Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / From College Standout To Pro Athlete: Samirah Moody On Transitioning To the Big Leagues, the Importance Of Staying Even-Keeled & Finding Strength In Faith

Transcript

From College Standout To Pro Athlete: Samirah Moody On Transitioning To the Big Leagues, the Importance Of Staying Even-Keeled & Finding Strength In Faith · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

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  Speaker 1: I don't know when something's going to click, but I'm
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  Speaker 1: just going to keep chugging along because I've seen really
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  Speaker 1: really highs and really really lows, and I've been everywhere
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  Speaker 1: in between. So if I could do all that, why
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  Speaker 1: not me?
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: What's going on? Emily Vatti?
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  Speaker 3: Here you are listening to another episode of Hurdle, a
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  Speaker 3: podcast featuring the mindset, secrets, and true stories of the
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  Speaker 3: most inspiring women in sports and wellness, empowering you to
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  Speaker 3: live a healthier, happier, more motivated life and of course,
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  Speaker 3: conquer your own hurdles. For this week's episode, I am
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  Speaker 3: sitting down with Samaira Moody. She's a pro runner for
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  Speaker 3: on a member of their new OAC sprint team. While
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  Speaker 3: she's been training quietly with the group since last fall, this.
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  Speaker 2: Week the team was formally announced to the world.
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  Speaker 3: Actually had the distinct honor of hosting that official launch
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  Speaker 3: event inside the legendary Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, And when
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  Speaker 3: I tell you it was remarkable, that is the biggest understatement.
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  Speaker 3: This new team will be strategically based right there in
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  Speaker 3: the greater Los Angeles area as they build toward the
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  Speaker 3: twenty twenty eight Olympic Games. Led by renowned head coach
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  Speaker 3: John JB. Bolton, The roster is starting with a powerful
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  Speaker 3: core of four founding athletes with plans to expand very
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  Speaker 3: soon with more world class talent to come. Coming off
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  Speaker 3: of a standout collegiate career at USC where Tomorrow was
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  Speaker 3: a multi time NCUBLEA finalist and the twenty twenty five NC.
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  Speaker 2: DOUBLEA champion in the one hundred.
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  Speaker 3: Meters, she's stepping into the pro circuit with a fresh
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  Speaker 3: perspective and a deeply hard earned sense of resilience. In
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  Speaker 3: this conversation, we pull back the curtain on her transition
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  Speaker 3: to the pro life, from navigating the intense fiscal grind
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  Speaker 3: of world class workouts to discovering the power of the
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  Speaker 3: word no and protecting her own bandwidth. She opens up
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  Speaker 3: about the devastating meniscus injury during her junior year that
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  Speaker 3: left her leaving the stadium in a wheelchair, to the
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  Speaker 3: grueling rehab process that followed, and the exact moment that
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  Speaker 3: shifted her mindset from I have to do this too,
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  Speaker 3: I get to do this. We also discuss what it's
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  Speaker 3: like being the only short sprint woman on the OAC roster,
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  Speaker 3: learning how to stay even keeled through the highest highs
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  Speaker 3: and the lowest lows, and the everyday power of using
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  Speaker 3: a personal journal to process the pressure. So Myra's journey
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  Speaker 3: is a beautiful, gritty masterclass and separating who you are
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  Speaker 3: as an athlete from who you are as a human being.
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  Speaker 3: Make sure you're following along with Hurdle over on social
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: It's over at Hurdle Podcast. You can also check out
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: Iheartwoman's Sports over at Iheartwoman Sports and Me over at
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: Emily Abody.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: Listen to a hurdle with Emily Body.
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  Speaker 3: On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: your podcasts. And with that, let's get into it. Let's
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  Speaker 3: get to hurdling.
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  Speaker 2: Today. I am sitting down with Samaira Moody.
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  Speaker 3: She is the newest member of the OAC Sprint, a
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  Speaker 3: founding member.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, welcome, How are we doing today? Happy to have
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  Speaker 2: you on Hurdle.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks, I'm so excited to be here.
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  Speaker 3: First podcast ever. Yeah, it's been a big week for you. Yeah, okay,
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  Speaker 3: so I liked to level set as we get started here.
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  Speaker 3: How are you doing really right now?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's been a lot, but also like I try
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  Speaker 1: to kind of dwell in like gratitude instead of like, oh,
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  Speaker 1: like this is so overwhelming, because like when people say like, oh,
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  Speaker 1: like you're like living like in your wildest dreams, like
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  Speaker 1: it's actually so true. So even though it's been like
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  Speaker 1: a fast paced week, I've been just trying to like
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  Speaker 1: slow down fine time, whether it's at night in the morning,
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  Speaker 1: to just like actually take it all in.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, we're gonna we're gonna dive into what that looks
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  Speaker 3: like for you in a little bit. I love that
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  Speaker 3: you say it's been a fast paced week. It's been
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  Speaker 3: a fast paced week because of the announcement of Always Sprints.
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  Speaker 3: So talk to me a little bit because this has
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  Speaker 3: been in the works for some time. You came on
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  Speaker 3: as an on athlete, no pun intended a while back now,
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  Speaker 3: So tell me about how it came to be, how
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  Speaker 3: you're feeling, et cetera.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it came to be I would say last year
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  Speaker 1: when I wrapped up Ncuba's. Well, I guess it started
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  Speaker 1: prior to that. I'd met with Kevin after Indoor Nc's
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  Speaker 1: and that was kind of the initial conversation. We just
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  Speaker 1: kept in contact and he's from Rhode Island and I'm
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  Speaker 1: from Boston, so we had that connection and then yeah,
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  Speaker 1: after nc's regrouped, talked to him a little bit. I
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: was just kind of shopping around brands and trying to
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  Speaker 1: figure out what I wanted to do with my life
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  Speaker 1: because I just graduated, like a lot of things happening
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  Speaker 1: at once, but I knew I didn't want to move
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  Speaker 1: back home, so that was like the biggest Like, Okay,
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  Speaker 1: let's like get the ball rolling and on pitch their
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  Speaker 1: idea like full fledge. And I knew coach j B
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  Speaker 1: from USC even though I didn't work with him directly,
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  Speaker 1: he was the men's sprint coach. I was like, Okay,
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  Speaker 1: there's a lot of familiarity. I like the idea, like,
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  Speaker 1: let's do it. And then I also was fortunate enough
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  Speaker 1: for my old teammates also decided to take that step,
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  Speaker 1: so I was like, you know what, again, like a
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  Speaker 1: lot of familiarity, so like this seems like a fit
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  Speaker 1: for me, and I'm big on like what is meant
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  Speaker 1: for me? Like it's for me And that's just how
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  Speaker 1: it felt. So that's kind of how it started. And
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  Speaker 1: we started training all the way back in the fall,
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  Speaker 1: even though people didn't know that it was like a group.
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  Speaker 1: But yeah, the initiative has been the same. We've been
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  Speaker 1: doing the photo shoots, but we've also been training and
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  Speaker 1: you know, trying to get acimated to like the pro life.
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  Speaker 1: So it's been in the works this whole time, and
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  Speaker 1: now everyone else gets a glimpse.
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  Speaker 3: So trying to get acclimated to the pro life doing
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  Speaker 3: the photo shoots and things.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, yes, because it is work. It is work.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, this is work, and it's so cool to think about.
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  Speaker 3: As you said, so many people hitting you up being
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  Speaker 3: like is this your wildest dreams. It's a lot to
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  Speaker 3: handle because you are doing everything within your capability to
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  Speaker 3: focus on getting the best times on the track.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and then this isn't added element to it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's definitely. That's been like a big shock and
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  Speaker 1: I learned it very quickly, but I'm glad that I
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  Speaker 1: learned it early on. It's like going to a meet,
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  Speaker 1: but also like when you're at the meat Like in college,
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  Speaker 1: you're normally like in the hotel, you play cards, you're drawing,
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  Speaker 1: you're doing whatever, singing friends to like past time, but
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  Speaker 1: like there's no passing time in the pro me You're
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  Speaker 1: in the pro world really like you're at the meet
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  Speaker 1: days prior whatever to prepare, but also like you have
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  Speaker 1: meetings and interviews doing this and meeting with this person.
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  Speaker 1: So that's the work aspect that like I have to
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  Speaker 1: have balance and also like learning to be more vocal
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  Speaker 1: because I feel like I'm like a little bit passive.
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  Speaker 1: So I just like let things happen. Yes, yes, yes, yes,
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  Speaker 1: but sometimes like to say no, you have to do
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  Speaker 1: like figure out what works for you, how much you
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  Speaker 1: can do, like what's your bandwidth. So I think that's
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  Speaker 1: been also part of the process for me.
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  Speaker 2: How has that felt, learning to say no and stepping
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  Speaker 2: into your power.
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  Speaker 1: With that, It's been difficult. I never saw myself as
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  Speaker 1: a people pleaser. I always just to like tell my
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  Speaker 1: brother he's a people pleaser because I'm very like introverted actually,
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  Speaker 1: so I actually like to be like oh yeah, like
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  Speaker 1: guys like thanks, like I'm gonna go home. And I
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  Speaker 1: thought that I was like really really good at that,
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  Speaker 1: But this is different because I just feel like there's
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  Speaker 1: a lot more stakes to everything and there's like a
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  Speaker 1: lot of risk taking with just like the sport in general.
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  Speaker 1: So I don't know, it's like a lot of fomo
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  Speaker 1: and a lot of people pleasing I don't want to
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  Speaker 1: miss out on opportunities. And it's it's been like more
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  Speaker 1: of an adjustment to just really understand like it's okay
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  Speaker 1: if you say now, like yeah, this is your world,
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  Speaker 1: like you actually like deserve to be here, and like
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  Speaker 1: you can set things how you need to set them.
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  Speaker 1: And that's something that I don't think everyone necessarily like
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  Speaker 1: will always deal with. That's something that I've been like
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  Speaker 1: grappling with a little bit. I don't want to say struggling,
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: grappling with grappling. Yeah, look at but so well spoken.
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  Speaker 1: Oh thanks, so well spoken. And that's what actually took
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  Speaker 1: me to you.
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  Speaker 3: So for context for those listening, we had the opportunity
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  Speaker 3: to kick start everything that's going on with OAC sprint
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  Speaker 3: in the legendary LA policy and the other night, and
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  Speaker 3: I was just sitting there and listening to you speak
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  Speaker 3: a little bit about your journey and what you've been
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  Speaker 3: through and was so enamored by the way that you
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  Speaker 3: show up.
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  Speaker 2: It's so impressive.
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  Speaker 3: To hear you stand so firmly and who it is
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  Speaker 3: that you are and what it is that you bring
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  Speaker 3: to the table. And so when you can arrive at
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  Speaker 3: a conversation or a meet or any moment with that
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  Speaker 3: level of confidence and knowing who it is that you are,
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  Speaker 3: that comes across really beautifully. But then also it lays
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  Speaker 3: the foundation for you to go after the things that
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  Speaker 3: really excite you.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I do think, like both my parents work in education,
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  Speaker 1: so that was like they were always pushing, like, go
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  Speaker 1: to college, go to college, go to college. And I
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  Speaker 1: was like, okay, like it wasn't a choice, and I'm like,
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  Speaker 1: what what happens after that? And that was kind of
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: like the feeling that I got going to college. But
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: now that I'm you know, hindsight is twenty twenty, I
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: look back and I'm like, that's exactly why I need
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  Speaker 1: to go to college. I needed to gain that like
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: assurance and like confidence in myself, and I really couldn't
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: figure that out without like having the trial and era
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  Speaker 1: of like go through friendships, you go through different majors,
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  Speaker 1: you're in a whole new state, Like I went across
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  Speaker 1: the country, and it's like, how could I not come
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  Speaker 1: out of it having a sense of like exactly who
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  Speaker 1: I'm supposed to be because you I had to do that,
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: and yeah, yeah, now that I'm like on the other
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  Speaker 1: side of it, yeah, I have that level of confidence
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: in track. Help me with that as well, like sprints, Like,
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: you can't not be confident, you can't not have a
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: little bit of an ego, even if you're like introverted
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  Speaker 1: or you're you know, reserved, Like you have to believe
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  Speaker 1: that you're like a big dog to really line up
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: with the best of the best. And like that's something
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: that I'm now like bringing into my personal life, Like
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: I don't really feel any sort of way about.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: It, any sort of way about it.
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  Speaker 3: You mentioned your parents and there motivating you to go
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: to college. Your mom also a great sprinter at Boston University.
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  Speaker 3: Was there pressure for you to settle into a run path?
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  Speaker 1: No, the opposite. My mom did track and so did
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  Speaker 1: her mother, who was actually out based in California as well.
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  Speaker 1: And my parents just like put both me and my
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: brother in sports because they felt like, you know, you
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: just need to be busy, Just be busy, do school,
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  Speaker 1: do sports, do everything. And my mom basically had the
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: reasoning where I know, some parents like they want to
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: coach their kids and the sport that they did, and
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  Speaker 1: my mom's opposite, she's like, you know, I did track.
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  Speaker 1: Actually want you to like find your own path, do
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  Speaker 1: what you want to do. And I tried all the
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: other sports and it just I mean I was good
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: at some, but the common factor was always speed, and
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: so it just kind of became like a default like, well, okay,
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: we haven't tried track, Yeah, let's do that. And that's
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: really how I ended up there. But no no pressure
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: on the athletic side, definitely. I wouldn't say pressured for
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: like an expectation on the academic side, but yeah, I
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: mean they kind of go hand in hand.
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: And when you were messing with some other sports you
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: were quite great at basketball.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: Basketball was a little bit of like a bribe, like
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: my dad used to buy me Jordan's to play basketball.
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: Soccer was a little bit where my heart kind of
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: like fell and I actually really enjoyed soccer, but I
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: mean health comes first. I had had a concussion that
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: just it didn't really make sense to keep playing. So
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: like things just aligned, and that's how I ended up
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  Speaker 1: in track.
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  Speaker 3: When did you start to really garner an understanding that
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: not only was track hitting for you, but that you
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: were really excelling.
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  Speaker 1: And yeah, I would say sophomore year of high school.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: Because I'm not from the South. I know, like I've
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: met a lot of people from Texas, Florida, Like these
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: are like track states where like you know, they go
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: in their state championships. You know you're gonna see times
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: that could place in the NCAA. Right now, that's not Massachusetts, Massachusetts,
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: the Northeast small states, and I wouldn't say that track
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: is like the biggest and most polarizing sport out of
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: those states, mainly like basketball, football, shoot, maybe even like lacrosse.
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: But yeah, like it's the most Northeast.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so like it's cold, so doing track doesn't really
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: make sense, especially not as a sprinter. So yeah, I
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I really didn't train in track and
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: field like I did my other sports. And then once
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: I got into like a club team, I went to
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: practice like once or twice a week up until my
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: sophomore year of high school, where basically my coach gave
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: me this proposition, like I know, you only come so
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: many times. Some of the other kids come every day,
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: but like, do you want to go to New Bounced Nationals.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: There's this opportunit me it's at North Carolina. Ante we
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: go down to North Carolina to run whatever I run.
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: The two hundred and I placed like ninth and it's
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: only top eight go to finals. And I think that
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: was like the turning point for me because I actually
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: remember being like, oh wow, like what if? Like what
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: am I missing? Like why couldn't I have been in
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: the final? And I was like, well, you actually only
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: trained twice week, right, like maybe like you should apply yourself,
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: like maybe you should see if you can't do it.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: And that's when I was like, Okay, I'm actually gonna
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: go all in. And like the following year it was COVID,
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: so all in looked different. And then my senior year,
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: all in was great. I mean all in meant actually
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: winning high school titles or whatever you want to call it,
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: and that was kind of when things started to.
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: Turn, when things started to turn, and in that going
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: all in early on, would you say that going all
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: in was also fun?
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but also like challenging because track, I don't know
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: the speed part came naturally, but I think like the
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: grit that track and field teachers, I don't know if
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: that was like the most natural thing, like doing reps
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: and being tired and being told like okay, like go again.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: Mm hmm.
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: I was like no, this isn't really like the most
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: fun thing. But the competing was great. I mean you
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: warm up and you're ready to go, and like that
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: feeling of like winning, it's it's a little addicting, like
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: in the adrenaline that comes with it. So yeah, and
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: then the traveling and being with teammates that was like
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: the fun part and those were were and are still
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: my best friends to this day, So like that was
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: kind of where I found balance with it.
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: I want to talk a little bit about the grit
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: that goes into it because I think that that is
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: something that's so applicable whether you're someone that's a twenty
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: twenty five and Cuba champion or you're just trying to
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: get through your day as an average person. For you,
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: when you started to see the grit that was required
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: within the track and field, how did that make you feel?
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: And did you feel like at the beginning you had
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: what it took to get that gritty.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: No, I didn't. I really found out when I went
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: to USC. That was when like things kicked in, Like
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: there were workouts that were done and I was like
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: I want to quit, Like I actually like I can't
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: do this.
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: Pay me a picture, give me an example of the workout.
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: Ooh, okay, So I came into college super small. I
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: didn't lift weights in high school. This is important. We
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: are doing workouts where like we wear like weighted vests
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: that have like twenty pounds fifteen pounds worth of weight,
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: and we're running up hills for long periods of time
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: two hundred meters three hundred meters, And I was like,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: I'm going to, like see God, like I can't do
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: Like I can't I'm not physically able to do these
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: things that you guys are asking me. And then to
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: come back and like lift and like still be expected
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: to like do certain things. I was like, this is
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: not for me. Like I had numerous meetings. I'm looking
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: at my coaches like you guys have to be lying.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: But the result was a pr the first race, and oh,
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: you're this number freshman in the country and all these things,
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: and I'm like oof, like, so this is what I
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: have to do every single time. And the beauty of
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: it is every year it's not the exact same thing,
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: and there's always going to be a challenge no matter
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: what shape you're in. But yeah, no, the grit part
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: I was not.
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: Prepared for at all, and I don't.
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: I'm honestly glad that I wasn't, because that's what made
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: like falling in love with the sport like an actual
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: process instead of just being I don't know, always like
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: knowing exactly what was gonna come.
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, And it's it makes me smile thinking about you
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: saying you have to show up to the line and
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: to the meat knowing that you have the dog in you, right, Yeah,
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: for sure. So it's like you had that in you,
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: but it was moments like you just explained that reminded
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: you who it is that you actually are now. That
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: grit comes from more than just workouts. It also comes
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: from the way that you speak to yourself and maybe
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: other habits that you have off of the track.
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: So let's unpack that a little bit.
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: What's your inner dialogue like most of the time?
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: Would you say, yeah.
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: I learned about inner dialogue at USC because they have
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: I think one of the biggest sports sches teemed in
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: the country, if I'm not mistaken, And we had a
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: team sports site that like came and spoke to us
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: and let's try visualization. And I wasn't buying into I
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: didn't buy into it at first, I was like, you know,
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: I don't need to do this. I wasn't doing this,
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: And I think every high schooler who goes to college
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: thinks that, you know, I know what I need to
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: do to be great. But then no, then you get
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: in racist with people who are really good and you're like, okay,
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: do I suck or even better? Yet you're at practice
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: every day with people because USC had a phenomenal talent
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: pool all four years that I was there, and you're like,
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: am I not?
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: Like?
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: Am I not that great? And like that does take
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: a toll on you. You can't do that every single
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: day and then think that you can turn the switch
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: on at the meet. It doesn't work that way, so
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: like you do have to practice it at practice, and like, honestly,
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: that's when the gritty parts of practice also became easy
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: because in between ref instead of counting how many more
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: do I have left, it's like, Okay, how much effort
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: do I have to give this one? The next one? Oh,
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: you'd ad good? You know, keep going. I'm talking to myself.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: Now I'm able to talk to my teammates and be
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: a better teammate and motivate them, and like it just
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: spirals into a great positive energy instead of you know,
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: and that goes back to the gratitude instead of being like, oh,
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: I have to do this, Like no, I get to
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: do this and it's another opportunity, and that's kind of
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: how to shift my mindset.
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's so cool.
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: And you mentioned USC having a massively awesome talent pool,
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: so many women that I've made such a name for
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: themselves in track and field today. Coming from USC, what
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: was it like for you and do you have any
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: really great stories about coming up maybe on the heels
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: of some of these grades from USC.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: T T.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: Terry is like a very involved alumni. Like I got
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: to see her a lot, Yeah, a good amount both
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: at USC, but also like prior to coming to us.
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: That was someone that I actually like, felt like I knew,
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: like she was notable, Like I was watching her, I
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: knew her celebration, like me and my former teammates in
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: high school have videos of us like doing her little
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: dirt bike celebration or whatever. Like that was someone that
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: I actually like really in a way looked up to
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: it and I didn't even know And then you know,
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: I had had times where I had practice on a
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: Saturday and tit Harry walks on the track. I'm like,
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: oh my gosh, like true, that's crazy, Like she's still here.
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: And ironically, last year before NCS, the coaches organized for
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: her and Anna Cockrow to come and speak to us,
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: and Anna came in person, t went on zoom and
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: it was just as powerful for them to like actually
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: take the time they spoke to us, but we spoke
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: to them, We asked questions. They got us fired up.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: We went into championships with a very specific mindset. My
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: coach showed me a video of TT winning nc's indoor
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: sixty from like the inside lane, which is very hard
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: to do because you can't see anyone. She only had
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: one person to her right, I guess, And I was like, yeah,
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: it doesn't matter what lane I draw, like I'm ready,
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: and like that was a big, like full circle to
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: have been so like inspired by someone and then to
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: like still gain a little bit of inspiration and then
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: make a moment for myself last year that was like
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: really cool.
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: It is so cool, and it's so cool now.
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: If we take a step back and think about the
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: announcement this week, think about where you're going that without
• 20:17
  Speaker 3: a doubt eventually you're going to be this person for
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: other young women.
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: When I say that, how does that make you feel?
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: Very like rewarding and like exciting. This is why I
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: wanted to continue running, to be honest, like it it's
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: really a choice. I think everyone thinks it's a given
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: if you win, which can be true, but yeah, no,
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: I wanted to go into the professional world obviously to
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: see my full potential and keep going. But there's also
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: an aspect of like inspiration and actually like paying something forward,
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: and like that's actually how I feel. There's so many
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: people that have sacrificed for me, and I it's like, oh,
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: like I get to be that for someone I don't
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: know who, but I do like take it seriously when
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: I meet people, people that fans or just girls let's
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: say that look like me, or however they may not
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: even know me, Like I really try to take that
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: on because you really don't know, Like I don't know
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: what my impact is on someone, and like I hope
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: it's great, and I hope that someone's like watching or
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: sees the hard part and they are able to also
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: conquer whatever mountain.
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: You mentioned that.
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: There have been a lot of sacrifices that have helped
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: you get to where you are right now.
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: Shed some light on that for me.
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: I mean, you always got to start with your parents.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: I definitely think you know, as you get older, you
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: get to learn hear different stories, and yeah, I know
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: there were a lot of sacrifices to just be put
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: in the schools that we were put in. My parents
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: put us in private schools, come high school, and they
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: didn't have to do that, but like the doors that
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: that opened was really really crazy, and I don't think
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: I would have been able to get to USC academically
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: or athletically without that first step. And that was a
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: financial burden. My club coach. My parents couldn't pay all
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: the club stuff, and there were people who stepped in
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: and did that, including my godfather and anonymous people that
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: I don't even know. So, like, when I really think
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: about my story, like obviously I put in hard work,
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: but there's also a level of like luck to it,
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: and I don't I'm never like I don't ever want
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: to forget that because like, yeah, I was lucky enough
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: to have people that were able to like pick up
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: burdens and make sacrifices for me, and so now that
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: I'm here, Like, yeah, that's why it's really important to
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: pay everything for it because you don't know and if
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: that's financially or emotionally or spiritually, like I'm gonna do
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: those things.
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: Also sounds like a lot of pressure that you're putting
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: on yourself.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean there's definitely moments where I'm like, you know,
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: like I'm being hard on myself, but I also think
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: that that's like that's also what's made me great. So
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: it's everything in moderation, like if I didn't have that pressure,
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: because I mean, I don't know, the world can put
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: a lot of pressure on you. But once you get
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: to this stage, like it is really like how much
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: do you want something? And like I need that pressure
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: to succeed, so don't I don't really have a problem
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: with it.
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: I don't really have a problem with it.
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: In navigating the pressure, there have also been things that
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: have been beyond your control, including a pretty gnarly injury.
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: Talk to me about your meniscus surgery and how you
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: were able to persevere through that, because when something like
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: that happens and you're completely sidelined, it's anything but easy
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: to handle.
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: Oh for sure. Yeah, I haven't gotten into this story.
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: Let's talky about it. Let's talk about it.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so my junior year, i'd already Actually people don't
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: know that year, I had a lot of injuries, Like
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: I tore my quad grade three indoor season, So really
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: me even coming back for regionals was like a whim
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: like I don't know who made that decision, my coaches,
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: the trainers, whatever, But like me coming back, we really
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: weren't expecting too much. And you know, we made it
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: for the final day of the four x one and
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: the one hundred, I'm like, shoot, I made it through.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: Like okay, let's just ride this season out. In the
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: four by one, I'm I'm hit from another lane and
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: I fell literally on my miniscus and it tears. I
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: also dislocated my shoulder, but that was like the easiest
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: thing to fix, and like in that moment, it was
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: like I don't know, like static, like noise, like it
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: was actually nothing that I've ever experienced. I've never had
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: anything like broken or any sort of surgeries, so it
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: was a very weird feeling. And I didn't know that
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: I had torn my meniscus. I was actually like, oh,
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: like I felt like I messed it up for the team,
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: like that sort of feeling and that I'm like, oh,
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: like I need a warm up for the one hundred
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: and I go to jog and I literally can't jog.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: My mouth is like a Gabe sitting.
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: Yes. Yes, I have a very high pain tolerance. So
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: like that was you know, also part of it and
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: the adrenaline, and I was just like, what's going on,
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: Like is it mental? Like what is happening? And they
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: evaluated it and there was so much adrenaline there, like
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: are you having pain when we do this? And I'm
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: like I don't know. But an hour later, whole is swollen.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: I left Arkansas in a wheelchair and I was just
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: hoping that it wasn't so bad. But when I got
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: back and I got the skin and they said like
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: meniscus tear surgery, I was just like in shock, Like
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: I'm like, you like really like in a non contact sport,
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: like this is why I caught into this sport? Yeah,
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: I was. I was really bummed. I mean that was
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: my first time ever watching Nationals from my home. I
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: wasn't there. I'm like looking at my teammates. My mom
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: had to fly out. I got surgery. I was just
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: very like numb. Track was not the first thing on
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: my mind and all. Honestly, I was just like, like,
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: what happens now, Like what happens after surgery? Do you
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: come back the same? Do you even feel like good?
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: Like and on a joint?
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: At that?
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: I'm like how much pressure am I gonna be able
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: to put? So I had a real conversation with my mom.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: I was like, can I keep doing track? Only have
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: one year left? Like do I stop? Like the whole
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: point was to get a degree. I'm gonna get my degree,
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: and yeah, nobody knew, like my coaches didn't have answers.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: Really the doctors gave me a timeline, but they were like, yeah,
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: we don't know how you come back from this. And
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: it was very painful, but lucky for me, like the
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: Athletic medicine staff at USC is very very good. Like
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: I got my surgery at USC hospital, the doctors, I
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: was able to see them. I did rehab every single day,
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: like USC made sure that I was able to stay
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: in LA the entire summer, and I just that's another
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: grind moment, like grinding from not really being able to
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: walk without pain. And this is like a different ground zero,
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: and I was like, I've never started from this far,
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: So yeah, my hope wasn't very high. But come like August,
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: my surgery was in June, I made the decision to like,
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna I'm gonna try to come back and try
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: to do something and just enjoy my senior season. And
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: that's what the expectation was. I didn't set goals for
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: my senior season time wise, winning wise, that was my
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: first time. I just went into it and said, you know,
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: I'm just gonna let what happens happens. And I was
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: rehabbing till like December. So the fact that I even
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: got on the track to run indoor, we were gonna
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: read your indoor, so everything was very surprising. Yeah, I
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: was surprised. My coaches were surprised. I finally was without
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: pain running in December. I'm running my first race second
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: week of January, and I'm like in the top ten
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: in the country, and I'm like, well, we're gonna have
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: to work with this. Like that was kind of like
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: the confidence booster, like man like, if y'all let me
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: come back this way, like you don't know what that's
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: kind of when I made up my mind like I'm
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: gonna win it all. Oh yeah, you guys had all
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: this time and you didn't figure it out by now,
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Like I'm I'm coming for everything. And that was just
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: a personal decision that I made and I knew and
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: it was kind of like a more like I'm just
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: gonna prove it to everyone.
• 27:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's so special to hear that story and such
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: a really beautiful example of where there's a why, there's
• 27:46
  Speaker 3: a way. What I think is so great also is
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: you sound genuinely like you were open to maybe stepping
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: away and really evaluating what's best for me and for
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: many that would be so truly difficult even to approach
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: it with that perspective, because you were able to separate
• 28:09
  Speaker 3: Samirah the athlete from Samirah the human being.
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, I also I went to college and
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: found a lot of things. Faith was one of them.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: So I think like for me, yeah, my identity was
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: wrapped up in track, but it was also very like
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: deep in my faith at that time, and I was
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: just like, you know, I'm very big on what is
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: for me and like using my gifts, and I feel
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: like I have a lot of gifts and I think
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: everyone does, but like I wasn't in school doing a
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: degree that I didn't care about. I was very passionate
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: about communication, no matter how it sounds, because I liked
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: the public speak and I like to write, and I
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: was very passionate about and I had started my criminal
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: justice to master, so I was like, you know, if
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: this isn't where I'm supposed to be, then like go
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: put me somewhere else in the world to make an impact.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: And I really that was like the freeing part of
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: it all. The injury was kind of a gift. I
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: don't know from who or why, and I didn't at
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: the moment, but now I'm able to like really understand that. Like, no,
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: that was to teach me like, yeah, running really is
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: your gift and you are here to do it for
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: a reason. And that's why in the pro world, if
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: you know things aren't going great or there's obstacles, I'm like, well,
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: I've been there, done that, Like this is obviously my
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: path and I'm very sure of it now, so like
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: I don't really have a problem just staying on it.
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah, And that's what happens in these moments that are
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: so difficult, these hurdles that remind you how gritty that
• 29:31
  Speaker 3: you are because you go through something and it's difficult,
• 29:34
  Speaker 3: and then you get the opportunity to see what you're
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: capable of in this difficult moment and then move forward
• 29:41
  Speaker 3: to the next challenge, and then at that next challenge
• 29:44
  Speaker 3: you're like.
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: Welpsh, I got this. Yeah exactly.
• 29:48
  Speaker 3: So for you, in that comeback season, you show up,
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: you're in the top ten of the country, despite having
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: to take some time off, You're feeling like you've got this.
• 29:59
  Speaker 3: What's the most difficult part of that journey for you?
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: Honestly, the difficult part was prior to even the season starting.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: As I said, USC is very talented, and so once
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: I was starting to hop in the workouts with these girls,
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm getting whooped and I'm like, oh, Like,
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: it's so hard to stick with something when you're not
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: seeing like immediate results, especially when it's a day in,
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: day out thing like oh maybe next week it'll be better.
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: Like no, I got to see every day of the week.
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: So I was like, well, I have to hone in
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: on something like my lifting ability isn't hindered. I'm gonna
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: go all in and wait like I turn everything into
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: a competition. So I'm just gonna I'm just gonna lift
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: the most, yeah, every single day. And it started there
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: and then I'm like, well, I know I'm the best
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: at rehab because I'm in here every day. And I
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: had we got people with all types of ac alminiscus,
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: like really do your research. I won't name drive. A
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: lot of big names also doing rehab with me, and
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: I'm like, well, I'm in here every day, so I'm
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: winning in that category.
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: Like I am a rehab pr here, we.
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: Rehab warrior, Like I'm number one in this and I'm
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: taking care of the eating and the nutrition and the sleeping.
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: And then the track part just happened to come around
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: because like I didn't stop, yeah, and like once I
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: was able to understand, like, oh yeah, my biggest asset
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: is like I'm not gonna stop, Like I'm just gonna
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: keep going. I'm just gonna keep showing up. And it
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: was something that my coach also kept saying, like just
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: keep showing up, keep showing up. And one random Tuesday,
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: it clicks and I don't have any pain. I'm winning reps.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, Like that was the little wind that
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: I need. I didn't need, you know, to be in
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: the top ten whatever, because once you're winning at that
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: and you have you know, you know where you're at.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: And my teammates are also in the top ten, so
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: I have a pretty good idea like where I'm gonna fall.
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: So I was able to have confidence there. And then
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: once we got into season, it wasn't Smith's sailing. I
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: had a little hamstring injury come indoor, so getting a
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: like indoor Nationalist conference went terrible for me, and then
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: Indoor Nationalism in the final. So it's like I just
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: now I understand, like I'm very resilient and I'm able
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: to like still stick with something when I know a
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: lot of people and a lot of places would stop.
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: And that's why I really like I like to speak
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: about my story because it's like it applies to everything
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: in life in a lot of areas with a lot
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: of people, I do think, like you want to stop,
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: but it's like you don't know if you just went
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: one more day, if something might just work in your favor.
• 32:18
  Speaker 3: And it will, and it does, and it did when
• 32:21
  Speaker 3: it came to this OAC Sprint opportunity. Speaking of having
• 32:24
  Speaker 3: to show up and do a hard thing and maybe
• 32:26
  Speaker 3: it didn't go exactly as you'd hoped.
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: Your first pro me mill Rows did not go.
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: At as well.
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, heay tell me about that.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: I mean we've just been training and I really there's
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: like a lot of lessons embedded in like the first season,
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: and one just being like timing, Like I've been on
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: an NCAA clock for a while and the timing is
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: just very different. Like you are race ready indoor like March,
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: and then you are really really peaking in June. But
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: now my season is gonna go till like September. So
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: it's like really understanding what is my goal and when
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: do I want to Obviously always want to perform well,
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: but like what am I priming my body for? And
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: that was kind of something that I had to learn.
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: But also like the first pro me, like I said,
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: that was my first time working on the job, Like
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: I went to events and things the night before and traveling.
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: I got in really really close to the race time
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: and like jetlag and all these things that I've never
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: really had to take into account because there's people that
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: do that for you. And it's like one of those
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: things where I just got thrown in the fire, and
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: like I would prefer those lessons then as opposed to now,
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: because like now I'm an outdoor and like I'm ready
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: to go, So like having those experiences now would kind
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: of be a little bit of a confidence killer. So like, no,
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: did I want it to go that way? No, But
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: like what I did was came back from that, came
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: back to the drawing board with my coach, and I'm like,
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: what's working? What's not? Like, let's watch the race. I
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: don't try away from you know what I did and
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: didn't do well? You know what am I? Where am
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: I panicking? Where can I make adjustments? And like that's
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: why now we can go into outdoor with a lot
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: more confidence in the program and what we're doing, because
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: again I also change my coach. So there was a
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: lot of dynamics going on. But I'm yeah, it was
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: like another like humbling experience of like it you you
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: haven't been on this circuit yet, but you'll learn very
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: very fast. Yeah, how talented and how things work and
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: all those things.
• 34:24
  Speaker 3: So yeah, what would you say has been the most
• 34:43
  Speaker 3: difficult part thus far of stepping into this next era
• 34:47
  Speaker 3: and really taking this on as your career.
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: I mean, I just think like not having a team
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: is like a big thing. Like traveling can be like lonely,
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: especially like if you always do it by yourself. And
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: I'm lucky with you know, this sprint setup that I'm
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: usually with one to two of my teammates, have my coach,
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: you know, you have your agent, different people. Like it's
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: just very different than the team set up where you
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: have a roommate and like you go down into a
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: team room and so like definitely just adjusting to that
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: and learning, you know, the new people that now some
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: of them are competitors, but some of them also can
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: be like really good mentors and friends. Just similar to
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: pledge because everyone is going through something really hard. And
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: I was lucky to meet some women who have done
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: really amazing things early on in this outdoor season who
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: just kind of like shared that wisdom with me of
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: just you know, reaching out for help, being vocal, talking
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: to different people, networking. But it's really just you know,
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: in tract, just talking, yeah, but like getting all that
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: experience and knowledge with people and like soaking that in
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: and then utilizing my resources talking to these people asking
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: for help. So I feel a lot more settled.
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: Now a lot more settled now.
• 35:58
  Speaker 3: You are, at least at this point as this conversation
• 36:02
  Speaker 3: goes live, the only woman on the OAC sprint team. Yeah,
• 36:06
  Speaker 3: talk to me a little bit about how that feels
• 36:09
  Speaker 3: and what that's been like for you.
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: Well, when they pitch me the idea, I was like
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: who else? Like, I was very much like, you know,
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: who else can I experience this with? And the fact
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: that they feel confident enough in me to be able
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: to hold my own and to be able to adjust
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: without having someone directly like experiencing the same thing and whatever,
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: you know on Hasbella, she's in Arkansas. I'm just the
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: first short sprint woman on the sprint side and then
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: they have a hurdle there as well. So I think
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: that just for me, like being a part of this
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: LA group specifically was special because I'm just putting my
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: foot down for the women to come and like someone
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: had to do it, yea. So it's like I feel
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: confident enough in the brand's vision and I feel honored
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: that they chose me. And it doesn't mean it comes
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: without you know, moments of like oh I really wish,
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: you know, I had whatever, But I know what they're
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: building and there's gonna be a lot of women at
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: it soon, so I'm excited about that.
• 37:04
  Speaker 3: I appreciate what you said about the opportunity to get
• 37:06
  Speaker 3: to travel with your teammates, and then you also referenced
• 37:09
  Speaker 3: your management. It is just like so cool to me
• 37:12
  Speaker 3: to hear you talk about this in that Like, well,
• 37:15
  Speaker 3: I mean in that you are at the very beginning
• 37:19
  Speaker 3: in some way of shape or form here as bro.
• 37:23
  Speaker 3: You have a team in place, and you have people
• 37:25
  Speaker 3: to support you and people that want to show up
• 37:27
  Speaker 3: for you, and that's just awesome.
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, And it's very like it feels like college in
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: that way because I went far from home where it's like,
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: of course my parents were there, my sibling, my other
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: extended family, Like I had to call like they didn't
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: know something was wrong. They don't know how I'm feeling
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: in my bedroom. They don't they don't know. Like I
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: have to call be like hey, I actually really need support,
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: I actually really need to talk. And like the pro
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: life is very similar as well, Like all these people
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: are on my team on my side, but like if
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: I don't say anything, nobody would know. They're hey, how
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: are you doing? Like if I just say good, good,
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: Like you know, that's not how you get to the point.
• 38:05
  Speaker 3: Of success, dude, But that is such a lesson that
• 38:08
  Speaker 3: so many people take so long to learn that if
• 38:12
  Speaker 3: you don't tell people how you're really feeling or what
• 38:15
  Speaker 3: it is that you need, then you can't expect people
• 38:18
  Speaker 3: just touch to show up for you, but then also
• 38:20
  Speaker 3: like to check in on you. Like you just need
• 38:24
  Speaker 3: to be able to vocalize where it is that you're at.
• 38:26
  Speaker 3: And that is so important and well beyond a lesson
• 38:29
  Speaker 3: that goes within professional athletics. Yeah, as you now are
• 38:33
  Speaker 3: getting used to this grind, getting used to the travel
• 38:36
  Speaker 3: and everything that comes hand in hand with it, what
• 38:39
  Speaker 3: would you say you're most looking forward to now as
• 38:41
  Speaker 3: we step into this summer season.
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: I'm excited to get on the circuit. Like I'm really
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: I got a chance to travel a little bit, but
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: I really haven't gotten to like really see like the
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: international fan bases nuts, like they treat track way differently
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: than America, and like the fans and the atmospheres and
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: like it's just something that is like really like like
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: revives you. Like I actually feel a lot of energy
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: walking into these spaces and so like that's such an
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: exciting thing to like go run and like actually like
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: be a part of like this larger track atmosphere. But
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: then also like I'm excited to actually compete and like
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: compete with confidence and feel prepared, Like I really do
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: feel prepared to go into this outdoor season. So that's
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: kind of what I'm trying to like take into everything.
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: Is just like that understanding of like, oh no, I
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: have a little like experience under my belt and have
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: some stories good and bad, and now I can actually
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: pull from it. And that's like what I That's the
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: area that I kind of thrive in. So that's what
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: I'm trying to take into it.
• 39:43
  Speaker 2: That's what I'm trying to take into it.
• 39:45
  Speaker 3: Someone comes to your social media page, maybe this week
• 39:48
  Speaker 3: they got to see some really cool content from this
• 39:50
  Speaker 3: OAC Sprint launch. But when you look in the mirror, Samira,
• 39:54
  Speaker 3: what is it that you see looking back at you?
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: Well, I definitely see a very baby face. Still it's
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: still maturing, but I can really like still feel everything
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: from college feels so fresh. I'm not like very like
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: far removed from it. So freshman year, sophomore or junior
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: or senior year, it's very vivid to me. So like
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: actually seeing my body change and see me grow and
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: really like understand and I've become more of like a
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: student of the sport. I've had a bunch of different
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: coaches now I've picked up on things. I actually like,
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: I'm starting to actually feel like very qualified to do
• 40:29
  Speaker 1: what I do. Obviously, you sign a contract and some
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: people feel validated in that, but I actually like look
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: in the mirror and I'm like, I'm actually growing up,
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: Like I actually feel that way. I'm twenty three. I
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: know I'm still young, but like I just feel like
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: I'm growing in the sport. And that's that's like really
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: exciting to me because that's actually when you're in your prime.
• 40:47
  Speaker 2: From what I heard, Yeah, you must be really proud.
• 40:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah, to look in the mirror and see someone who
• 40:53
  Speaker 3: is so qualified, it's not only an opportunity, but then
• 40:58
  Speaker 3: it unlocks what can happen truly next when you show
• 41:02
  Speaker 3: up and you stand on the line, you're next to
• 41:03
  Speaker 3: your competition, and these are the women that you've been
• 41:05
  Speaker 3: looking up to for years.
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: I know, I know, I know, I have to tell
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: my mom stop. I go to meets and she's like,
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: did you see so and so, like take a picture.
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: No mom like take I'm one of them, Like I'm
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: not doing that.
• 41:18
  Speaker 2: I mean you can't. Yeah, I don't want you don't
• 41:21
  Speaker 2: want to flatter them like that.
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and my and myself like you know, got to
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: know who I am. But no, I I definitely am
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: excited for like that part. You get to do it
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: a little bit in college, but actually like to be
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: one of the pros is like definitely still like surreal,
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: but no, yeah, like the pride and everything, I'm taking
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: a lot of legacy with me, heritage, Like I have
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: a lot of things that I kind of like take
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: into it. But it fuels me so like I'm I'm
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: really excited to get into some of these races.
• 41:52
  Speaker 3: When you now think about the girl that was going
• 41:57
  Speaker 3: through that really difficult called injury season, and you have
• 42:04
  Speaker 3: the wisdom and the takeaways that you have at this point,
• 42:07
  Speaker 3: what advice would you offer a younger You.
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: Stop stressing, like it's just it's all gonna work out,
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: Like you genuinely control what you can control, and all
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: the added like energy that you put into stressing can
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: really just be channeled into something else and it doesn't
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: have to be tracked. It can be taking care of
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: yourself and your well being. And I still learned that
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: at times because I'm still a perfectionist and I'll stress
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: over little things like practice was just not what it
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: needs to be. But you have to be able to
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: take the good with the bad and kind of flow,
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: like you know, stay even no matter up or down,
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: good or bad, really good performance or really bad performance,
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: you should kind of stay even killed. And that's that's
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: the mindset that I'm trying to go into this season.
• 42:46
  Speaker 3: Or do you think you learned that? Like where does
• 42:47
  Speaker 3: that come from? Because that had to be killed?
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I learned it in the process of
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: not doing that. You get really really high with a
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: really really good performance in the next performance is bad.
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: Like that's that's how track goes. Is a very mental sport.
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: And like coach Watt's always it's a season poor reason,
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: season poor reason. He always says that, but like it's
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: the truth, Like it just ebbs and flows all the time,
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: and there's really no guarantee that if you're at the
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: top this year, you'll be at the top next year.
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: Or you've seen people go from very well to the top,
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: and you don't really know the rhyme or reason behind things,
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: and people speculate and make videos or whatever. You really
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: don't know what is like sitting in someone, and that
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: includes myself. I don't I don't know when something's gonna click.
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: But I'm just gonna keep chugging along because I've seen
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: really really highs and really really lows, and I've been
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: everywhere in between. So if I could do all that,
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: why not me?
• 43:41
  Speaker 2: Why not me?
• 43:42
  Speaker 3: But it doesn't mean that when the low lows happen
• 43:45
  Speaker 3: that you aren't gonna feel in them.
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: Oh no, you will definitely feel. I think staying even
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: kill doesn't mean like ignore your emotions. Like I'm a
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: big journaler and I'm also very like emotional, Like in
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: the moment, I feel everything and I'm super empathetic, so like,
• 44:00
  Speaker 1: but how I channel it now is just different because
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: I used to just dwell. But like, dwelling didn't really
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: get me anywhere, because when I could have been out
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: of it, I chose to stay in it and I
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: chose to stay down. So it's like, how what is
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: a healthier relationship with track for me? And for me,
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: I've just found my sweet spot with journaling. I like
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: to write, I write everything down. I get it out.
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: That allows me to sleep better at night and the
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: next day, Like, no, I might still feel it, but
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: then I can write those feelings down too, and I
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: have people to go to, so that now it's a
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: three day process set of a two week process. And
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: like when I came to college, it was like a
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: month process. So like I made a lot of progress
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: and hopefully I can just you know, shrug my shoulders
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: and keep it pushing. But yeah, everything is a balance,
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: and some things, like you said, are way harder to
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: process than others. So you do need to feel it
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: to be able to move past it. And I think
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: that that's that's something that you know you have to
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: do at your own speed.
• 44:53
  Speaker 2: I love that. S my Remoody, what an amazing opportunity
• 44:56
  Speaker 2: to sit here with you today. This was so fun.
• 44:58
  Speaker 3: For those that aren't keeping up with you just yet,
• 45:01
  Speaker 3: aren't following along on social media, give me the details.
• 45:04
  Speaker 2: Where do they find you on.
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: My social media? Is my name? So you just type
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: in smar Moni. There's not a lot of smars in
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: this world. You will find me.
• 45:11
  Speaker 2: You will find me.
• 45:12
  Speaker 3: I'm over at Hurdle Podcast and at Emily a Body
• 45:15
  Speaker 3: another Hurdle conquered.
• 45:16
  Speaker 2: Catch you guys next time.