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A & N Track Talk: Natalie's Story
40 Plays4 months ago
In this episode Alex takes the time to interview Natalie on her journey and everything she has learned. Natalie dives into how she got involved with cross country, how the recruiting process went, and why she chose UNC. Then she went into the struggles and lessons she learned in college and her most fond memory. Finally, Natalie wrapped up the episode talking about what she is currently up to and how you can contact her!
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Transcript
Celebrating UNC Women's Soccer 23rd Championship
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome back to A&M's Track Talk. um Natalie and I were just spending the past 10 minutes in absolute awe over UNC Women's Soccer, who won their 23rd Natty last night. It was amazing. Those women are actually my idols, so freaking amazing, and so exciting to see their journey from like so many changes this season and a very new team. Um, I'm very inspired. This is like pumping me up through the rest of this week. Oh my gosh, me too. So inspired by the fact that brand new coach, I mean, they were talking about how everyone just kind of left when the coaching changed and everybody doubted that they could do it again. And here we are. They just won a national title. So we, UNC is a women's soccer school, just saying.
00:00:55
Speaker
absolute women's soccer school and University of National Champions. So super hype for them. um Super exciting. Great day to be at Tar Heel. Always.
Natalie's Athletic Journey at UNC and Coaching Career
00:01:08
Speaker
Well, anyways, today we are super excited and because I'm going to be interviewing Natalie and we're going to do a deep dive into her story from her early days as an athlete to eventually competing in a collegiate track and cross country at UNC.
00:01:24
Speaker
Um, and now her career as a strength and running coach. And I think a lot, I know, but a lot of people are going to appreciate Natalie's insights on not only her accomplishments during her career at UNC, but everything that she wishes she knew, um, and how she's using all of that now to apply to her coaching career. So Natalie, are you ready?
00:01:50
Speaker
Uh, I am ready. I was getting pretty emotional just kind of like thinking through all of this. There's so much emotion behind everything. So I'm a little nervous, a little emotional, but I'm super excited. I definitely have a lot to say, so stick with us. And I do really want to make sure that, you know, I do talk about a lot of hardship and I talk about a lot of good as well. And Just to know that the hardship is being told because there's so many lessons to get across there. There's so many stories and I want that to be talked about. I want people to talk about the things that they struggle with so that people can realize they're not alone and we can keep making progress towards making this transition in this time and college athletics in life to just better for everyone.
00:02:47
Speaker
So yes, my long-winded answer. I am very excited and ready to dive in. Yes, absolutely. And though I think you had it right in the head, it sometimes I feel like people struggle with these things and you just feel like no one else understands, but then you hear stories like this and you realize that there are a lot of people who like not have been through the same things, but have similar who struggles and challenges. um But I'll let you get into it. um I am excited. I'm on my second cup of coffee, so I'm a little jittery, but I can't wait. of But let's start at the beginning. How did you get into sports in your childhood? And did it start with running? Or were you involved in other sports? Where did the journey begin?
00:03:35
Speaker
Yeah, so I actually grew up playing soccer. And I think this is a pretty common transition to into running sport. like I think a lot of people, especially females, start playing soccer and then somehow transition into running.
00:03:51
Speaker
Obviously, soccer is a lot of running, but other than that, I don't really know what leads to that transition. But basically, for as long as I can remember, I played soccer. ah I was always on the soccer fields. That's what I did. I played pretty much up until high school, really just on rec leagues. Like, I wasn't into the travel leagues and stuff like that, but just rec leagues and the middle school team.
00:04:12
Speaker
And in middle school, I also introduced volleyball. So, volleyball has always been a family sport. We always grew up playing that and on the beach, at family barbecues, just something we always did together and something I was always decent at. But, you know, I never had really done it as a sport. And.
00:04:34
Speaker
The funny thing was, is that I always loved the running side of both the sports. Like, I remember when, for our warmups, we'd have to go run laps either around the court or the field before practice. And I was just having so much fun with that. Like, I remember loving that part of it. And everyone else was just like, this sucks, blah, blah, blah, complaining about it. And I was just like, what do you mean? Like, this is the most fun part.
00:05:01
Speaker
Which is just, it's kind of weird to think about that. Like most people don't think that way. But so yeah, I did some other sports at first and honestly at the middle school and the younger age, running was not a thing when I was growing up. Like I didn't know what cross country was. There wasn't youth track teams and what there was, it was typically very limited. Like what there was going on, I wasn't a part of.
00:05:31
Speaker
So now there's so many youth track clubs and I think that's super awesome for those who want to do it. And I was just not exposed to any of that. So maybe I would have done that when I was a kid, but it just wasn't something I was exposed to. And I think, you know, part of my story is starting out with soccer and volleyball and kind of having that transition into running and kind of finding my place in the world and in sport with running.
From Soccer and Volleyball to a Passion for Running
00:06:01
Speaker
So yeah, as a youth, didn't seem see running as anything as a possibility, but now it's a huge part of my life. Absolutely. No, I think it's so important like for kids to just do so many different sports and have fun and like burn their competitive fire.
00:06:20
Speaker
Also, I can attest from playing volleyball with your family on the 4th of July. It's the scariest two hours of my entire life, ah but I can see like where the competitive fire comes from, and it's a lot of fun. We're a little intense in our volleyball games, and although I'm not very tall, my dad's family is very tall.
00:06:44
Speaker
they were spiking all over us. so yeah I to remember your uncle like yelling at me. Yeah, seems about right. Seems about right. You were very competitive. It was a fun time though. um But then how did you find your way to running? And when was the time when you really started to feel like this is my thing, this is what I want to do? Yeah, so this is actually a really funny story. and i just reminisce on this so much and it was always something in high school we kind of talked about later down the road because it was just funny like it was like how did this happen but in the summer before my freshman year of high school I really didn't know what I wanted to do I was still looking at doing possibly volleyball so I was doing summer workouts for volleyball but then I realized cross-country was a thing and I was like but I kind of really like running so I was also doing summer workouts for cross-country
00:07:39
Speaker
And after like a week or two of doing both, I was just beyond exhausted. I mean, the training was already a higher level than anything I'd ever done before, especially at the middle school level and trying to do two sports at once. I hadn't really done that before. And honestly, I was like, I'm not gonna be able to do both when the school season actually starts. So maybe I choose which one that I feel is my calling and I stick with it.
00:08:09
Speaker
But it was a really hard decision and my mom played volleyball in high school and like, you know, we just talked about, I grew up playing it all the time and I was pretty confident that that was something that I wanted to keep doing. But also I also mentioned my height. I'm five three and I was pretty mediocre. Um, not saying that I couldn't still play, but the height definitely did did play a difference in like, if I was going to actually even make the team. So.
00:08:39
Speaker
Honestly, it took this one moment for me to like fully make a decision. So I was at volleyball practice and we had to run a mile around the track. I was like, all right, cool. it Sounds like fun. Like let's do it. And I think the minimum time was like nine minutes and I think I did in, I don't know, seven minutes, seven, seven 30. I don't know something like, you know,
00:09:07
Speaker
halfway decent for people who aren't really running. And the coach was like, why are you not doing cross country? And I was like, well, I'm kind of doing both right now. And he was like, okay. And just, he just kind of shoot it off. Like he probably just didn't really know what to say in that moment. And one of my best friends, dad was the basketball coach and he went to him and he was like, yeah, you need to tell this girl to do cross country.
00:09:34
Speaker
So I get a message from one of my best friend's dads like, hey, I think you should do cross country. and At the time, like I was really loving the team. I was loving the atmosphere and the environment. I still wasn't really sure about running. like I really enjoyed it, but I just had no clue what I was doing. So ultimately, though, I made the decision to do cross-country. And my parents were a little surprised. They were fully supportive, but they were like, really? You want to do running for fun as your support?
00:10:12
Speaker
And they were so skeptical. They were like, okay, sure, like go for it. But I could kind of see on their faces. They were like, does anybody really do cross country? And they admitted later that they were like, I don't like how many people are actually on this team. Like they they seriously thought that there was like nobody on the team, although we probably have like 50 people on our team.
00:10:33
Speaker
And they were was like they were thinking, oh, the meats are going to be tiny. like This is going to be so boring. And you know they had these things in the back of their minds, but they never experienced it. And they were going to support me through what I wanted to do. So the first meat we go to, it was at my high school's home course. And it's around this park. So there's a bunch of like baseball fields, and there's a park. And when we pull up to the park, my mom's like, oh, there must be a baseball game today. There are so many people.
00:11:04
Speaker
And I still make fun of her for this day, because no, there was not a baseball game. There were just that many people who go to a cross country meeting. And she learned really quick how popular cross country was. And by that was just kind of the time that I realized too, because I mean, I didn't know either. But that was a time for me that i was like, oh, like, cross country is cool. Like, this is fun. This is interesting.
00:11:34
Speaker
cross country is cool. And shout out to your dad's friend, the basketball coach for telling you to do cross country and literally changing your life. I feel like everyone has like, that kind of story where just some random thing, like leads them to their sport or their calling. And it's like,
00:11:56
Speaker
one thing like the wind could have blown differently on a random day in July and it like wouldn't have happened but somehow it like all worked out. um And those stories are so cool. It's so crazy how that happens. It really is.
Freshman Year Running: No Expectations, Just Enjoyment
00:12:08
Speaker
It is. But it does happen all the time. Right? No, I swear. There's there's something to it. And so you started doing cross country. And then when did you realize that running was Not only just something that you were having a lot of fun with, but something that you really wanted to pursue seriously. Yeah, so my freshman year of high school, I was just in that full-on newbie mindset. like I had no expectations. I just was there to run. like I was just out there running.
00:12:41
Speaker
And it was amazing. Like I wish I could go back to that newbie mindset all the time because you just truly are just running to run. And there's, there's no expectations. It was like, I ran. If I did really well in a race, people were like, Oh my gosh, this is awesome. Like you did so well. And I was like, Oh, wow, thanks. I didn't, like, I didn't know, but okay, cool. You know, so it's just like that great feeling and.
00:13:09
Speaker
I ended up having a good amount of success for my freshman year. And, you know, I, you know, mostly on the conference level though, the smaller school level, you know, winning some conference meets and stuff like that. But everyone kept asking if I wanted to run in college. And honestly, my legit response was, is that a thing?
00:13:32
Speaker
I mean, I truly did not know what that like was a sport in college. I was so naive to the sport. And I think it honestly did me a lot of favors because I was enjoying it for what it was. And your freshman year, you know, you just don't need to be thinking about college. If I'm being honest, like just enjoy it. No,
00:13:57
Speaker
you know, if that is something that ah you do want to do in the future, no college coach really does what you do, really cares what do you do your freshman year. What they really care about is that you love the sport. So I think that was something that was huge for me. Like I was just enjoying it and I was not trying to kill myself to run these faster times to go to a better school or just have a better time or whatever it was. And I thought when I started to see some of this success and I kept getting asked, I was like, okay, well, maybe this could be something I do at a high level, but I mean, I wasn't doing anything crazy at the time. I was just running and I was in the bunch, you know, at state meets. I wasn't winning states. I wasn't doing anything. i I was just kind of going with it. In my sophomore year, I definitely think I started to
00:14:56
Speaker
progress more and started to see a little bit more success at a higher level, like state and nationwide, I guess you would say success. And I think that's when I started to put together that like, okay, maybe I should set some bigger goals. Like maybe I have some bigger expectations.
00:15:17
Speaker
But it took me a while to get there. like It took a while to do that because I was just doing it for the love of it. and you know It still was about that even later on, but it was a lot less expectation from the start. Yeah, absolutely. Dude, I remember our coaches in college talking about like the freshman mentality, like the newbie mindset.
00:15:42
Speaker
and like at the time you just don't even think anything of it but then as you get older and you like don't have that freshman mentality anymore you miss it so much and realize like how valuable it is just to be able to like go and run and surprise yourself and you have literally no expectations um and i was right there with you like i had no idea that college cross-country existed i don't think i even thought like I don't really know. I don't think I knew that college sports really existed. I thought it was just like the pro. And so I didn't really like know about that until for sure my sophomore year of high school and my older teammates were being recruited. But at what point in high school did you like realize that you wanted to run in college or even that it was like something that people do?
00:16:36
Speaker
Yeah. And before I answer that question, I think it's so interesting that we both have that similar experience that we just didn't really know it was a thing, you
Realizing College Running as a Possibility
00:16:47
Speaker
know? And I think part of that comes down to like, when we were freshmen in high school, social media was relatively new. ah You know, it'd been out for a few years, but It was still relatively very, very new in the sense that everything was out there. And I think nowadays, everything's out there. Like, I think freshmen are now concerned about running in college because they see all the, you know, college running scene. I didn't know what Myleswood was my freshman year. I didn't know what
00:17:19
Speaker
flow track was, I didn't know any of that stuff. what' like I wasn't exposed to any of that. And I'm sure you probably were similar in that. like That's where nowadays everybody sees that. Everybody sees that all the time on social media. So I think it's a very interesting perspective. And I think it's harder to have that newbie mindset when you're being exposed to those types of things. ah But yeah, that doesn't answer your question. That was just a side thought. So answer to your question.
00:17:47
Speaker
um Growing up, it just didn't seem like a possibility. So I did know it was a thing, mostly just because my dad was a huge sports nerd. um Loved UNC basketball because shout out we went to Michael Jordan's high school, me and my dad. so Um, you know, he had always been a huge UNC fan, mostly because of Michael Jordan. So I'd always kind of grown up in that realm of college sports, but no, I did not know cross country was college sport. And it was never something I was really striving to do. It was never something that I saw myself doing, especially when I was playing soccer and volleyball.
00:18:32
Speaker
I mean on the level of like doing those sports at the collegiate level I just never saw myself being on that level. I never saw myself even necessarily wanting to put in the effort to be on that level. So it really just started out as playing sports for fun and exercise and honestly even throughout high school that's a lot of what it was too like I was saying and I think once I started to really tour colleges And once I started hearing from coaches and realizing really what college athletics was about, it it kind of changed my mindset a lot. It was something that had been on my mind, but I didn't know much about it. And I was like, I'm not sure about this. And I think
00:19:25
Speaker
that was never really just like a straight up pivotal moment where I was like, this this is what I'm gonna do. It was very much a gradual progression of like, I started learning more about college sports. I started being recruited by college coaches and then started going and touring college campuses. And then just realizing like, oh, this could be really cool. And then it also started to become an expectation from others.
00:19:53
Speaker
And I think putting those two together, like it started to become something that like maybe that's what I wanted to do. But if I'm being honest, there also became an expectation, a huge expectation. um My sophomore year, I believe, of high school was when Nevada Marino, who's also from North Carolina, was you know top and top in the country, and she signed to go to Stanford.
00:20:23
Speaker
And I remember people after that asking me like, okay, in in two years, if you're at her level, would you go to Stanford? And I was like, what? Like never thought about going to Stanford. And you know, it seemed so silly at the time and But I think those types of things are just what started to put it on the radar of like, well, like people have this expectation that I can go to like these major schools and do a sport. What? Okay. Um, and then learning more from that. And I was like, all right, well, I guess we're going for it. And it eventually became something that was super exciting, but it took time to kind of learn what that even looked like. And.
00:21:14
Speaker
what it would look like once I got there. So long-winded answer there, but it definitely took a lot of time and it was a big progression to even get to that point.
The Recruitment Process: Choosing the Right College
00:21:24
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. It's definitely really interesting the way that like other people can kind of shape like what you perceive yourself as capable of doing. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
00:21:37
Speaker
so you're ah You're like a junior or senior in high school. You've had a good amount of success. what How did you experience the recruiting process and how did you come to decide on UNC? Yeah, so again, I was so naive to those. And, you know, I did get a good amount of help from my high school coach, but he, I mean,
00:22:01
Speaker
He did run in college, but it was a long time ago, not trying to age him. You know, love him as my coach, but it was a significant amount of time ago and things are different. I mean, things are different now, like I said, than they were when me and you were being recruited and it wasn't even a long ago.
00:22:19
Speaker
so Yeah, I was getting some input from him, but I was also just doing a lot of research once it was something I decided I really wanted to to do. And I pretty quickly narrowed it down to Wake Forest, UNC, and NC State. I just loved that there were so many amazing schools in my home state, and why not take advantage of that? So my recruiting process was kind of weird.
00:22:49
Speaker
I did narrative down to those three schools and I had taken unofficial visits to UNC and NC State just because they were a lot closer to my hometown. Wake Forest was a little bit further. um And so i I actually ended up doing my first official visit at Wake Forest since I hadn't done an unofficial there. And that was super early in my senior year, like maybe the end of August. And then about a week or two later, a massive hurricane hit my hometown.
00:23:19
Speaker
So we evacuated for, I don't even know how long we were actually gone, but it was at least two to four weeks and we weren't able to get back to North Carolina. Like the roads were flushed out, we couldn't get home. So we were just hanging out with our family in New Jersey and that kind of put a lot of the process behind and put a lot of my process like kind of pushed back and put a lot of stress I mean obviously on the fact that there was a hurricane being out of school I mean we were at a school for over a month um stranded in new jersey with family and then also trying to have a cross-country season it was a lot and I think I really just I was like I just want to make a decision I know it's it's down to these three schools and
00:24:09
Speaker
i I need to make a decision. So as soon as we were able to get back to North Carolina, the next two weekends, I did my officials at UNC and NC State, back to back weekends, also pairing with races. It was a lot. But in the end, I ultimately found that I loved UNC, of course. um I grew up a UNC fan and I think a huge aspect of it when it came down to the school was the focus that UNC has on life sciences, human sciences, because I knew I wanted to either do something in the medical field or possibly even exercise in sports science, which is what I ended up doing. And that wasn't something that NC State really offered quite as much. So I really took that into account.
00:25:00
Speaker
And then when it came down to the team and choosing the team that was right for me, I loved the idea of joining a smaller team that was UNC. And they were not on the top of the scene at the time. Like it was, I remember after I committed watching the ACC meet on my phone in class. Yes, I shouldn't have been doing it, but I was.
00:25:23
Speaker
and I think they came 12th out of 16th that year. I mean, it was not great. like mean I was going into a team knowing that like, hey, this this is something that we're going to grow. And the coach at the time was like, we are going to make UNC back into that high caliber team again.
00:25:43
Speaker
And we did do that, by the way, just saying. But that was a huge aspect for me. I mean, NTC was already doing pretty well. And obviously, they've had a lot of success. But I still love all my experience at UNC. And I think I made a great decision in choosing that. Yeah, absolutely. I think especially like our grade and the grade below us, the idea of being able to be a part of really building something rather than just coming into like one of those dynasties was something that drew a lot of us in and was really exciting. um So I definitely relate to that. And also, I just feel like the hurricane is like such an understated part of your story. Literally, we like everyone else is focusing on just their cross country seasons and senior year. And you're not even in your your hometown is flooded like
00:26:41
Speaker
for a long time. And so for you to have like continued with cross country and the whole recruiting process and everything else that comes with like the stressors of just being a high school senior is just so crazy to think about. poet It is really crazy. it was It was a crazy time and I look back on that and I'm just like, wow. like that was something and it it was you know i was fortunate enough we were very fortunate actually that you know our families were okay and like um you know nothing flooded hurt like our house did not fully flood or anything but there was a lot of damage to the hometown so it it was crazy yeah that that is just crazy and i know like
00:27:33
Speaker
the whole state of North Carolina and I'm sure much of the South was like really going through it at that time. So yeah, it's just crazy to think about. um And so anyways, you finished your recruiting process, you committed to UNC, which I'm sure was such a huge accomplishment and like thinking about having gone from not even knowing that college running exists to committing to run for UNC is so awesome.
Transitioning from High School to College Sports
00:28:02
Speaker
Um, and so then of course we started our freshman year. um What did you feel like was, I know we like had to adjust to a lot, but what was the biggest adjustment for you doing during that transition from high school to college? Oh my gosh, I have so much to say here. Um, bear with me because I also learned so much and I have, I feel like I just have so much value to add here. Like I think there.
00:28:30
Speaker
was a lot of hardship during this time. I'm not gonna lie but I also think that the ah hardship makes for a great story and it makes for a great way for others to learn from my experience and you know it it's crazy so bear with me. I am gonna go on for quite a bit as I do but I'm super excited to kind of share this and like oh just Yeah. Okay. Okay. I'm going to go now. into When, so when I was in high school, like everyone else, I was a top runner in my team and I was a top runner in the state. You know, I kind of talked about getting to that point. Obviously it was, you know, more of my junior and senior year that I was at that point, but at that point, like I was also doing really well in school. And while I did work my butt off for those things, it felt really natural. Like.
00:29:28
Speaker
I feel like in a way I was working hard, but it came easy at the same time. And so I was like, college is going to be a breeze. I'm so independent already. I know how to cook. I know how to clean. I have good study habits. I've never been injured. So I can handle the training and school is just something that you tackle and it'll be fine. and Oh my gosh.
00:29:57
Speaker
Yeah, that is not how it went.
00:30:02
Speaker
And all you can attest to this too, because one, we like you went through it all with me, but also I know that you had probably a similar experience, you know which we will get into next time, but it just does not go that way. And I think there's something about this ego in high school. And ego is not always a bad thing, but the way we think that we kind of have everything put together and we just don't. We just really don't. And so I found this Taylor Swift quote so fitting and I was like, this is perfect.
00:30:46
Speaker
so
00:30:49
Speaker
If you've ever heard the song, Nothing New by Taylor Swift, you might recognize this, but how can a person know everything at 18, but nothing at 22? And this quote, 1000% sums up college, it sums up transitioning from high school to college, and it sums up graduating college. Like this is the quote that I put on my post when I posted a picture of me graduating.
00:31:18
Speaker
because I was 22 and I was like, I feel like I know nothing. And when I was 18 and I was coming into college, I felt like I was on top of the world. I felt like I knew everything. I felt like everything was coming together. And I think, you know, there's, there's something about this. Like I, I, maybe it's that feeling of like, we feel really accomplished. We've done really well at the high school level.
00:31:46
Speaker
um We've done really well athletically and academically. and There's something about this feeling of accomplishment at the young age that leads us in to college feeling like we're going to accomplish everything. And we go in with this mindset that we know what we want. We have it figured out. But college is different. It is really different. It is a whole different beast.
00:32:14
Speaker
and It is good and it is bad. Like, there are a lot of good things that come out of college and there are a lot of bad things. So I'll put in perspective to you a little bit, because I know this is a long winded, but it all makes sense in the end, I promise. In my first two weeks of college, I was already stressed the heck out. I had a stress fracture two weeks in my first injury ever, which
00:32:46
Speaker
Mind you, I was talking not 30 seconds ago about how in high school I was like, oh, I've never been injured. I'll be fine. Two weeks in, I was injured. Legitimate story. School, also not what I expected. I was taking ridiculous classes for me. Now, for some people, this they may have been great classes. But I was eventually an EXSS major, which is exercise and sports science.
00:33:14
Speaker
In my class in my first semester were European history before 1650, African, no, African studies, philosophy, and Spanish. I was miserable. I just, I had zero desire to do school. Those classes were 0% interesting to me and they were so hard. And I just felt like I was constantly grinding on schoolwork.
00:33:44
Speaker
I also thought I had great studying habits and I don't know if you were quite the same on freshman year, Alex, or if you even remember it, but I felt like I woke up.
00:33:59
Speaker
went to practice or rehab if I was injured and then I went to class and then I ate lunch and then I studied and then I went back to practice and then I went to dinner and then I studied and I went to bed. There was like zero time. I spend zero time like doing something for me. It was like constant studying or running. And then on the weekends, I would study both of the days all day besides practice. And I was just never taking a break.
00:34:29
Speaker
And my school suffered. I mean, my grades were fine, but they weren't great. And I was studying all the time. And I was just not happy. I mean, genuinely, I was just not happy. I mean, in the moment, maybe I was like, still had a little bit of that ego going of like, I'll be fine.
00:34:45
Speaker
But looking back on it, yeah, I was, I was not happy. It was, it was a lot. It was really hard, honestly. And then you start adding in all these different factors. Like at UNC, we weren't allowed to have a car and you know, that's, that's the thing for most college campuses. Honestly, your freshman year, you're not allowed to have a car.
00:35:07
Speaker
Um, so I was injured trying to get to classes and everywhere in a boot or crutches because I went through multiple injuries in that time and it was hard. And it's crazy because I say this and I'm like, no one else understands, but Alex can attest and so can probably every single one of our friends that freshman year is so freaking hard. Like.
00:35:34
Speaker
you are not alone in the journey of freshman year because it is freaking hard. This whole transitional period is insane. So that's when my first semester of college went. It was quite rough and it took a long time for it to get better, if I'm being honest.
Supporting High School Athletes Transitioning to College
00:35:58
Speaker
And I talked about this a bit in our introductory episode and This was one of the reasons that we decided to start this podcast. I mean, there were lots of reasons to end the podcast. We have a lot more to share with you guys, but.
00:36:16
Speaker
it This was one of the reasons. And then this is also why I really am starting this community and a course for high school juniors and seniors to learn better skills to deal with these setbacks, how to study, how to manage their time, how to make friends. And just to smooth over that transition from high school to college. Because right now for about 95% of college athletes, it does not go smoothly.
00:36:44
Speaker
And it is a struggle for all. So not everyone does talk about their struggles, but everyone does have struggles their first freshman year. It is hard and nobody like really truly sits down and helps you. I want to help you. I want to help athletes better prepare for the demands of college.
00:37:10
Speaker
So if you're listening in your ah high school, junior, senior, and you want to get involved, please message me on Instagram. Um, my Instagram is not sports prep. And if your current or past college athlete who would like to join me in making this difference and, or join us on the podcast, whatever it is, please reach out and let's just, let's just make this a better transition. Let's, let's help people suffer a little less.
00:37:40
Speaker
Okay, I know that was a lot but told you guys I have a lot to say because I'm really passionate about this and like there's just not one thing that was hard freshman year transitioning in. It was a lot of things and I think it's important to share it. I think it's important to know that this happens, that you're not alone if you felt this way and that If there's something you're about to go into, it's okay to feel this way and it's okay to get help and it's okay to learn and all of the things. But yes, that was a lot. Thanks for listening. Yeah, absolutely. um Like you said, I definitely can attest to the fact that freshman year is very challenging. um Like I remember looking at my high school teammates their freshman year who were just killing it and thinking that that was just how it was going to go. um But it's definitely not.
00:38:33
Speaker
um It is crazy looking back because I remember we first met, and I was like, Natalie Tyner has it together. You were like showed me your assignment notebook before the first day of class, and you had written all the assignments from every syllabus for the whole semester. And I was like, syllabus? What is that? You knew you were on campus. You were like meal prepping.
00:39:01
Speaker
And I just remember being so intimidated, and I felt like I was completely unprepared. um And so it's crazy to think that like behind all that, like it's so easy to just think that like other people have it all together. But I think it really speaks to the fact that, for the most part, we're all just like finding our way through the chaos. We were probably in survival mode for all a freshman year.
00:39:25
Speaker
Dude, yes. And I felt, you know, it's a point to be made that I felt the same way about you. like I do think we see each other in different lights. like I remember you were upset, or not maybe upset, but you were just frustrated with this like really good grade you had made on a test and it wasn't an A and I was like, dude, this is a really hard class at UNC. I don't remember exactly what it was, but whatever it was, I was like, that's really good.
00:39:54
Speaker
and I was just like not necessarily envious but I was like okay she's doing so well and I'm over here like practically crying my way through philosophy because this literally makes no freaking sense but it does go to show that like everyone has their different struggles and their different insights that they're not showing you that they don't see that you don't understand is going on in their lives and You know, we were together all the time, but we still don't see how we look at each other, you know. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it is. It's really interesting. And I think a lot of, especially at that age, I definitely tried to hide how hard it was from other people, even my closest friends.
00:40:41
Speaker
I think Dylan Sorensen can attest that he caught me in the act sobbing on my bike because I forgot to turn in. No, I i lost an essay um and I was freaking out over something that now I realized was not that big a deal.
00:40:58
Speaker
god anyway excuse never gets old um So yeah, freshman year is challenging. I think it definitely highlights like a very common experience for probably most college freshmen, student athlete or not. um And then throughout the next few years, what were some of the most challenging lessons you learned, ah even like training racing, but also life outside of college cross country as well? Yeah, I think I learned a lot. Well, I know I learned a lot, but I think I didn't realize how much I was learning until I was removed from the situation.
00:41:39
Speaker
I mean college was ultimately a really hard time for me and at the same time with all the failures that I faced, I learned so much. There were so many lessons learned.
00:41:52
Speaker
And maybe I didn't see everything that I was learning and growing from in the moment, but after being removed from the space and looking back, I've grown so much. And this is something that me and you have talked about a lot, Alex, just over the past couple months, even, of the growth that has happened since we have left undergrad. And it's a lot. big I have grown a lot since undergrad and there's there's just so many different levels of growth. Like we grew a lot from our freshman year to our sophomore year and then sophomore to junior and then junior to senior. And then a lot more even after you graduate college and you're either thrown into the real world or world or into a master's program, like it's a lot different. So, to excuse me, let me dive into a little bit of what I struggled with and what I learned.
Balancing Sports, Academics, and Personal Life
00:42:49
Speaker
And to start that,
00:42:52
Speaker
I think another big thing that you and I have both emphasized, Alex, is learning balance in life with running and school. This is so hard. I would describe myself as a very type A personality. And Alex, I would say you're probably the same.
00:43:15
Speaker
Not speaking for you, but somewhat we are very similar in that realm of things. But I have gone really, really far into the type A personality, sometimes a little bit too much. And it has led me to a lot of perfectionism. Everything had to be perfect. School, recovery, nutrition, training, everything. Everything had to be perfect all the time.
00:43:39
Speaker
mean And I think for a time, this does help you develop good habits, but eventually, at least in my case, it became overly restrictive. It was too much. I wasn't spending time with family and friends anymore. And all I did was run in school and sleep and eat. And after two to three injuries my freshman year of college and the pandemic,
00:44:09
Speaker
I was struggling a lot. My first semester of my sophomore year was plagued with a lot of mental health struggles. I took the whole semester off of the team. I was struggling in school and I had to get academic aid because my classes were too much for the level of like health struggles that I was struggling with.
00:44:35
Speaker
So I ultimately was just in a really bad place. It was at this point though, where I had a lot of time to think about my priorities. I still loved running and I felt a lot of joy from it still. So I knew I had to figure out what was going to allow me to find balance and love my life again.
00:45:02
Speaker
Now, this wasn't the answer to all my struggles, but I found that something that really helped me was was finding that better balance in life. I got back to doing other things I enjoyed. I put less pressure on myself in school and in running, and I was able to do better in both because of that. I just took some pressure off of myself. like It was self-imposed pressure that when I just kind of took a step back from it, I enjoyed school and running a lot more.
00:45:32
Speaker
I got back into doing other hobbies, like painting and crafting and baking, like all the things I once loved to do and was doing a lot more before everything just kind of came tumbling down around me. And one thing that I think made a major difference in the rest of my college career was I made sure to be done with school, ah school school, school work every night by 8 p.m.
00:46:03
Speaker
And by my senior year, I started being like 6 p.m. I was done, if we're being honest, but somewhere your APM felt like a good, soft stopping point, considering that my freshman year, it was like I was working right up until 9 p.m. and then going to bed at 9 30. Like I was not taking any time to enjoy anything else.
00:46:26
Speaker
So now at this point, I was making sure to stop work by 8 p.m. so that I could enjoy time with my roommates or just to myself. And I also just put less pressure on being in bed by a certain time every night. Because like I said, I had that perfectionism with everything. And it it came down to sleep as well. And it was, I have to be in bed by 9.30 or I'm not gonna get X amount of sleep. And then I ended up not being able to sleep that well because I was so stressed about not getting enough sleep.
00:46:55
Speaker
So instead I started to realize that it was okay every once in a while if I got 30 minutes less sleep. It was okay if every once in a while I went to bed at 10 and woke up at 8 instead of whatever else I was doing before. I just started going with the flow a little bit more and let's be real I'm still not always great at going with the flow. It's still a learning curve and this was six years ago but It is a huge aspect to being able to grow and find your happiness again. It still took me a long time to be fully happy. I really struggled with finding the balance with running again, especially after my sophomore year when I was finding success in the score again. um I was traveling with the team and I was running high mileage and competing at a high level again.
00:47:53
Speaker
And I think some of the self-imposed pressure again came back, but balance was the only way I was ever able to even get to that point. And since then, and since I've pretty much just stepped away from the collegiate running world, I've learned even more of the importance of this. Like balance has just saved me this past year. So.
00:48:19
Speaker
That's one lesson that I learned. I know that was that was a lot, but one lesson I learned was enjoy all aspects of life. Find balance with your sport and other things that you enjoy. You have to be able to have that social life and you have to be able to have your sport and academics because if you're all in on one, then you're just losing all the aspects of everything else and you're probably going to end up burnout, unhappy, whatever it is.
00:48:50
Speaker
So that was the first like major lesson that I think came pretty early for me in college. But another lesson that I really want to talk about was advocating for yourself.
Advocating for Well-being and Dealing with Injuries
00:49:02
Speaker
So this one is really huge for me as well. And and you know these are the two biggest things that I just talk about all the time now.
00:49:13
Speaker
But I don't know about most people, but I was taught my entire life to listen to superiors, coaches, doctors, trainers, professors, whatever it is, listen to them and don't question them. So that's what I did. I did everything I was told to do and never questioned it. And I'm not saying that there, you should go and question your coach or you should question your doctor all the time.
00:49:41
Speaker
However, you know your body best and you are the only one who can who can speak on how your body is truly feeling. So I think this is where it can be really, really hard to advocate for yourself. So for me, I had knee pain beginning my sophomore year. It started in my left knee. It was occasional.
00:50:04
Speaker
But one day I felt a bit of pain in practice but kind of shoot it off because it wasn't bad. I wasn't changing form. It was just kind of there and it it was weird. I went home and while I was taking a shower I bent down to pick up my bottle of soap off the ground and immediately just felt a sharp pain in my knee. It was hard to walk and it smelled up immediately and it was just the weirdest thing.
00:50:31
Speaker
and i like And I lived together at this time with three other roommates. I came downstairs into the kitchen and Alex, like you were making dinner and you were like, ask me what I was going to do for dinner. And I was like, I don't know if you remember this, but I was like holding back tears. Cause I was like, it hurts to walk. What is happening? I don't know what to do. And I was like, I think I need to order food. I don't know what to do. And you're like, what what do you mean? What do you mean? What's going on? And I was like, I just bent down and like my knee popped and bottom bla blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
00:51:04
Speaker
You just like went full mom mode. You were like, okay, get some ice, go sit down. It's okay. Order some food. It'll be fine. So that was really encouraging. And I thank you for that moment. But yeah, so that was kind of the start of everything.
00:51:20
Speaker
That was the first time my knee really became a problem. And the trainers told me, I don't know, everything seems okay. You have an ACL still, it's still functioning. So basically two days later, I'm running again. And yes, I was still in pain. And before I say this next sentence, I want to know that if I had advocated for myself, things would have been different in this next scenario, but I get back to my, I do my run two days later and my coach told me, your form looks great. Knee is back to normal, looking great. And I agreed. And I was like, yep, knee is feeling better. And it wasn't like, it just wasn't. And I just didn't know how to go against what he was saying. And that's not really on him. It really was on me because I didn't know how to advocate for myself.
00:52:21
Speaker
I didn't know that it was okay to, you know, in that moment I wouldn't have been questioning him. It would just been more of like, actually know like this is how I'm feeling. And that is really hard. Like it is really hard to do that. So it took me a long time to learn that that is something I should have been doing. My knees became a constant battle for the next two and a half years of college and to this day, unfortunately,
00:52:51
Speaker
There were times that they were better than others, and I say they because both of the knees ended up having the same problem. It was on and off pain, and I was still being told by doctors and trainers, you aren't doing any more damage. Doctors were giving me cortisone shots to help with pain, saying everything looked fine on x-rays without doing any extra imaging, just keeping in mind that x-rays only show bone. And then by my senior year,
00:53:20
Speaker
I couldn't even tell you how many times I had to take a few days off because knee pain flared up. I feel like it was every few months I was taking a few days off because my knees had flared up. At this point I was running 80 miles a week and I was miserable. At the time I was so afraid to say it. I think I only really admitted it like once or twice.
00:53:42
Speaker
like We were doing a long run and I looked at one of my teammates and I said, are you running any miles a week? And she was like, yeah. And I was like, I hate it. And she was like, Oh really? I love it. And I was like, well, well, okay. And, but you know, there's a different side to that. Like I was miserable because I was in pain. 95% of the runs were painful and it was just not fun anymore. Like it was just a lot less fun and a lot less enjoyable. I mean, at least 50% of the runs I was finishing in tears.
00:54:13
Speaker
That's just not okay. like it was It was not okay for me to think that it was okay. ah Again, I was still being told I was not doing more damage and it felt like I just needed to keep going. like I just needed to keep going and I needed to finish out my senior year and I needed to be successful and run and all the things. And everything kind of changed my senior year of indoor track.
00:54:40
Speaker
I'd had a really great cross country season and I was having a really good indoor season. And one week before the ACC meet, my right knee pain got really bad. And for the most part, it had really been my left knee. Like my right knee would flare up, but my left one was always worse. So when the right one got really bad, I was like, okay, this is not good.
00:55:03
Speaker
Honestly, it felt like I was being stopped. Like that was one of the worst weeks of running ever. It was miserable. I was in a lot of pain and it was to the point where I was like, no, like I just stopped running. I was like, no, this is not right. I am in a lot of pain for stopping. It took a week or two for that need to calm down. And again, we had not done any MRI, so we still didn't really know what was wrong.
00:55:31
Speaker
So that did mean that I missed the ACME and that was really tough. I got back to training for outdoor and actually during this time, the time between, you know, getting back to training and then before outdoor started, we decided to get an MRI, but it was mostly to see what measures could be taken after I graduated in a few months, after my track season ended.
00:55:56
Speaker
So the MRI did not really show what we were expecting. So I've been told this whole time that it was likely like plica, which I, if there's a doctor listening, please, I'm explaining this very wrong. But in the mind, in my mind, it was basically this tissue that isn't really needed underneath your knee that can get torn and can just kind of cause some rubbing and paint there.
00:56:25
Speaker
I kept being told that's what it was and that it was super, super easy to fix. They would just take the plug out because it wasn't really needed. It was a super simple, like two week recovery surgery. So that's not what it actually was. Like we did an MRI, not the case. I basically had like extremely progressive runner's knee to the point that my patellas were moving out of place. Like my kneecap was moving out of place.
00:56:54
Speaker
which explained why sometimes my knees flared up with sharp pain and swelling and bruising and that my this means that my patellas had sub-bloxed or moved out of place. And this also means I was in fact doing more damage by running because even when they didn't sharply move out of place, they were slightly resting on the outside of my knee. So constantly they were rubbing against the edge of my tibia and femur, which is not normal. Normally your patella just glides back and forth and the cartilage that is under your patella to kind of keep it gliding nice and smooth was
00:57:43
Speaker
being torn because it was rubbing against the outside of my bones versus in the little groove it's supposed to be in. So I had significant cartilage damage under both patellas, but it's just not that common of a spot to have cartilage loss. It's really, you know, cartilage loss is irreplaceable.
00:58:05
Speaker
In that moment, I was told that there was no harm in finishing out the season. It was what it was. And it would be okay to take measures to fix this after I was done. So I was like, okay, great. Like I'm going to go for it because this is, you know, this is going to be my last season and blah, blah, blah. Like I was super excited to just keep going. I was back in racing shape. I raced this one crazy 1500 race in the 30 degree pouring rain at Duke and Blake.
00:58:34
Speaker
marked early April and we were prepping for 5k in the next few weeks. The week of the 5k my left knee was hurting quite a bit more and what was really weird is I was struggling to get full range of motion which obviously is quite problematic but it was still manageable like the pain was still manageable I was still running I thought normally But on the warm up before the race, it was really not feeling great. And I was told later by, well, in this case, I was actually told later by Alex that like my form looked a little weird. I didn't notice it though. But I was like, I'm at this point, I'm going to push through, I'm going to do it. And I got on the line and I raced and Tuesday,
00:59:25
Speaker
Honestly, I do regret it. It was a terrible race. My entire body shut down. I couldn't run fast. I felt like I was going full speed and it was slower than my 10K pace for 5K. And it's the craziest phenomenon, which Alex, I know you've experienced this before too, where I felt no pain. Like I wasn't in pain. I just couldn't figure out why I wasn't running any faster. Like I couldn't figure out why I was just getting slower while, while ah I just was losing the rest of the field on the race. Like I was like, I feel fine. And I was like mentally in it. Like I wasn't losing focus. I just could not move any faster. And I just, I still have not quite figured out what this is like.
01:00:16
Speaker
What is this? How does this happen? Like maybe Alex, when you go to med school, you need to research this because I still haven't quite figured this one out. But anyways, when I finished the race, I was shaking. I was clearly lumping. I felt sick and that was my last race.
01:00:35
Speaker
We never really figured out what happened to my knee that day. My guess is that my cartilage was so torn that it was getting in the like pieces of it had kind of torn to the point where it was getting in the way of my range of motion in my knee. But it was to the point I like I couldn't straighten my leg all the way. I was maybe getting, I was probably like 30 degrees less of what I should have been, which is not good.
01:01:03
Speaker
And ultimately I just wasn't able to get back to manage it in the time to finish the season. So that is my story of my knees. I don't know how much really anyone has like really fully heard that story from start to end besides the people who were in it with me. um And I know that's extremely long winded answer, but I do think the story really gives the lesson so much power.
01:01:35
Speaker
because another part of that story is it has been two years and I am still struggling with knee pain. I had to get surgery. I have had a lot of struggles. So I do really wish I communicated and advocated better. I did really trust my trainers and I still do and coach and it wasn't that they were wrong, but they were not feeling my pain.
01:02:02
Speaker
I had to advocate for that and I think that's a lesson that we are not taught. We are not taught that we need to advocate for those types of things. I should have asked for an MRI years prior to then.
01:02:16
Speaker
And that is all to say in the end, you have to stand up for yourself because no one else will advocate for what you need and how you feel.
Reflecting on NCAA Cross Country Championships Success
01:02:27
Speaker
And I say this with such like great passion now because Like I said, I had to take 18 months off of running, get three knee surgeries, and I still have a lot of damage and lingering pain. It can be hard to think about the rest of your life at 18, 19, 20 years old in college, but don't take the pain lightly. Advocate for yourself, at least figure out what's going on so that you can learn and grow and and make this better.
01:03:02
Speaker
ah Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much for sharing that. That was really powerful. I think that advocating for yourself, especially as a young woman, can be so hard. I know like the way we like were in college, like you just want to be seen as tough and strong, and it feels like it feels like and admitting that you're like struggling with someone of something or you're in pain is like not being tough enough, not toughing it out. But in reality, I think like the like actually being honest and speaking up for yourself is like the strongest and hardest thing you can do. And it's just such a hard lesson to learn. um And it's so hard not to gaslight yourself until thinking like
01:03:52
Speaker
Oh, it's not a big deal. like I just need to push through the pain, whatever. um And I think that is definitely like one of the biggest lessons that I learned from you through college, especially the time you took our sophomore year to step away and really focus on like like your overall health and well-being. That, I'm sure, was a really hard decision to make. But ultimately, I do think it was the foundation for a lot of the success that you had and just your overall happiness as well. um but it's such a hard thing to do, like and just being willing to admit that you need help, you need to take a step back, that you're in pain, any of those things can be so challenging um and just such a hard lesson to learn. ah So we've spent so much time going over all of the challenges, all of the hard things, but let's talk about one memory from your college career that you're just really proud of. Yeah, I think when I think back to it,
01:04:52
Speaker
And this is mostly just like thinking back to athletic side of it, but one of the happiest and proudest moments of my college athletic experience was actually in my senior year. And in Crest Country, we were having a record season as a team. I was personally running really well for me and there was just a great energy about the team. And so at the NCAA Crest Country Champs that year, we came in fifth as a team.
01:05:22
Speaker
And that was the highest that UNC had ever placed as a team. And just nothing makes me more proud than the love and effort I gave to the team that day. When we all finished that race and we were lying on the ground together and slowly watching the team scores update, our goal all season had been to get top eight or seven, depending on who you asked.
01:05:51
Speaker
So, ultimately seeing Fifth up there brought an amazing energy. I don't think anything will ever replace the energy from it, but just hugging and screaming Tar Heels and having so much fun and getting to celebrate that later with all of the team. It was it was a super fun memory, and i just I don't truly think I'll ever forget that time. um there were There's obviously so many other amazing memories, but I'll keep it in that one for now. Yes, no, that was amazing. And just a huge day from like our freshman year being eighth at the ACC meet, I think to fifth in the country was just so huge for the team. and I don't think any of us will ever forget that. um And so now finally moving beyond college to where we are now, what has inspired you to
01:06:49
Speaker
use your passion for running and apply it to your career as a coach.
Transition from Personal Training to Coaching
01:06:53
Speaker
And was there like any specific moment that made you realize that coaching was your next step? Yeah, so this is a relatively long one too, but my freshman year, I changed my path from med school to exercise and sports science with the idea of somehow going into the world of athletics.
01:07:15
Speaker
Ultimately I sat down and like thought about my life in five years and I couldn't see myself doing anything else. like I knew I wanted to be a part of some form of athletics.
01:07:27
Speaker
So when I graduated honestly I was just really angry with running. I didn't love it like I used to because it had brought me so much pain and heartbreak in the past few months. I felt like I just needed to get out and experience something else. So I took my training in strength and conditioning and being a personal trainer and went into the realm of personal training and just working with the general population. And I really enjoyed working as a personal trainer but the hours were insane and it was a lot. And I think there were just a lot of things that came together this year that happened and were a trouble for all of us. And I knew I needed and wanted to do something that made me feel more connected to my roots, something that I was just unbelievably passionate about. And that is where I decided that I wanted to get back into coaching runners.
01:08:27
Speaker
And I knew at that time that I also could not go back to the college scene for many, many reasons, but I knew it wasn't what was going to be right for me. And I also knew that coaching in the high school level probably wasn't what I wanted either. So I decided I'm going to do my own thing. I started coaching runners one on one in person and online, mostly adults, some high schoolers who want some one on one training.
01:08:56
Speaker
and it has been the best experience putting together running and the background and personal training and the running community is just so amazing. Like being a part of it is definitely makes me feel a lot more connected to what I'm passionate about and to who I am. And with the events of this year and just all the things that have been going on. I've taken time to reflect on my college experience and this is when I realized that there was another way I could help people. I wanted to do something to help high school athletes transition into college athletics with with better skills and ability to handle challenges. To maybe avoid some of the struggles me and so many others have faced. This is why I started Nat Sport Prep
01:09:52
Speaker
And another reason we both really wanted to start this podcast so we could get our stories out there and be able to help more people. Love that. And ah so excited for you to continue building this career of helping young athletes. And so far, what's been the most rewarding part of being a strength and run coach? I think it's really helping people be able to find their love again for the sport and be able to reach their goals.
01:10:20
Speaker
just at the same time you want to manage life loving time with their family and friends and I just love being able to dive into helping people with the struggles that I face and taking the struggles and lessons that I've learned and making it into something positive where I can help others through it. Yes absolutely I think especially the managing life and still enjoying those other things while you're pursuing really big goals is something that can be not as intuitive as you would expect it to be. So I'm so glad that you're there to help people kind of learn how to do that. um What have been some of the biggest challenges that you've faced so far? and
01:11:02
Speaker
I'd say the biggest challenge is just being able to get in front front of people and truly be able to show them why I can help them. And it can be so hard to hear that someone is really struggling with something that I know I can help them with. And either they they don't want help or they're just not willing to listen to the help. I mean, I get it. Like we all just kind of have those blockages sometimes. So it's just hard sometimes to really help people. And when I know somebody is struggling with something that I can help with, I'm like, Oh, I just want to help you. But it's slowly getting there.
01:11:38
Speaker
and No, I get it. Being a stubborn girlie, I do understand the not wanting to accept help, but it's so important. um Okay, last question. What advice would you give to young athletes who are just starting their journeys?
Advice for Young Athletes: Love, Balance, Advocate
01:11:53
Speaker
um Whether they're thinking of running in college or just pursuing a lifelong love of their sport, what advice would you give? First, I would tell them to love what you do and realize it is a part of you and not your whole life, find that balance to where it is something that you love to do when you do it. But if you're not doing it, you also still love what you're doing with life. And then second, advocate for yourself and realize that you know you best and you deserve to be happy and healthy. And the only person who can really understand and encourage that is you.
01:12:35
Speaker
Love, love the advice. Natalie, thank you so much for going through your story today. I know there's a lot of challenges that you've faced over the years, but I'm sure that people can learn a lot from this story. I know I definitely have. but um And before we wrap up, where can people find you if they want to connect with you? Yeah, so right now, kind of managing two Instagrams for the separate business pursuits.
01:13:04
Speaker
so Follow Nat's sport prep if you just want to talk more about transitioning into college athletics or your story in college athletics. And then message me at Run Coach Nat if you're looking for some running or strength coaching. Awesome. And as always, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it with your friends and family. And we'll be back next week. Thank you. Bye.