Issue 21

“What’s clicked for me this year is letting go of putting all of my identity into my running. I am a dad now and Ella and Sandy come first. That doesn’t mean I am not prioritizing my running, as I am. I can leave running at practice now, and come home to a loving wife and baby and that has chilled me out over the last year. As far as training goes, we sort of went with the “keep it simple stupid” training program this year. Just a ton of threshold, hills, and some light race pace work. If people were to look at my strava, they would be pretty bored and that’s the point. Our goal was to create a training program that I could replicate the entire year and stay healthy, and so far so good. This has also allowed me to be good at all the races I run. We have emphasized being good at everything this year, thus allowing me to race well over multiple distances. I have set 10k/5k PRs and think I am in the best 1500/3k shape of my life as well. This holistic well-rounded approach has given me a ton of confidence. I am looking to finish both of my races at the trials knowing I left nothing out there. This Trials is a representation of me conquering all of my fears, doubts, and failures over the last few years as a runner. I know I am in the best shape of my life and I am ready to put it out there on display.”

Right after the injury we just tried to focus on keeping volume up with cross training while I wasn’t running. Basically trying not to lose too much fitness while staying off my calf as much as possible. When I was able to run we had to try to expedite fitness. Drew would say “Panic fitness” - but I would say consistently harder efforts. We did double T once a week and something faster, closer to race pace for the second workout. I was also able to pace and race which really helped serve as a baseline for where my fitness was and what areas we felt like we needed to work on.

I am happy to be healthy but I know I’m not as fit as I was pre-injury. It’s hard knowing that I’m going into such a big race at less than my best but I know that anything can happen once the gun goes off. So I’m excited to be on the start line ready to give it my all. I’m also excited for the opportunity to gain more racing experience, especially championship style racing in really solid fields.

“Qualifying for the Trials in 2024 is a super rewarding accomplishment for me. It was one of my big goals when I decided to pursue running fully during my junior year of high school. Missing the meet in 2021 was pretty heartbreaking at the time, but I set out the idea for myself that I'd come to the 2024 meet with more than just "qualifying" on my mind. It's tough to not reflect on how great this opportunity is when you have bigger goals in mind, but at the end of the day I have to remind myself that this is an experience I need to take in and enjoy, because 3 years ago, I would've killed to race.

Training has been nothing but consistent. I've only missed one workout due to illness since October-- running over 3200 miles since the start of this build to prep just for this weekend. The team's intention has been to do everything that's best for ourselves to be our best on race day, and I've carried that mentality with me the whole buildup in every aspect of my life.

Earlier this track season, I decided to see a sports psychologist, Addie Bracey, to help me catch up mentally to the fitness I was showing in training. We've done a lot of working involving distraction mitigation -- basically focusing on the things I can control. This had allowed to build momentum and find little wins every race, cumulating in a big PB in the steeple at LA Grand Prix. That race has my eyes set on competing with the best in the final. But I know that if I focus on myself, execute my race plans, and enjoy the experience and racing, I’ll have done everything possible to succeed.”

“It’s so incredible to be part of the Olympic Trials! I watched my friends at the 2021 Trials and knew I wanted to be on the starting line this time around, I’m so grateful to have gotten to this point. At the beginning of this year, Joan and I talked about goals and it was simple: get in consistent work and have fun with racing. We both agreed that making the Olympic Trials was a goal but focusing on the process made a lot of sense for my rookie year to see how I would handle the transition. Now having been on the team and racing for over 6 months, my biggest takeaway is that consistency really is key. After a mediocre set of indoor races, I cancelled my early spring plans and focused on good day-in day-out training including double threshold workouts which I had never done. We took everything slow but by the end of 8 weeks I felt a huge shift in my fitness. I went on to PR in the 5k for the first time in 2 years! My plan going forward is to continue with this momentum and take care of my body to try to race a full summer season after the trials.

Going into this race on Friday, my goal is to be smart and push myself. My plan is to stay close to the top 8 or so and close hard but you never know how prelims go so be ready to ditch that plan if need be. I’m so excited to be in the race, what will be a “good race” in my book is if I give it my best - make the final or not. I’ll be sticking with my process goals for the time being! It’s certainly worked better for me.”

“Coming from a mid-major conference for most of my college career and overall simply not being that good until recently, I haven't had much opportunity to race in high caliber races. Within the last year, however, I've been able to gain experience at a variety of USA and World Championships. Sometimes the moment can get too big in races so having such experience at the highest level of the sport will make subsequent races not feel as huge. Additionally, I think I've struggled the past few years in race tactics at some of the championship races. The more I race them, the more comfortable I've felt making the right decisions mid race. I think I'm much more prepared than I was last year for USA's and I can't wait for the opportunity to prove it.

I have two main objective goals for this race. First and foremost I want to make the final, which brings me to my second goal of improving upon my finish from last year at USA's of 14th. In order to be top 14 I first have to make the final. The 5k on the national level has leveled up since last year so it will be a more difficult task but I am confident and up for the challenge. Lastly, I just want to have a race that I am proud of. That hasn't been the case with a lot of my last few championship races so I'd like that to change.”

Often after hard workouts or races I lose my appetite, but that’s the time you most need to replenish fuel. Thankfully Bonk Breaker chews taste like candy and are super easy to use for both before and after these hard efforts!