Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / The Discipline of a World Champion: Twanisha 'TeeTee' Terry On Navigating Forced Rest, Star Athletics & Finding Clarity In The Comeback

Transcript

The Discipline of a World Champion: Twanisha 'TeeTee' Terry On Navigating Forced Rest, Star Athletics & Finding Clarity In The Comeback · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I just love to say, I never know who's watching.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: So you want to make sure you, you through and through,
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: and you just stay true to who you are.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: What's happening? Emily Abadi here.
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  Speaker 3: You are listening to another episode of Hurdle. a podcast
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  Speaker 3: featuring the mindset, secrets, and true stories of the most
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  Speaker 3: inspiring women in sports and wellness, empowering you to live
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  Speaker 3: a healthier, happier, more motivated life, and of course, conquer
• 0:39
  Speaker 3: your own hurdles. This week, I am sitting down with
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  Speaker 3: Olympic and world champion sprinter, Tanisha T.T.
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  Speaker 2: Terry. We recorded this conversation right here in New York
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  Speaker 2: City while.
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  Speaker 3: She was in town for the USATF National Championships. But
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  Speaker 3: instead of towing the line on the track, T.T. was
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  Speaker 3: navigating a different kind of challenge, sitting on the sidelines
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: due to a lower back injury and embracing what she
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  Speaker 3: calls Patient 2026. In this episode, Titi opens up about
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  Speaker 3: the mental gymnastics of forced rest, working through the frustration
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  Speaker 3: when timelines get pushed back, and finding clarity alongside her
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  Speaker 3: star athletics training group. We dive into the distinction between
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  Speaker 3: running the four by 100 meter relay versus the open
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  Speaker 3: 100 meters, how she balances high stakes track goals with
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  Speaker 3: passions like writing children's books, building Legos and community mentorship,
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  Speaker 3: and the power of giving yourself grace when things don't
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  Speaker 3: go according to plan. Make sure you're following along with
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: Hurdle over on social. It's over at Hurdle Podcast. You
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: can also check out I Heart Women Sports over at
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: I Heart Women Sports and me over at Emily Abadie.
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: Listen to Hurdle with Emily Abadi on the iHeartRadio app,
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And last
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: but not least, make sure you're subscribed to the weekly
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• 2:10
  Speaker 3: from the show directly in your inbox as well. as
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  Speaker 3: Hurdle's new YouTube channel. All this stuff linked directly in
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  Speaker 3: the show notes. With that, let's get to it. Let's
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  Speaker 3: get to hurdling. Today, I am sitting down with Twinisha
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  Speaker 3: TT Terry. She is a world champion and Olympic champion.
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  Speaker 3: Welcome to Hurdle.
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  Speaker 2: How are we doing?
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  Speaker 4: Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm doing really good.
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  Speaker 4: My day is just getting started.
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  Speaker 3: It's not much to complain about because you're here in
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  Speaker 3: New York City. This weekend is the USA Championships. How
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  Speaker 3: are you feeling about being here and not competing?
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  Speaker 4: I'm feeling good.
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  Speaker 1: You know, this is what my second meet, no, my
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  Speaker 1: third meet showing up and not competing, you know, being
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  Speaker 1: able to just sit on the sidelines. So I've been
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  Speaker 1: able to maximize my opportunities of me not competing.
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  Speaker 4: So, you know, I'll be doing a meet and greet
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  Speaker 4: while I'm here for the fans and with my books
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  Speaker 4: and things like that.
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  Speaker 1: But it feels, it's different. It's definitely different not competing
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  Speaker 1: at all this season. You know, you have some meets
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  Speaker 1: where you're like, okay, I'm going to just go and
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  Speaker 1: spectate this meet because I'm not competing. But to not
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  Speaker 1: compete the whole season is definitely a different feeling.
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  Speaker 4: But it's something that I've accepted and I'm okay with.
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  Speaker 3: I think that there's a lot of value in being like,
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  Speaker 3: it's something I'm okay with. It's obviously not the initial desire,
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  Speaker 3: but it's something that now you've accepted and you're like,
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  Speaker 3: what can I do with this time?
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  Speaker 2: And that's something that so many people can learn from.
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  Speaker 1: Yes.
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  Speaker 4: Yes, definitely.
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  Speaker 1: I think For me, it was a matter of shifting
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  Speaker 1: my perspective when it came to it. Because at first
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  Speaker 1: I was like, okay, we got hopes of trying to compete.
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  Speaker 1: And then when it shifted to being, I'm like, okay,
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  Speaker 1: it's okay. I'm seeing it for what it is, you know,
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  Speaker 1: taking it as a season to rest. Because once I
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  Speaker 1: got out of college, it's like I was running every
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  Speaker 1: championship once I left USC. Because 2021 was my last
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  Speaker 1: year at USC. And then 2022 was the red championship. 2023,
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  Speaker 1: red championship.
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  Speaker 4: 2024, Olympic Games. 2025, red championship. So I really was
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  Speaker 4: on go. all of those years.
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  Speaker 1: So I'm definitely looking at it as a moment to
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  Speaker 1: be able to step back and just rest, even though
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  Speaker 1: it was a forced rest, but I'm okay with it.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: A forced rest as you're calling it patient 2026. Yes.
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  Speaker 3: Tell me a little bit, give us some context into
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  Speaker 3: what you're navigating right now.
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  Speaker 1: So at the start of this season, I said it
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  Speaker 1: was going to be a phenomenal 2026. Um, but then
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  Speaker 1: like training was going well. This was my best fall
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  Speaker 1: training since I've been in the group, um, with Star
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  Speaker 1: Athletics down in Orlando, Florida, um, coached by Dennis Mission,
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  Speaker 1: Sharif Lewis. It's a Nike group. And the training was
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  Speaker 1: going really good. I was tackling the workouts, like workouts
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  Speaker 1: that I hate. I was tackling them every time I
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  Speaker 1: stepped on the track. I mean, on the grass or
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  Speaker 1: the track, because we start out with grass workouts. And
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  Speaker 1: my teammates was even noticing. It was like, oh my God,
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  Speaker 1: you're doing good.
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  Speaker 4: You're one for one. You're two for two.
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  Speaker 1: You're three for three. And it just kept progressing. Then
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  Speaker 1: eventually we transitioned to the track where we was in
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  Speaker 1: flats for a few weeks. And then we transitioned to Spikes.
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  Speaker 1: And then March was when I got hurt, March 24th.
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  Speaker 1: And the season was supposed to start that following week.
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  Speaker 1: I ended up getting sidelined. We didn't know the extent
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  Speaker 1: at first. We were just like, okay. Coach had hopes
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  Speaker 1: that I would be back. Because I wanted to run
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: in Kenya. The two meets I wanted to do this
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  Speaker 1: year was Kenya and the Ed Murphy Classic. And Kenya
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  Speaker 1: was April 24th, I believe. So that would have been
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: a week from when I got injured. And I wasn't
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  Speaker 1: able to do Kenya.
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  Speaker 4: So Coach was.
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  Speaker 1: Thinking that I was going to be back by Royal Relays,
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  Speaker 1: which was May 2nd and 3rd. And then we like, okay,
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: not going to be back by Royal Relays. And then
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  Speaker 1: it started to just become weeks turned into months. And
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: then it just kept going. And it's like, okay, well,
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  Speaker 1: I'm not even doing, I'm not even running. So it
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  Speaker 1: got to the point I couldn't run anymore because I
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  Speaker 1: injured my back, my lower back. And it went from
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  Speaker 1: me like not doing anything. Like one of the days
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  Speaker 1: my back ended up spasming like the whole day. So
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  Speaker 1: it locked my back up really bad. So my back
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  Speaker 1: ended up going to protective mode. So we just had
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  Speaker 1: to let the back do its own thing, work its
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  Speaker 1: own course. And it took weeks for it to just
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  Speaker 1: even unlock. So we kind of was dealing with that.
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  Speaker 1: And then it kind of went from, okay, we're trying
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  Speaker 1: to get back to run. And I thought I was going,
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  Speaker 1: I was like, okay, I could probably run by June 20th,
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  Speaker 1: coach meet. But then coach was like, no, you're not
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  Speaker 1: doing that meet.
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  Speaker 4: That's too soon.
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  Speaker 1: Because the biggest thing for him was that I'm out
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  Speaker 1: of shape. And I was like, dang, that is true.
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  Speaker 1: Because I literally stopped completely running. I didn't do weightlifting, obviously,
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  Speaker 1: because it's my bag. I wasn't running, because it was
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  Speaker 1: hurting to walk. I couldn't even walk without feeling it.
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  Speaker 4: So then I was like, okay, well.
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to navigate this whole process, you know, the
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  Speaker 1: ups and downs. Because a lot of people, they support
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  Speaker 1: us on the track and they see the success. They
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  Speaker 1: see the medals and everything. But I'm like, they don't
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  Speaker 1: understand what goes on behind the scenes and the extent
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  Speaker 1: of things. So I was like, okay, I'm going to
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  Speaker 1: navigate this. So I decided to release it through my
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  Speaker 1: YouTube channel. So I decided to call it From Phenomenal
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  Speaker 1: 2026 to Patient 2026. And just navigating basically like the injury,
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  Speaker 1: the mental setbacks, the recovery. Because right now I'm in
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  Speaker 1: week 17, right? of the injury, things are progressing really well.
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  Speaker 1: We're making different, we're hitting different milestones and things of
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  Speaker 1: that sort. So it's going, it's going how it's supposed to.
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  Speaker 1: I saw you run the other day.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: A little, little running run.
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  Speaker 4: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: Did a little something because at first I'm like, I
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  Speaker 1: haven't used my muscles in three months before doing that
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  Speaker 1: first trot that I did.
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  Speaker 4: I'm like, I feel like I don't know what I'm doing.
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  Speaker 1: I was doing pool workouts and coach end up incorporating
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  Speaker 1: drills as we continue to progress. And he was like,
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  Speaker 1: do this specific drill. And it was supposed to be
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  Speaker 1: for the glute and hamstring, supposed to fire through the glute.
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  Speaker 1: And I said, coach, I don't, it sounds so simple
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  Speaker 1: what you're saying, but I don't know what you want
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  Speaker 1: me to do. Like I cannot do, I said, coach,
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  Speaker 1: I'm trying my hardest and it's just not registering my body,
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  Speaker 1: not firing away, whatever you're telling me to do. And
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  Speaker 1: then when I did that first trot, I'm like, okay,
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  Speaker 1: I'm moving a little bit, but I felt like I
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  Speaker 1: never ran track a day in my life. And then
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  Speaker 1: when we was able to progress further to do 50 meters,
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  Speaker 1: I'm like, okay, I'm doing, I'm a little faster, but
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  Speaker 1: now I feel so unstable. It's like I'm rocking, the
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: knees bending. So it's just been a lot of progress
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: through this recovery.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. I think it's so special that you're sharing this
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  Speaker 3: journey on YouTube and shedding light on what it's like
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  Speaker 3: for you because you, as I started us off here,
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  Speaker 3: Olympic champion, world champion, so many accolades, and you have
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: the same road to recovery that an non-elite human being.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: Would have when you're like, how did I ever do
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  Speaker 2: this before?
• 8:34
  Speaker 4: Listen, Florida, the heat is hot. The humidity, hot.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: I go out there with them now because I walk
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: laps because I can't do full running yet because our
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: warmup is typically walking a lap and doing four scrubs
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: and then going into stretching. So what I'll do, I'll
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: just keep walking laps or I'll switch it up some
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: days where I'll probably do walk 200s. And I'm like, okay,
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: I'm going to cut across the field and walk another 200.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: Or I'll walk 150s. So just to try to make
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: it a little fun, whatever. And I'm like, there's no
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: way I was training in this heat. Like, I really
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: was working out with y'all in this heat. Like, right now,
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: I literally, my teammates would tell, as I said, I
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: really was doing this with y'all in this heat.
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: Like, this feels.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: Horrible.
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: And it makes you realize how insane it is what
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: you are capable of, maybe not in this moment right now.
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: But to have this step back and be like, wow,
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: we are really doing this.
• 9:26
  Speaker 4: For sure. Definitely.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: For sure. It's crazy. It's crazy.
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: And it brings to light such an important conversation, as
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: you mentioned, that you.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: kept getting that timeline pushed back.
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: Talk to me about the mental gymnastics that happened for
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: you as it was like, okay, we're aiming for, you know,
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: eight weeks, then 16 weeks.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: And then it's like, okay, why are we still waiting?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: Okay.
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: So the injury that I'm dealing with, um, it's actually,
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: I think a 12 to 16 week injury, but we
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: was trying to come back in 10 to 12 weeks. Because,
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: you know, as athletes, we heal a little faster than
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: the average person. So it was like, okay, we're going
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: to try to get moving, try to compete by July, June, July.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: And it kept getting pushed back. And then by week seven,
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: I started to hit a mental slump. I'm like, I
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: didn't want to show up to rehab. I didn't want
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: to do anything. And it's not like I was in
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: a negative headspace or anything. I didn't have negative thoughts.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: I just didn't want to do anything. I was just like,
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: I don't want to get up. I don't want to
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: go out and walk laps at the track. I don't
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: want to go to these pool workouts. I'm not trying
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: to drive, because I have to drive to Orlando Health
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: for rehab, which is probably like a 30-minute drive every day.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: And I had to go to rehab twice a week,
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: every Monday and Wednesday. So I'm making that drive. I'm
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: just driving up and down Orlando multiple times a day.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: And it got to where I'm like, I don't want
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: to do anything. My coaches, they still kind of had
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: to hope, because Dennis was away in China with some
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: of my teammates, and Sharice stayed back to China. coach
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: the other athletes and myself and doing the pool workouts
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: and stuff like that. So he started to see the
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: mental shift. He started to see me fading a little bit,
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: but he kept trying to encourage him.
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: Like, you're going to get to running. We're going to
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: be running soon. We're going to make it to the track.
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: We're going to make it to the track. I said, Sharif,
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: it's okay.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not touching the track. I'm not competing this year.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: And then it started to, Sharif was telling my physical therapist, Brian,
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: He was like, I know she's saying this, she's saying that,
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: but we got to try to keep it going.
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: I said, y'all, it's okay.
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: I said, Sharif, you don't got to be delusional this year.
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: It's okay. I'm not touching the track.
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: Let's save the delusion for next year. And I remember
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: sitting down with Dennis. I actually called Dennis while he
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: was in China. And we had a conversation. I'm like, coach,
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: what's the plan like? What are we doing here? You know,
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: we pushing May. And he was like, well, you know,
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: we got these certain milestones or these certain like windows
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: for you to try to be running by to make
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: it make sense to compete this year. He's like, we
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: got these certain windows. But, you know, you're still not
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: running right now. I think that was around like May
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: 20th or so. So it was probably what, just hit
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: two months in. And he was like, we're going to
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: have to make some decisions when I get back and
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: this and that. He was like, the perfect scenario would
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: be if you was able to run right now, but
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: you're not able to do that. So we would try
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: to give it another week and see what that week
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: looking like. And then that week came, I'm still not running.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: So once I had that conversation with him, I kind
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: of already made up in my mind that I'm not
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: competing this year. So I had the ultimate shift. So
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: I'm like, okay, I'm not competing. So I don't got
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: nothing to work for. I'm not working towards anything. And
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: then when he came back from China- He's like, we
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: got to have this conversation. I was like, okay, I'm
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: fine with it. So we had the conversation. He sat
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: me down. And at first he thought I wanted to
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: take off like right then and there, like in June.
• 12:29
  Speaker 4: It was June. And he's like, you can't take off
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: in June. That's too early. You never took off that early.
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: And we don't know what it'll do to your body.
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: Because going into fall training... My body already responds certain
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: ways to the workouts, the high volume. And he was like,
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: let's say on a 10 scale, 10 is being all
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: the way in shape. Your teammates that have a season
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: this year, they'll come back to fall training like a
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: five or six. If you stop right now, you'll come
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: back at like a negative one. And he was like,
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: that'll be putting us in unfamiliar territory. That's going to
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: put a huge toll on your body. It's asking for
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: you to get injured again. So I was like, Coach, no,
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: I understand everything you said. I wasn't trying to take
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: off right now. I literally was not thinking nothing like this.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: I know I still got to get healthy. I still
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: got to show strength.
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: That I can run.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: So that's how our perspective shifted. And we was like, okay, well,
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: let's go now and just get healthy. I need to
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: finish the season off showing them that I can run
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: without pain Showing him that I can do this, I
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: can do that. So he made me shift my perspective again.
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: But in relation to what I was doing, he was like,
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: you have to see yourself work for somebody. I know
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: you're not competing, but aim as if you're working to
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: compete in September or something like that. As if you
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: got a meat plant. And he was like, because that
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: would help your intensity, that would help your healing. Because
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: right now, you feel like you're not working, so your
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: intensity is low.
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: You don't want to do anything wrong.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: And at that time, I didn't really want to do
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: anything because everything started to become redundant. I was limited
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: on the things I could do. I'm doing the same
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: exact things every day. And it was like, I do
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: Nestri training, mental training with Nestri. And it was one
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: of my sessions I went to because they do the
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: mapping on your brain and stuff. And it was like,
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: your brain is sleepwalking, basically. It's not doing what I
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: would normally do in the previous sessions.
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: And I was like, oh, okay.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: I said, that kind of makes sense because I've really
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: been lollygagging these last few days. I'm doing the same thing.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: I'm walking in circles every single day. So that's what
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: made me change up. what I would do at the
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: track when they came to me walking. And I told Dennis,
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: I was like, the only thing I need from you
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: is can I have a week off? I said, a week?
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: He was like, what does a week off look like?
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: I said, a week off of doing nothing. I don't
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: want to come to rehab. I don't want to go
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: to the pool. I don't want to go to the track.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: I just need a week. And I said, when I
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: give you this week, I could come back and give
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: you everything that you're asking for. I would hit the milestones.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: I would make sure my energy is up. I make
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: sure my perspective is changed. I would give you all
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: of that.
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: So I planned it perfectly. I said, well, you got
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: to get ready to go to Rome.
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: So when you go to Rome is when I'll take
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: my week off because you want to see me hit
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: these new milestones. So I'll just wait for you to
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: come back. And I said, he's like, well, I got it. Well,
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: we got to go to Rome. I said, yeah, you
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: have the privilege to go to Rome. I don't have
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: the privilege to go to Rome. So I took that
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: week off and then I came back and then we
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: just continued to progress.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: What did you do in the week off?
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: I went down to Fort Lauderdale with my little sister
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: and my family.
• 15:02
  Speaker 4: I know I went to Georgia. I went to see
• 15:05
  Speaker 4: Coach Carroll, my college coach.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: How was that?
• 15:08
  Speaker 4: That's amazing. I tend to go visit her once a year.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: Normally I do it when the season is over, but
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: since I had time, I ended up going there and
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: it's kind of like allowed me to rest and reset.
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: Things like this.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: I was able to do things with her, whether that's
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: watching new shows or going to eat to different places
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: with her and her husband, Mr. Greg, or even going
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: to see her team, the girls and speaking to some
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: of them before they got ready to leave for, I
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: think it was leave for NCAAs that following week or so. So,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: you know, I got to spend time with them. And
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: then I came back and I was ready to go.
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: We just made it do what it do.
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's really such a privilege to be able to
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: have a team that's looking out for your best interest,
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: because when we're in these moments of frustration or we're
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: dealing with something that isn't as we'd hoped that it
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: would be, the emotion gets into it, right? And it
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: also sounds like you have such a level head about this.
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: You have gotten to this point now where you're like,
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: just tell me how it is now so that I
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: can have.
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: Clarity to move forward.
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: Because when we have clarity, it doesn't always give us
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: what we want. Like you didn't want to hear that
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: you needed to wait longer to start running in the
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: way that you wanted to. but it gave you what
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: you needed so that you could then figure out how
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: to move forward.
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: Yes, definitely.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: I would definitely say clarity is a big thing in
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: this process because I'm just waiting.
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: I'm like, okay, what am I doing next? What do
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: I need to do here? What do I need to
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: do there?
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: And basically, I mean, and making sure that everybody is
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: on the same page with my PT and with coach.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: I mean, things like that because coach is also worried
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: that about me slipping into depression or things of that sort,
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: especially with championships coming up for the next two months because,
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: you know, now they have USA championships, which I'm not
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: able to compete in. And then They have like a
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: month and then they end up doing the ultimate challenge
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: and things like that. So he was really worried for
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: my mental well-being. But once I accepted it, I was okay.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: Like I knew it was, I already kind of knew
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: it was coming before it came, if that makes sense.
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: Because I was like, before we decided that I wasn't
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: going to compete, I was like, us trying to compete
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: is going to be forcing it.
• 17:06
  Speaker 4: Because I will only be able to compete. I couldn't compete.
• 17:10
  Speaker 4: for pre, which was July 4th.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: So I was like, okay, if I'm not competing at pre,
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: it's not going to make sense to compete at USA's
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: because that would be the only meet.
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: I run at.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: And I was like, after USA's is a month off
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: because they have Commonwealth and the European Championships. And then
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: after that will be three Diamond League races. I said,
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: not even being negative, but being realistic, I'm not getting
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: into those Diamond League meets. They're going to most likely
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: give those lanes to those that's been, obviously those that
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: have been competing this year, but most likely to those
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: that's going to be competing at the ultimate challenge.
• 17:39
  Speaker 4: So they can get them last.
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: Few runs in and tune up whatever it is they
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: need to tune up. So it's a waste for me
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: to try to compete at USA.
• 17:46
  Speaker 4: There's no rush.
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: And it's in that because my biggest thing for competing
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: this year was that I wanted to do the things
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: that I know I was capable of doing this season individually.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: And I know it's the last year of my contract
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: with Nike before like my option year. So my biggest
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: thing was just to perform and do what I need
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: to do so that way I could renegotiate before going
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: into that option year. So I think that's why I
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: coached them, still had a lot of hope of trying
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: to get me on the track because they knew what
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: my goals were prior.
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: To me getting injured. But once we all got on
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: the same page, it.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: Started to work out and flow more because I feel
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: like before we all got on the same page, it's
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: kind of like one person saying this, The next person
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: saying that. And it's like, okay, one person telling me this.
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: And I'm like, okay, okay. And the next person saying that.
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: And it's like, all right. So it's like once we
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: all got on the same page and everybody was in
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: cahoots of knowing that I wasn't running no more. Because
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: you have like me telling my PT, I'm not running, Brian.
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: Then you got him saying, well, coach don't think you're
• 18:35
  Speaker 4: still running. They still got hope.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: And I'm like, well, I'm not running. I'm telling y'all
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: I'm not running. So once we all figured it out
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: and was okay with it, it ended up working out.
• 18:45
  Speaker 4: For the better good.
• 19:02
  Speaker 3: How's the mindset knowing that you're still in this place
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: where you're approaching this option year and this is where
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: we are right now?
• 19:11
  Speaker 4: My mindset's actually great. I haven't been stressing about the contract.
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: I love that.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: It may have crossed my mind a few times prior,
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: like early on in the injury stage, but it's not
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: weighing me down. Yeah. Because I like to say it
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: is what it is. It's going to be what it's
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: going to be. And I feel like I have a
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: great support system. I have a great network around me.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: If I need anything or if I want for anything,
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: I have people that will step in and help me
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: if I need it. So I haven't been worried about it.
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: I just know that I'm like going into next year
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: is going to be a great year. Like I'm already
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: looking into it and saying like I'm not putting expectations
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: on what's going to happen. But I'm saying I know
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: next year is going to be really great because I
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: looked at it as I had a realization moment. when
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: I was in a pool one day doing a pool workout.
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: I'm just dying in a pool. And I said, you
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: know what? 2020 COVID happened. We were forced to shut
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: everything down. We was forced to stop. And then 2021,
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: I went back to USC and I ran my fastest
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: times ever because that was considered my senior year because
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: it was my fourth year, but my junior year on
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: the track. And I was already planning to graduate in
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: three years, but COVID interrupted that. So I went back
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: to school and I ended up getting my master's that year.
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: And I remember Coach Carol telling me at Pac-12 Championship,
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: she was like, I'm not letting you come back to school.
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: You got that extra year, but you're not coming back
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: to school. I said, that's okay.
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: I'm not trying to come back. But I was already
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: running the way I needed to. And she was like,
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: so you better make sure you do what it is
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: you need to do.
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: I said, oh, don't worry. We doing that. So I
• 20:33
  Speaker 4: ran the fastest I've ever ran.
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: I think I won my third Pac-12 title in 100
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: that year. And I won my first Pac-12 title in
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: the 200.
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: So I was.
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: Doing things that I wasn't doing before we got forced
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: to shut down. So I was like, That's kind of
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: what this is going to be like. I'm forced to
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: sit down this year. And next year, I'm going to
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: come back ready and prepared.
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: What I appreciate about you also is you're really good
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: at finding the evidence. And what I mean by that
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: is that sometimes when our thoughts get ahead of us,
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: when our feelings get ahead of us, we start to
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: spiral and we wonder what the worst case scenario could be.
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: And you're like, okay, I've been through X and Y.
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: I've been through these challenges. And in those moments of adversity...
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: I was able to persevere. So why would I ever
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: think that this moment would be any different?
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: And if anybody's going to remind me, Melissa's going to
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: remind me. her husband, my support group, Coach Carol going
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: to call and remind me.
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: I've seen you accomplish this, this, and that. I've seen
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: you get over this, this, and that. You can do it.
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: This ain't nothing new.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: So I have those people that's around me because like
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: you said, it's moments where you could just be sitting
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: there thinking and now all your emotions are just spiraling
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: all over the place.
• 21:41
  Speaker 4: Because you're thinking, well, what if this? What if that?
• 21:43
  Speaker 4: What if that?
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: I didn't have many of those moments during this injury.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: When I first got injured, I still had hopes of
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: going to Millmar Invitational to support my teammates. Because I'm like,
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: that's right up the street. That's kind of in my
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: hometown to be able to compete. It's not that far
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: from Miami. That would have been the closest meet to home.
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: So I was like, okay, I'll still go to support.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: you know, still show my face. And they was like,
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: you can't go. That's too much of a travel on
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: your back. Cause I had just, it was freshly new.
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: It was like a week later. And I was like, dang, okay.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: So I was supporting from home. And I remember just
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: washing dishes one day while they was competing. Like, I
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: think maybe the day they probably was competing. I'm like,
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: and I just started crying. I'm like, I'm supposed to
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: be here. I'm supposed to be competing. But at the
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: same time, I never questioned why me... When I first
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: got injured, I never even thought it was going.
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: To be to this extent. I'm just like, oh, okay.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: Because I was feeling back pain for two to three
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: weeks prior, but I'm thinking it's just the workload. I'm
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: the type of athlete I can push through anything and
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: coach them know that.
• 22:36
  Speaker 4: So that's why.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: Now going forward, we'll have to do a better job
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: of if we feeling something, maybe mentioning a little bit
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: and kind of decide together on how we would move forward.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Because I'm one of them, like my hamstring, I've had
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: issues with my hamstring. I didn't injure it, but it's
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: something with the recovery of my hamstring when we do
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: high volume to the point like I have to drag
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: it to get to the line. So I'll take a
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: little rest and I'll be able to compete. So if
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: I can push through things like that, I'm like, nothing
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: can stop me. So when I was having that back pain,
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: I'm just thinking it's just wear and tear of us
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: building for the fall season. Because you know, you load up,
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: you lifting heavy, things of that sort. So I never
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: thought it was to this extent, even when I got hurt,
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: because they was trying to get me to do an ultrasound.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: When I first got hurt, I said, I don't want
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: to do an ultrasound because I didn't want to go
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: to the guy that they was going to send me to.
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: And I was like, okay. They was like, well, can
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: you do an MRI just to rule out anything? And
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: I said, okay, I'll do the MRI. And luckily, I'm
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: thankful I did do the MRI because that's where we
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: saw the images of everything. So ain't no telling how
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: long I probably was dealing with this injury before I
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: actually noticed the injury.
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 23:41
  Speaker 3: And again, to have all of those steps in place,
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: have all of those people that you can talk to
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: about what you're going through.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: It's so helpful.
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: I also really appreciate you opening up about feeling some
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: kind of way while washing the dishes because again, you
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: don't work hard for something like this to happen, right?
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: But it can happen and it does happen.
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: And so how you show up to that, how you
• 24:03
  Speaker 3: greet that is such a sign of who it is
• 24:06
  Speaker 3: that you are. And also it's so important to feel
• 24:09
  Speaker 3: the things. Like if you were going to sit here
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: and be like.
• 24:12
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm fine.
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: And like, didn't tell me at any point that you cried.
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: I'd be like, girl, I was like, when are you
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: going to cry?
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: Do you need me to help you? Like, I can
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: hold you.
• 24:18
  Speaker 4: Do you need to cry?
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: Like, I want to help you with this.
• 24:21
  Speaker 3: And I think that we all just have this desire
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: to be so freaking strong all of the time and
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: to let your walls down and to be like, it's
• 24:30
  Speaker 3: okay to not be okay for just a little bit.
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: And then you can get back to it. Yeah.
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: And then you can get back to it.
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: You mentioned the training group that you work with in Orlando,
• 24:39
  Speaker 3: you guys all definitely excelling over the last few years.
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: Talk to me about how that group lifts you up
• 24:47
  Speaker 3: and how it makes you feel to be around such
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: talented people.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: So I got to Star Athletics in 2022 and they
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: definitely shifted my whole perspective on a lot of things
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: when it comes to competing and still be able to
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: enjoy your life. Because obviously in college, you're expected to
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: remain eligible. I'm expected to do an indoor season, an
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: outdoor season. It's just so many things that you have
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: to do in college. So I was always, when I
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: was in college, it was strictly.
• 25:13
  Speaker 4: Track in school.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: I'm In my books, and I'm at practice, I didn't
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: really explore L.A. I didn't really do much outside of
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: my usual activities. I mean, I hung out with the team.
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: We had fun. My freshman year was a great year.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: So I went to little parties, football games, did those
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: kind of things, but I never really ventured off to
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: really see what L.A.
• 25:32
  Speaker 4: Had to offer. And then once I got to start athletics,
• 25:35
  Speaker 4: they was like, no, you can have fun. We still
• 25:37
  Speaker 4: be doing this. We'll do that. We'll go out in
• 25:39
  Speaker 4: season and this and that. It's nothing too crazy. But
• 25:41
  Speaker 4: I was like, oh, okay.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: And I still was able to do what I need
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: to do on the track. So they definitely showed me
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: that you can still have balance.
• 25:48
  Speaker 4: And things of that sort. So they accepted me with
• 25:50
  Speaker 4: open arms.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: Kyrie, especially when I first got here, and I call
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: him my brother. And then everyone else in the group,
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: it's just so much talent, you know. And we're able
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: to feed off each other, especially during the fall training. Like,
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: we know everybody's going to die in fall training. Nothing
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: can prepare you for coming back to fall training again.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: and we tend to uplift one another. There'll be days
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: where somebody leading the pack, then there'll be other days
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: with somebody down, and we just.
• 26:14
  Speaker 4: Uplift one another. It'll be times where we'll literally be
• 26:15
  Speaker 4: talking during the rep. We'll be like, come on, you
• 26:18
  Speaker 4: got it, you got it.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: Or we'll go and we try to settle at a pace, like, okay,
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: settle right here, settle right here. We literally be talking
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: during reps. But we all grinding together. We all know
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: what it takes to get to the level that we
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: want to get to. And then even when Season is over, too.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: These are the same people you have because everyone else
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: have normal jobs. So they can't just, well, y'all want
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: to go travel this weekend to such and such. They
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: have to call off of work and this and that.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: So we're able to still be there for one another.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: Even when we don't run good, when the meat don't
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: go the way we expect it, we speak and laugh
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: into each other.
• 26:49
  Speaker 4: We point to each other like, that's just one meat.
• 26:51
  Speaker 4: That meat don't define you. This and that don't. None
• 26:54
  Speaker 4: of that define you. You're more than this. You're more
• 26:56
  Speaker 4: than that.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: So I'm definitely thankful to be a part of a
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: group and was able to join early on. I've been
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: having success since I've been in this group, obviously with
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: the relays, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, all gold medals. So
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: I know I'm capable and eventually will hit the milestone
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: of doing what I need to do individually because we've
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: seen it coach so many great athletes. You have Sha'Carri
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: was at the 2023 World Championship. She won that year.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: Then you have Melissa, the 2025 World Championship. She won
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: the one, two, and the four by one, you know?
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: So I know that the caliber of athletes that I'm
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: training with is to push me and to make me better.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: So I'm grateful to be surrounded by star athletes.
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that perspective also, because some people would be like, oh,
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: it must be so hard to train with people that
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: are running faster than you. And I don't know about you,
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: but like, I don't want to be the smartest person
• 27:47
  Speaker 3: in the room. Like, I mean, it would be a
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: joy probably to be the fastest.
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: Person on the track.
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: But it's inspiring to see these people around you. It's
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: inspiring to have the opportunity to learn from them. And
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: it's inspiring because we are some of the people that
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: we surround ourselves with. So if they are lifting you
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: up and you have the opportunity to lift them up,
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: then like, absolutely.
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: Hell yeah.
• 28:05
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: No, I love it because when I see them performing good.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: even I'm not, because some people will be saying, how
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: are you happy for them?
• 28:11
  Speaker 4: And they beating you. And I'm like, well, am I
• 28:13
  Speaker 4: supposed to be angry? Am I supposed to be mad?
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: Because what am I supposed to do when I start winning?
• 28:16
  Speaker 4: I'm going to expect them to be happy for me.
• 28:17
  Speaker 4: Like that don't work.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: And you know, I'm a firm believer in what's for
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: me is for me and my time will come or so.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: And then, but when I see them running fast times,
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: I'm like, Ooh, I know I can do that. I
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: just got to get into the rhythm and find it.
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: Cause I feel like once I find that rhythm, it's
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: going to be hard to get away from that rhythm.
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: So when I see them doing what they do and
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: they run certain time, like, I know I can do it.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: We do the same workouts.
• 28:39
  Speaker 4: We train. We got the same code, you know.
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: So I definitely take it as inspiration in knowing what
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: I'm capable of as well.
• 28:46
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: And you mentioned the goal to become a better individual athlete.
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: Talk me through that.
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: The mental gymnastic that goes into relying on just yourself.
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: And what I mean by that is like, when you
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: show up and toe the line for a hundred, it's
• 29:03
  Speaker 3: different probably the way that you think before you show
• 29:07
  Speaker 3: up as part of the four by one, right? So
• 29:10
  Speaker 3: talk to me about where your head is at when
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: you typically get into the blocks. So.
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: A lot of people that have been watching my track
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: career and those that's close to me tell me if
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: I could run the 100 the way I run the 4x1,
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: I would be doing some crazy things. But I approach
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: them differently. When it comes to the 4x1, my confidence
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: is through the roof. No one can run second leg.
• 29:34
  Speaker 4: The way I run second leg.
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: I was going to say that second spot, my girl.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: I love second leg. I've ran second leg in high school.
• 29:40
  Speaker 4: All of high school.
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: And then once I got to college, Coach Carol put
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: me on last. And then my first year professional, I
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: was on last. But then I was so happy once
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: I was able to go back to second leg. But
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: when it comes to the 100, I think I sometimes
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: put expectations on myself and it.
• 29:54
  Speaker 4: Does more harm than good.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: I'm wanting to perform a certain way And I think
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: sometimes it'll weigh me down or sometimes that doubt or
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: so will creep in, especially when you run one meet
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: and it's like, okay, I didn't do what I wanted
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: to do, but okay, that's just the first one. But
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: then when it continues to happen, continues to happen, it's like, okay, now, like.
• 30:12
  Speaker 4: What am I working?
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: Like, what am I doing? Like, I'm doing the work.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: I'm showing the dating now. why isn't it showing when
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: it needs to show? So you start to question a
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: little bit, things of that sort. So I've been learning
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: to have a different approach to the 100 because it
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: also starts at practice too, because we realized sometime last
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: year or so, I was inconsistent in practice. And I
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: would have those moments in a season where I'm able
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: to go out there and I'll have that one or
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: two meets where I'm able to run my sub. I'll
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: run 10.8 or so. So it's like, I'm doing it.
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: I'm capable of doing it, but it's just I'm one
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: minute I'm up, one minute I'm down. So we have
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: to get to a point where I'm consistent across the board.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: And for me, I say it starts, for everyone it
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: starts in practice. But for me, it needs to start
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: in practice because I'm a numbers person. So I know
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: if I'm hitting it in practice, I can hit it
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: in the meet. And I also just have to be
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: confident in my training because I think some meets last year,
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: I was going to the meets like, well, I wasn't
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: hitting the.
• 31:07
  Speaker 4: Numbers in practice. I wasn't doing this in practice. So
• 31:10
  Speaker 4: I'm feeling like I couldn't do it on the track.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: Whereas you have someone like Melissa going out there and
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: still stepping on the track every time and doing what
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: she's doing. That's because she's approaching it the way that
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: she needs to approach it with that competitive mindset. And
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: it'll have been some days in practice where we'll do
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: block starts. And I have the privilege to train alongside Melissa,
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: who's one of the best starters. And Kayla White, great
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: starter as well. And- For me, it's like they were
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: in competitive mode and I'm just in technical mode trying
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: to do everything perfect, coming out the blocks, trying to
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: not make mistakes, trying to not make errors that I
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: got to put my brain was stuck in technical mode.
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: So I wasn't as much as I tried to, I
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: wasn't able to try to find that competitive push in
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: the block. So it's kind of just trickling over each
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: practice because they even got to a point last year
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: where coach told me. Based on the numbers that I
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: was running in practice that I wasn't going to make
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: it out, I think, the semifinals or the first round.
• 31:59
  Speaker 4: One of those. He said, you're not going to make
• 32:01
  Speaker 4: it out the semifinals. I said, oh.
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: How did that feel to hear that?
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah. So I knew I had to turn the intensity up.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: I knew what it was I had to do. So
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: there is definitely a different mindset. when I was approaching both,
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: but going into next year, I would definitely make sure
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: that I'm approaching both with the same mindset. Whatever I'm
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: taking in that 4x1, I will carry over in 100
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: because even looking back in 2024, when I had my
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: first injury, and that was the Olympic year, and I
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: was just making it round by round because I only
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: ran two meets before USAs, and they were subpar meets,
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: 11.36 and 11.19. And I went to USAs, and me
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: and Coach just had a plan to take it round
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: by round, like.
• 32:38
  Speaker 4: I know what you're capable of. I know you're still
• 32:40
  Speaker 4: not 100%, but you're not hurting. You're running without pain.
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: You're not fully healed, but you can do enough to
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: make the team. So I remember running, and I was
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: just taking it round by round. I think I went 11.07,
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: then 11.04.
• 32:55
  Speaker 4: I made the final.
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: I got lane two. And I remember looking at Melissa
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: and Ken, and I was like, whatever y'all do, I'm
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: coming down that track with y'all. And I walked down there.
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: I set my blocks. When they called my name after
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: doing my intro, I looked on the track and I said,
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: run like you're on second leg at 2023.
• 33:13
  Speaker 4: And that's what I did.
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: Once I got up and out my dry phase, I
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: did what I needed to do and made the team individually.
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: So it's all really about that mental preparation going into competition.
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: I have the goosebumps right now.
• 33:28
  Speaker 3: It's again, you finding the evidence, like you're in that
• 33:31
  Speaker 3: moment and you're like, okay, let me think about a
• 33:32
  Speaker 3: time that I felt like I just had it.
• 33:34
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 33:35
  Speaker 3: And so to be able to show up and give
• 33:37
  Speaker 3: that to that performance, it helped you get to where
• 33:40
  Speaker 3: you want it to be.
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: And that is it. I want to talk to you.
• 33:44
  Speaker 3: It's so interesting because right now, arguably running is having
• 33:50
  Speaker 3: a a major moment in that there are, for the
• 33:54
  Speaker 3: everyday person, more run clubs, more people running, like it
• 33:58
  Speaker 3: is everywhere, right? And I find it so intriguing that
• 34:01
  Speaker 3: we're not necessarily seeing that convert to fans of track
• 34:07
  Speaker 3: and field.
• 34:08
  Speaker 2: Why do you think that is? What do you think
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: we got to do different, Titi?
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: We have to do something different with us first, within
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: the sport. I feel like when it comes to track
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: and field, there's so many subscriptions you have to pay
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: for to watch meets. Like, a few meets may be
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: on USATF and then the next few meets on FlowTrack
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: and the next few meets on NBC. Like it's just
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: so many loopholes that you have to jump through just
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: to try to find a meet.
• 34:32
  Speaker 4: And you have to end, like when you do those,
• 34:35
  Speaker 4: pay for those subscriptions, they're expensive.
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: They are.
• 34:38
  Speaker 4: Like I have to pay this much just to watch
• 34:40
  Speaker 4: four meets out of the year? Yeah. Like that don't
• 34:42
  Speaker 4: make sense.
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: And I feel like we're killing ourselves We're killing ourselves
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: from inside the sport. A lot of our stuff isn't
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: broadcasted as much. You have basketball and you could just
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: turn on regular cable and you can watch on TNT, ABC,
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: and be able to have that exposure to so many
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: different audiences. Whereas with track and field, it's a niche.
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: Only if you know about it, you know about it.
• 35:07
  Speaker 4: Because there'll even be.
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: Times where some people that are huge track and field fans, like,
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: I can't find nothing about the meet.
• 35:13
  Speaker 4: Where you competing that dance? Like, I don't see anything.
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: And then by the time we trying to push out
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: media and stuff, it's the day before the meet.
• 35:20
  Speaker 4: People can't take off of work.
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: People can't plan to be able to come and see
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: in person. And yeah, and I just feel like that's
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: just really what it's like. We have to start within
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: our sport first and just making a change there and
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: then seeing how everything else can trickle over. I feel
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: like when, even when the Diamond Leagues was on Peacock
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: and NBC, at least people knew like, okay, If I'm
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: paying for a Peacock subscription, I'm getting more too.
• 35:45
  Speaker 4: I can watch other shows.
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: I can watch live TV here and there, I believe.
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: But now it's like, okay, now Diamond League is only
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: on Float Track. And it's like a lot of people
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: aren't just only track fans or super track fans for
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: them to just purchase a Float Track subscription and things
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: of that sort. So I feel like it has to
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: start there, like, before we can change anything really.
• 36:05
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 36:05
  Speaker 3: I mean, you've been running for many moons now. I
• 36:09
  Speaker 3: believe you started at something like nine years old.
• 36:11
  Speaker 4: Okay.
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: So you started at nine years old.
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: A lot of people, as I mentioned, as a part
• 36:15
  Speaker 3: of this running boom are starting later in life for
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: those that are picking it up now, what advice do
• 36:21
  Speaker 3: you have to offer to them?
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: I would tell them first, making sure you're having fun
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: with it. Making sure that it's something you want to
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: do and you're not doing it because your mom said
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: do it, your dad said do it. You're trying to
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: impress other people because at the end of the day,
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: you're the one that got to show up every day
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: and go out there and do them workouts. It's going
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: to be days where you want to quit, but if
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: your motivation and drive isn't for you, or even if
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: you have a different motivation, just make sure that it's
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: something you want to do and you're not trying to
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: live up to the expectations of other people because it's
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: going to be up days and it's going to be
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: down days. And if you're having fun with it, you're
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: going to enjoy it every time, no matter what comes
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: your way. But like I said, you're going to have
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: them down days where you question. It's been so many
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: times you probably said, I want to quit. I don't
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: want to do this no more. But we know it's
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: just a hard workout, a tough day. So definitely have
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: fun with it. Definitely be yourself. And don't compare your
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: journey to anyone else. Some people started earlier in the sport.
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: Some people started later and running fast in crazy times.
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: And you just have to... trust your journey and trust
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: your process and understand that what's for you is for you.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: Or so because somebody may be in their chapter 30
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: and you just in chapter 25, you still got more
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: time to go or their chapter may be just for
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: them to be successful that one season. Whereas your book
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: is supposed to be for you to be successful for
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: consecutive season, you know?
• 37:37
  Speaker 4: So just make sure that you're focusing.
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: On yourself because comparison is the thief of joy. You know,
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: you sitting there comparing yourself to other people, they doing this,
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: they doing that and whole time they may not even
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: be happy. So you never know what's going on behind
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: closed doors. So just make sure that you're focusing on
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: yourself and trusting your own journey.
• 38:13
  Speaker 3: Something I appreciate about you is you are such a
• 38:18
  Speaker 3: multifaceted human and vocal about having so many interests that
• 38:22
  Speaker 3: go well beyond track and field and running. You walked
• 38:25
  Speaker 3: in here, there's yarn in your bag. I was like,
• 38:27
  Speaker 3: what are you making? Like, please tell me more about this.
• 38:30
  Speaker 3: Why is that something that's really helpful for you?
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: It's helpful for me because for one, I'm more than
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: just a track and field athlete.
• 38:37
  Speaker 4: I'm very creative. I like DIY. I crochet. I write
• 38:40
  Speaker 4: Trojan books. I have two books out right now.
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: TT's Royal Adventure and TT's Royal Adventure Little Steps Big Wins.
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: I'm the founder and president of my nonprofit, Starting Blocks
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: for Dreams, in cooperation with the mission to provide services
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: and resources to socioeconomically challenged talented youth through community support initiatives, mentorship,
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: and education.
• 38:59
  Speaker 4: What else do I do? I build Legos. I like puzzles.
• 39:02
  Speaker 4: I like plants. I love plants.
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: So it's so many different things that I do and
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: it allowed me to tap into other communities. You know,
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: I had someone tell me that they support me on
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: a track, but when they see I was.
• 39:13
  Speaker 4: Doing plants or I'm doing crochet, they're like, oh, I
• 39:16
  Speaker 4: really can relate to you because I crochet. I love plants.
• 39:19
  Speaker 4: Like I support you on the track, but I'm not
• 39:21
  Speaker 4: an athlete.
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: I don't know what that feels like or what that takes,
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: but I know what it takes to do a crochet project.
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: I know what it takes to keep my plants alive.
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: So being able to showcase my different talents and just
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: show the others that I.
• 39:33
  Speaker 4: Do the same thing y'all do. I like the things
• 39:35
  Speaker 4: y'all do.
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: They put us on a pedestal because we Olympians and
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: stuff like that, but I like to tell people.
• 39:40
  Speaker 4: I'm not famous. I'm not a celebrity.
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: But yes, it allows me to take my mind off
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: of track too, instead of just being track, track, track, track, track.
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: And also it allows me to learn how to tackle
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: different problems and be able to use them in other spaces.
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: So like the way I may tackle something on a
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: track can probably help me with the way I'm tackling
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: a crochet project or vice versa. If I'm stuck on
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: a project, okay, how would I get out of this
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: to be able to use in a situation on a track?
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: So being able to do different things like that. And
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: then the biggest thing, just like being able to connect.
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: I love to sit on TikTok and just be talking
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: with my viewers and And so I have some lawyer views.
• 40:17
  Speaker 4: I don't learn their names and everything. We sit on there.
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: We'd be talking and chit-chatting just to showcase the other
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: things I do. Because at some point, track and field
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: is going to come to an end. And a lot
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: of athletes struggle with who they are outside of their sport.
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: And they don't know who they are. And I didn't
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: want to get to that moment where track ended. And
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: now I'm like, okay, what do I do next? Or
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: have like an identity crisis or something like that. So
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: me already show, and it also allows me to just
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: show brands and stuff too. Like I do other things.
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: I'm not just an athlete. And a lot of fans,
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: what I call my fans, my T-babies. A lot of
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: them like to see what we do off the track.
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: They be interested. Something that we think is just regular, daggler,
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: everyday thing. They be like, we want to see more
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: of that.
• 41:00
  Speaker 2: Regular, daggler.
• 41:01
  Speaker 4: They be like, we want to see more. Can you
• 41:04
  Speaker 4: show us more? And I'm like, sure.
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: I thought that was boring or something. I'll record my
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: plants and me repotting my plants or cutting the leaves off.
• 41:12
  Speaker 4: Or this and that. And they love that. I said, oh, okay.
• 41:16
  Speaker 4: Why not? Bet.
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: Let's do it.
• 41:19
  Speaker 3: It's really cool and it brings about the question, was
• 41:23
  Speaker 3: there someone close to you that reinforced or reiterated how
• 41:28
  Speaker 3: important it was for you to make sure that you
• 41:31
  Speaker 3: had things beyond the track?
• 41:32
  Speaker 4: I don't think no.
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: One really like said you need to make sure you
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: have things beyond the track.
• 41:37
  Speaker 4: I think it's just something that just happened over time.
• 41:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: But my dad, he was, like growing up, he made
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: sure to instill certain qualities and things in me.
• 41:46
  Speaker 4: Things like that.
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: So I was always exposed to other things outside of tracking.
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: Like when I told him, because I remember a time
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: where he was like, you need to tell me what
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: it is you want to be when you grow up.
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: Because I was getting ready to go to high school.
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: And he gave me a deadline on when I needed
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: to get back to him by. And he didn't remember
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: the deadline, but I remember the deadline because I'm not
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: going to play with my dad.
• 42:04
  Speaker 4: If you gave me a deadline, I'm going to do
• 42:06
  Speaker 4: what you said I need to do. Okay, dad.
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: And I remember going back to him and I told
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: him what it was I wanted to be. And like
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: I said, I told him I wanted to be a
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: K-9 officer at the time. And he ended up doing
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: his research and he found a school down in Miami
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: that was... A law enforcement school, it was a magnet school,
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: Law Enforcement Officers Memorial High School, and it had three
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: different strands, Homeland Security, Forensic Science, and Law Studies. And
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: once you graduate high school, you graduate with a certification
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: from whichever strand you study. So if I didn't pursue
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: track or have anything planned out of high school, I
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: could have been a dispatcher straight out of high school.
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: I took the dispatch test because we studied the modules online.
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: During 11th and 12th grade year. You know, so he
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: kind of instilled those different things in me. And then
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: it was one time he said to me, when people
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: Google your name, what do you want.
• 42:49
  Speaker 4: To be remembered by?
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: Like when they look up your name, what do you
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: want them to see? And everything else just carried on
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: from that.
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: What do you want them to see, T.T.
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: I just want them to see someone that can inspire
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: them to be whatever it is that they want to be,
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: go after whatever it is that they want to do.
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: Because like you said, I do a lot of different things,
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: showing them that they're not limited to just one thing.
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: They can step outside of the box that society try
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: to put us in.
• 43:13
  Speaker 4: And someone that always went.
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: After everything, never gave up, showed perseverance, determination. And when
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: times got hard, I was able to overcome those times
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: and really that you can do anything that you want
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: to do. Because I feel like track, I have so
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: many accomplishments and stuff on a track, but a lot
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: of people love to tell me that one of their
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: favorite accomplishments is my education. I went to USC and
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: I got my bachelor's of arts, my degree in communications
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: in three years. And then I got a minor in
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: forensic criminality within those three years as well, focusing more
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: on the criminality part. And then I got my master's
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: in one year. But I remember while at USC and
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: I said I wanted to graduate in three years, like
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: How are you going to like, some people are like,
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: how are you going to graduate in three years? You know,
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: the school was paying for my scholarship. So I had
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: to get extra permission to take extra units, you know,
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: and being an athlete, it's hard to take extra units.
• 44:03
  Speaker 4: So one semester I took 20 units.
• 44:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: She's determined.
• 44:08
  Speaker 3: Also, like you are about to be like the world's
• 44:10
  Speaker 3: next great detective. Like once you're done on the track,
• 44:13
  Speaker 3: you're like 100% going to be like real life law
• 44:17
  Speaker 3: and order.
• 44:18
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so one semester I took 20 units during fall training.
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: So I was waking up and that was the days
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: when we had early gym days, like 5, 6 a.m.
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: And then some days we had 5 a.m. heels, but
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: USC don't have any heels on campus. So we had
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: to drive to an offsite location. So you had to
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: be on campus at 5. So I'm waking up at
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: like 4, 4.30. And then that one class was also
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: on Wednesdays.
• 44:39
  Speaker 4: I had to take it.
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: It was once a week. And it was at 6.30
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: to 9.30 p.m. or something like that.
• 44:44
  Speaker 4: So sleepy. And I had to take it.
• 44:46
  Speaker 2: So sleepy.
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: So my day started very early and ended very late.
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: But I was determined. to graduate. So I needed to
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: do those two things. I was like, the best time
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: to do it was in the fall because I can't
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: do it in the spring. We travel too much. And
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: a lot of the professors at USC did not like
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: athletes and did not like you missing their classes.
• 45:01
  Speaker 4: So I did that.
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: And I think that was my lowest semester that year,
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: but it was still like a three, two, eight or
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: something like that. So people was like, I'm like, yeah,
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: but it's low for me, but okay. So I really
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: just stayed determined and didn't let anyone speak fear into
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: my goals. And I also showed them what I was
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: capable of before, because I know a lot of times
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: we like to have goals, but if you don't have
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: no plan set out, that is just a goal. That's
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: just an expectation that you want to accomplish, but you
• 45:29
  Speaker 1: don't really have no plan to.
• 45:31
  Speaker 4: Tackle it or so. So I had everything written out.
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: I also remember before I even did my physical, before
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: I even put on a uniform or even practiced at USC,
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: I wrote down in a notebook and I said, within
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: my four years here, I would like to break the
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: school record set by Angela Williams, which was I think
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: it was 11 flat. And that was also the freshman
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: record too. But I was like within my four years,
• 45:52
  Speaker 1: I didn't care when I did it just within my
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: four years. And I went and did it my freshman year.
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: And that school record just got broken this year.
• 45:59
  Speaker 2: Let's go. I love it.
• 46:01
  Speaker 3: I love to hear just how determined you are when
• 46:05
  Speaker 3: you have a goal and you set your mind to
• 46:07
  Speaker 3: it and you make that plan. We talked about what
• 46:10
  Speaker 3: it is that you hope that people see when maybe
• 46:12
  Speaker 3: they go to Google you, someone comes to your Instagram
• 46:14
  Speaker 3: page and they do see a track athlete, a world champion.
• 46:18
  Speaker 3: But when you look in the mirror then, Titi, what
• 46:20
  Speaker 3: is it that you see looking back at you?
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: I see a young lady that accomplished a lot in
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: such a short time frame or so, a young lady
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: that inspires others. Because even like right now with being injured,
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: I have a lot of little kids that still like,
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: oh my God, you're so amazing.
• 46:39
  Speaker 4: They be speaking like that to me. I mean, I'm
• 46:41
  Speaker 4: the one inspiring them.
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I see a young lady that's determined and
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: that can accomplish anything that's in her way.
• 46:48
  Speaker 2: That's it.
• 46:49
  Speaker 3: It's, again, just such a really beautiful example that just
• 46:54
  Speaker 3: because you might not be in the season that you
• 46:56
  Speaker 3: hoped doesn't mean that you can't find goodness in that season.
• 47:00
  Speaker 3: And right now, as you talked about, you know, doing
• 47:02
  Speaker 3: the meet and greet at the USA Champs, it's like,
• 47:05
  Speaker 3: here we are, and I'm going to do the best
• 47:06
  Speaker 3: I can with what I have.
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: And that's a mindset that just so many people can
• 47:10
  Speaker 2: learn from.
• 47:11
  Speaker 4: Yes. Yes, definitely.
• 47:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah. So what are we excited about right now?
• 47:19
  Speaker 4: Oh, what am I excited about? I feel like I've
• 47:21
  Speaker 4: been doing so much.
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: Like this injury has been allowing me to do opportunities
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: I wouldn't have been able to do if I was
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: competing this year. Like I went and spoke at a
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: little kid's graduation and raffled off some books. I was
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: able to attend my little sister's baby shower. She's going
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: to be the first grandkid. I was able to see
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: the birth of my goddaughter. I was able to go
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: and speak at a Jack and Jill organization event. That
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: was my biggest crowd of like 800 plus people.
• 47:46
  Speaker 4: So I've been doing a lot of things.
• 47:47
  Speaker 1: So I don't think I have any one thing that
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: I'm excited about because so many things just been fun.
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: I think, I guess if I had to pick one thing,
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: I guess I would say I would be excited about
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: going to the USATF Junior Olympics because I'll be going
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: out there doing things with my books. But I know
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: the impact that I have on little kids. So I'm
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: just so excited to see the little kids faces and all.
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: surprised and this and that. So I'm definitely looking forward
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: to that.
• 48:11
  Speaker 3: You have this reputation of being the team mom. You
• 48:13
  Speaker 3: are the oldest of seven. What do you think being
• 48:17
  Speaker 3: this person that is like down to be the, let's
• 48:22
  Speaker 3: say it, mother figure, the person that's like game to
• 48:25
  Speaker 3: take on responsibility. You talked about taking on extra when
• 48:28
  Speaker 3: you didn't necessarily have to in college.
• 48:29
  Speaker 2: Like this is innate in you. What has being that
• 48:33
  Speaker 2: person and stepping into that role taught you, Titi?
• 48:36
  Speaker 4: It taught me a lot because it comes naturally.
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: Like a lot of times I'm just placed in situations
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: and I.
• 48:41
  Speaker 4: Just let it happen.
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: It just takes its course. And it's something that has
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: just always been there. Because even in college, I hung
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: out with the older kids. And if they needed help
• 48:50
  Speaker 1: or something, I would step in and take over and.
• 48:54
  Speaker 4: This and that. But it has also taught me to.
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: sometimes that I need to take a step back sometimes
• 49:00
  Speaker 1: because I love to do for others. I'm always doing
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: for others. And I remember being told that I need
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: to be a little selfish. And it was like, I
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: know it's going to be hard for you. You don't
• 49:08
  Speaker 1: really know how to be selfish or anything like that,
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: but just try just a little bit. Some days I
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: don't want you to... It was one time coach said
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: that to me. He was like, I want you to
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: be a little bit selfish. Like when you get off
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: the bus to go to me, I don't want you
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: worrying about nobody else. I don't want you trying to
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: help nobody else. If they forgot this, they forgot that
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: that's on them. You need to focus on you. He's like,
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: I know it's going to be hard. You don't got
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: being mean in you. But I just need you to
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: try just a little bit.
• 49:32
  Speaker 4: I said, okay.
• 49:33
  Speaker 1: So I've been able to try that a little bit.
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: But I just love, like, it's just who I am.
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: I love helping others. I'm always helping others without expecting
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: anything in return. And it's just a part of who
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: I am or so. And it's also showing me that.
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: I'm capable of being able to step in different environments.
• 49:50
  Speaker 4: And adapt on the fly.
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: Because I know some people, they be needing time to
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: adapt to the situation. But I like to describe myself,
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: I'm very adaptive. I can step into that environment and
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: I can take control, take charge, take lead of that
• 50:02
  Speaker 1: specific environment. And it also has been showing me the
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: impact that I have on the youth. I don't know how,
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: I don't know how it happened. Because a lot of
• 50:11
  Speaker 1: my teammates, they like to call me.
• 50:11
  Speaker 4: A baby magnet.
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: Because no matter where I go, some little kid or
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: some baby is attached to me and I don't know
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: them at all. So I've definitely been seeing the impact.
• 50:22
  Speaker 4: So I'm always cautious of what.
• 50:24
  Speaker 1: It is I do and what I say because the
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: little kids are watching me and I never know. And
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: I just love to say, I never know who's watching.
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: So you want to make sure you, you through and
• 50:34
  Speaker 1: through and you just stay true to who you are.
• 50:36
  Speaker 3: You're just acting in a way that makes yourself proud.
• 50:40
  Speaker 3: How did it feel to be selfish when you tried
• 50:42
  Speaker 3: to be selfish?
• 50:43
  Speaker 4: It didn't feel too bad. It did take time to learn.
• 50:46
  Speaker 2: You're reflecting on it now.
• 50:47
  Speaker 4: I'm like, okay.
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: But I've gotten way better with it and being able
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: to like, okay, this is for me. Because I would
• 50:54
  Speaker 1: do where someone could ask me something. I could have
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: a whole day probably. I like to do a lot
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: of stuff impulsive, but I also plan some stuff too.
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: So I can have like, okay, I'm going to go
• 51:01
  Speaker 1: take myself to dinner. But one of my friends, somebody
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: called like, hey, can you do this for me?
• 51:05
  Speaker 4: Absolutely. I'm like, absolutely. I have nothing going on. I
• 51:09
  Speaker 4: would do it.
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: And I'm counseling dinner plans to do whatever it is
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: that they need me to do. You know, so I've
• 51:14
  Speaker 1: been learning to take care of myself as well because
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: you can't pour from an empty cup.
• 51:19
  Speaker 4: But it's been going good.
• 51:21
  Speaker 1: I've definitely been making the adjustments that I need, but
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: I do not have it in my body to be mean.
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: Like now if someone try me in certain situations, then okay.
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: But to just off rip be mean, I don't have
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: that in my body.
• 51:35
  Speaker 2: Thank God.
• 51:35
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 51:37
  Speaker 3: Much better to not have it in the body, right?
• 51:39
  Speaker 3: Then I have to figure out how to stop being
• 51:41
  Speaker 3: it all together.
• 51:42
  Speaker 2: What a joy. This was so fun.
• 51:44
  Speaker 3: I'm so happy that you were able to come through
• 51:46
  Speaker 3: before I let you go right now. Again, we're in
• 51:48
  Speaker 3: this patient 2026. You've learned so much over the course
• 51:52
  Speaker 3: of this season. If you right now gave yourself a
• 51:56
  Speaker 3: piece of advice, looking back to when you first were
• 51:59
  Speaker 3: told we're going to need to take some time off,
• 52:02
  Speaker 3: knowing what you know now, TT, what would you tell
• 52:05
  Speaker 3: yourself at the top of this year?
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: I would tell myself to just trust it. Everything works
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: out the way that it needs.
• 52:12
  Speaker 4: To work out.
• 52:13
  Speaker 2: That's it. T.T.
• 52:14
  Speaker 3: Terry, for those that aren't following along with you just yet,
• 52:17
  Speaker 3: give us the details.
• 52:17
  Speaker 2: Where do they find you on the socials? And of course,
• 52:19
  Speaker 2: the YouTube, the books, everything.
• 52:21
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: So you can find me on all my platforms. I
• 52:24
  Speaker 1: switched my name to T.T.
• 52:25
  Speaker 4: Terry. Some of them may have one underscore. Like TikTok,
• 52:28
  Speaker 4: I think, has T.T. Terry underscore. Instagram is T.T. Terry
• 52:32
  Speaker 4: underscore underscore.
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: YouTube is TwanishaTTTerry, but if you search TT Terry, it
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: will still pop up. Facebook is also TT Terry. I'm
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: verified on TikTok and I'm verified on Instagram. Do not
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: get caught by the pages. Because instead of specifying their
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: fan pages, they pretend to be me. They impersonate me
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: and they respond to people. So I do not want
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: you all to get confused. And as far as the books,
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: you can purchase on Amazon. But if you would like
• 52:56
  Speaker 1: autographed copies, you can purchase on my website, TTTerry.com. If
• 53:00
  Speaker 1: you want a hard copy, you can purchase those on
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: Barnes & Noble online. So yeah, those are all the
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: three different options to be able to purchase the books.
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: But I definitely recommend getting your autographed copy because you
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: also can request a personalized message by me.
• 53:13
  Speaker 4: All books are hand signed. They're not stamped. None of that.
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: I actually personally autograph each one. I take the time
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: because it's a joy being able to autograph each one.
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: So yeah, that's where you can purchase the books. And
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: I'll have my third book coming out later this year.
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: So make sure you check out the socials to stay
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: up to date.
• 53:32
  Speaker 3: Third book later this year. She's got nothing going on.
• 53:36
  Speaker 3: Oh my gosh. Such a fan. I'm over at Emily
• 53:39
  Speaker 3: Abadi and at Hurdle Podcast.
• 53:41
  Speaker 2: Another hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time.