Walk me through the race at the Lake Guntersville Invitational and your victory there.
I felt pretty good going into the race. Morning races always seem to be better. I knew there would be some good competition there so I just wanted to start out strong and keep a good pace. I felt good throughout the race and just tried to keep my pace. I haven't been able to keep my pace down on the second and third miles but I finally kept it down this time. The first two miles the other girl was pretty close so that helped to push me.
Speaking of keeping your pace, congrats on the PR! What is it that allows you to continually improve especially with this being your 7th race of the season?
I have had a lot of really tough competition this year that's caused me and my teammates to push harder. We've also increased our workouts and intensity.
Can you share some specifics of things y'all have increased and changed?
I've just been trying to increase my mileage and cut down my pace each week.
Last year, you finished second in the 4A State Cross Country Championship by 0.54 seconds. How have you used that as motivation for this year?
It has really motivated me a lot. I had a pretty good indoor and outdoor track season. It helped keep me in shape for cross country. And I learned from cross country State last year that anything can happen. There's other girls out there pushing themselves to their limit too and I have to do the same.
What got you into running?
My middle school PE teacher was Coach Moore and he was the cross country coach. He kept trying to get me to run. At first I didn't really think it was for me but I was at practice a lot anyways because my brother was on the team. So I just started out practicing and then I started liking it.
Have you played/do you play other sports?
I played softball, basketball, and cheered when I was in elementary school. I played junior high volleyball a couple of years but my ninth grade year, I decided to just focus on running.
What motivates you on hard days?
I think our team motivates each other. Our girls and boys teams are pretty close. On days that we don't have team practices we usually have a bunch of boys and girls that still meet up to run. My brother runs too so we like to aggravate each other and compete with each other's times.
What events are you and your brother most competitive at?
Probably the 5K in cross country but we had to race each other at a couple of track meets because they combined the boys and girls races.
What do you enjoy doing when you're not running?
Hanging out with friends, shopping, and going to church.
What's your favorite store to shop at?
Probably Target or Lululemon.
Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the world?
The Bahamas or anywhere with a beach.
Who is your celebrity crush?
Lol. Tom Holland.
What's the hardest workout you've ever done?
There is a road close to our school in the Talladega National Forest Management Area that has a lot of hills and tough inclines. We do different things like fartleks or long runs there.
What's your favorite training shoe?
I would say the Saucony Speed for workouts and the New Balance 1080 for recovery and easy runs.
What are your top 3 favorite movies?
Spider-Man, Jumanji, and Avatar.
If you won the $100 million lottery, what are you spending it on?
Probably travel, save some for the future, and give some to others.
If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Maybe flying or telepathy.
What's a guilty pleasure food?
Oooo maybe cookies and cream ice cream.
