speaker 1: I love the pressure. I think that's where I thrive.
42:57
Speaker 1: That's where I've always thrived. So I think that's why
42:59
Speaker 1: this year I've been kind of struggling because I don't
43:02
Speaker 1: have this pressure of making a team. And so yeah,
43:06
Speaker 1: I think going through next year in the year after
43:11
Speaker 1: that is something that I'm very familiar with. I've done
43:14
Speaker 1: for every single year up to this point of my career,
43:17
Speaker 1: so I'm looking forward to getting back to that and
43:20
Speaker 1: having learned so much with Craig for these past two years.
43:25
Speaker 1: I mean, I just feel like I'm going to be
43:27
Speaker 1: a completely different athlete come next year and just really
43:31
Speaker 1: excited to put everything together and have those performances that
43:34
Speaker 1: I know I'm truly capable of.
43:37
Speaker 2: Who is that athlete when you say I'm going to
43:39
Speaker 2: be an entirely different athlete. Before you were talking about
43:43
Speaker 2: you were doing actually something that I love doing, which
43:45
Speaker 2: is coming up with I AM statements, things that we
43:48
Speaker 2: know to be true. And I actually did this exercise
43:50
Speaker 2: on the show years ago with Elise Cranny where I
43:52
Speaker 2: had her tell me five I AM statements, and one
43:55
Speaker 2: of the biggest ones one that you know just as
43:58
Speaker 2: well as I AM gritty. So when you think about
44:02
Speaker 2: the athlete that you're going to be towing the line
44:05
Speaker 2: at the Olympic Trials in twenty twenty eight, who is she?
44:09
Speaker 1: I think it's going to be someone that literally has
44:12
Speaker 1: no fear. I think I'm not going to be I'm
44:16
Speaker 1: not going to be afraid of the challenge. I'm not
44:17
Speaker 1: going to be afraid of the pain. Someone that just
44:21
Speaker 1: has full belief and their capabilities and can see themselves
44:25
Speaker 1: at the top of the podium. And I already know
44:28
Speaker 1: I'm a resilient athlete because I've gone through a lot
44:31
Speaker 1: of struggles and come back from that. But I think
44:33
Speaker 1: I really am missing that piece of just like really
44:36
Speaker 1: giving no fs and just really just putting myself on
44:40
Speaker 1: the line and not thinking about the the you know
44:44
Speaker 1: what if I fail, but more so thinking like, you
44:46
Speaker 1: know what if I succeed?
44:48
Speaker 2: And what an empowering mindset that is to come by,
44:52
Speaker 2: but one that takes so much leg work to put
44:56
Speaker 2: into practice.
44:57
Speaker 1: Truly, I mean it's taking me and I feel like
45:00
Speaker 1: I'm not I'm not there just yet. I feel like
45:03
Speaker 1: I see myself getting really close. But yeah, it's taken
45:06
Speaker 1: me literally up to this point of my pro career
45:08
Speaker 1: to say these things out loud so and truly believe
45:12
Speaker 1: it too.
45:13
Speaker 3: That's just such a valuable takeaway.
45:16
Speaker 2: Right. You see someone and on the outside, it may
45:19
Speaker 2: look like they have absolutely everything figured out, they're doing
45:22
Speaker 2: absolutely everything the quote unquote right way, but you don't
45:26
Speaker 2: know until you sit down with them. You don't know
45:29
Speaker 2: what's going on behind the scenes. People see individuals arrive
45:34
Speaker 2: at this mountaintop and think they just got there overnight,
45:37
Speaker 2: and that is never ever, ever the case.
45:40
Speaker 1: Oh truly. Yeah, No, it takes it takes years and
45:43
Speaker 1: years to get to this point. I mean, it takes
45:47
Speaker 1: it takes failing, it takes succeeding, it takes you know,
45:50
Speaker 1: getting down coming back, like It really truly does not
45:55
Speaker 1: happen overnight, and it's something that you have to keep
45:58
Speaker 1: working at. And I feel like, you know, even the
46:00
Speaker 1: best in the world, if you talk to them, there's
46:03
Speaker 1: still there's still something that they're working on. There's always
46:06
Speaker 1: something that, yeah, you can be better at, and you
46:09
Speaker 1: can you can excel in different ways, whether that's mentally
46:12
Speaker 1: or physically. So yeah, it's pretty cool to see my
46:16
Speaker 1: own evolution. But yeah, it's really nice when you do
46:20
Speaker 1: get to have those conversations with other people and you're like, oh, why,
46:24
Speaker 1: no idea. I mean you would just think that yeah,
46:26
Speaker 1: like you said, like they have it all figured out
46:28
Speaker 1: and they're just cruise on cruise control. But it's truly
46:32
Speaker 1: not the case with most of.
46:33
Speaker 2: Us spoiler alert. Nobody has it all figured out. Honestly.
46:36
Speaker 3: The people that I look up to the most, or
46:38
Speaker 3: the people that talk.
46:39
Speaker 2: So openly about their enjoyment for being a constant student,
46:45
Speaker 2: people that have mastered certain skills but will never be complacent,
46:51
Speaker 2: will never be satisfied. I think there's a difference between
46:55
Speaker 2: being a person that can be okay in one place,
46:59
Speaker 2: fine can in one place, versus being a person that
47:02
Speaker 2: can have that contentment and then say okay, but then
47:05
Speaker 2: what happens next?
47:07
Speaker 1: Yeah? Yeah, it's like always having that curiosity. I think
47:10
Speaker 1: I always want to keep that what can I yeah,
47:12
Speaker 1: what can I improve on? What can I do next?
47:14
Speaker 1: What can what can elevate my game in a different way?
47:17
Speaker 1: So yeah, always being curious, I think is the best
47:20
Speaker 1: way to be.
47:21
Speaker 3: I love that.
47:22
Speaker 2: So someone comes to your Instagram page, they see a
47:27
Speaker 2: woman who is a hoca athlete with over thirty thousand followers.
47:32
Speaker 2: You're the American record holder in the mile. But when
47:35
Speaker 2: you look in the mirror, Sinclair, what is it that
47:37
Speaker 2: you see looking back at you?
47:41
Speaker 1: I'm honestly just a goofy, silly girl. I think I
47:46
Speaker 1: love to have fun. I love to spend time with
47:48
Speaker 1: my friends. I love the nature and hiking and doing
47:53
Speaker 1: all the outdoor activities. I'm truly just really down to
47:59
Speaker 1: earth and I care really deeply about people. And I
48:04
Speaker 1: am honestly just like the girl next door. I'm a
48:07
Speaker 1: very normal person who is just I just have an
48:11
Speaker 1: alter ego when I get on the track. Is really
48:13
Speaker 1: what it is?
48:13
Speaker 3: Does she have a name?
48:16
Speaker 1: Sin City? That's what people call me?
48:17
Speaker 2: Hey, all right, sin City? Well right now, you have
48:22
Speaker 2: an opportunity to offer yourself a piece of advice. Let's
48:25
Speaker 2: go back to talking about the lingering effects of your
48:30
Speaker 2: current injury, encouraging you to take a step back, encouraging
48:36
Speaker 2: you to sit out maybe when you wouldn't want to otherwise.
48:40
Speaker 2: Knowing what you know, what advice do you have to
48:42
Speaker 2: offer yourself navigating this Hurtle moment.
48:46
Speaker 1: Truly, just listen to your body. Your body is not
48:50
Speaker 1: going to lead you astray. And yeah, it's one of
48:54
Speaker 1: those things where I feel like my body was telling
48:58
Speaker 1: me over and over again, giving me signs, and I
49:00
Speaker 1: was just ignoring, and I, yeah, I will never do
49:03
Speaker 1: that again. I think if you know I have a
49:05
Speaker 1: day where I'm feeling a little extra tired or feeling
49:08
Speaker 1: extra hungry, It's like those are signs that I need
49:11
Speaker 1: more risks, I need more food. And so yeah, just
49:13
Speaker 1: truly listening to my body and giving it what it needs,
49:17
Speaker 1: because it's not ever going to tell you something that
49:19
Speaker 1: you don't need to know.
49:21
Speaker 2: Now you're working together toward a common goal.
49:25
Speaker 3: Sinclair Johnson love having you on the show.
49:27
Speaker 2: Over those that aren't following along with you, just yet
49:30
Speaker 2: give us the info.
49:31
Speaker 3: Where do we find you? On Instagram and of course
49:33
Speaker 3: also on YouTube.
49:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just Sinclair Johnson on Instagram and I think
49:39
Speaker 1: it's Inclaire dot Johnson on YouTube. So yeah, stay tuned.
49:42
Speaker 1: I'll be definitely posting more on YouTube.
49:45
Speaker 3: Excite. I love it. You're inspiring me.
49:47
Speaker 2: I'm over at Emily a Body and at Hurdle Podcast
49:50
Speaker 2: Another Hurdle Conquered.
49:51
Speaker 3: Catch you guys next time