I learned at a young age that we were going to have to be personable, going to have to be marketable, and going to have to be creative in order to have a race team.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I don't think I ever set my goals that high. As a kid growing up I just wanted an opportunity to race and to be able to make a living doing it. It just came together.
I'm a very goal-oriented person, so I look at the specific demands of a certain race and tailor my training towards that.
I don't remember my first race, but I do recall various school sports days where I became way too competitive. We were seven or eight years old, and I had a very stern conversation with my relay team-mates about how crucial it was for us to win.
I was always surrounded by expectation from the very first race I ran as a 5-year-old.
Every single thing in my life is built around race.
Mentally, my key is just focusing on the little things I need to do in a race, whether that's tempo, turn entry, start speed, things like that. I'm not thinking about that much before or during a race. I just trust in my ability and all the hard work I put in and let the race come to me.
There are two really good feelings. The first is when you land sponsorships that allow you to be competitive. Then to win a race is the icing on the cake that you've made with the sponsorship.
The experience of the race shows that we get our most important education not through books but through our work. We are developed by our daily task, or else demoralized by it, as by nothing else.
I always learn something from every race.
I try to keep in mind that it's a long journey. It's not a race. It's about staying focused, continuing to do good work, make my family and community proud; that's all I really want to do... and pay my bills.