Time

I am currently on a flight to race the Falmouth Mile this Friday night so I popped on here to give you all an update. I am shooting from the hip with this newsletter so have some grace as I am sleep deprived and haven’t used my brain in a few weeks. And I refuse to use AI for edits because I am a human and have a soul and that’s something it won’t ever have. I’m already saying crazy things. Here we go.

Even a week ago, I wasn't entirely sure I would be racing here. My wife and I had our third girl, Catherine Francis Hunter on July 24th. I took one day off the day after the birth and have carried on training as hard as I can the last few weeks in my final push towards World Road Running Champs in September. And so we decided if things were going smoothly, I would jet out to test the legs over a mile. And here we are! The last few weeks have consisted of high amounts of threshold training. Including a few weeks with 2x double threshold workouts, something I haven't ever done before. Most of these sessions have been on the treadmill or really close to home. I feel insanely strong, and it's hard not too with this type of training. But, the trade off of this type of schedule is that I have done very few fast intervals. We've done a few hill sessions but my first time in spikes in almost 4 months was a week ago and we ran a few 200s and 300s. They felt solid, but I have no idea how a hard mile will feel against guys who have been ripping all summer. However, I feel very confident I will be in great form for Copenhagen, as we have put all the eggs in that basket this season.

Overall, adding Cate to our family has been the most peaceful transition yet. It does seem that as our family grows, so does the confidence to tackle all the things life throws at you. I'm currently sneaking into our oldest daughter's room (she is 3 and still in a crib) and sleeping in the toddler bed we are hoping to move her into in the next few months. Sometimes, I laugh when I think about this situation. Here I am, a professional athlete competing at a world championship in a few weeks just living life like any normal parent-- making adjustments and sacrifices where we need and being on full on dad duty 24/7. As I have said in the past, there is no paternity leave for an endurance athlete. I'm tired, I won't lie, but at the same time I can't help but feel like the mission I am on is the one that will make me the best athlete I can be— despite the fact that sometimes my lunch is my toddlers left over mac and cheese. This process of fatherhood and athletic excellence has me thinking deeply about what we really prioritize as dads and athletes. Speaking from my own experience, I really over emphasize the wrong things most of the time. With my first child, I wanted everything to be perfect-- her meals, play time, reading the right books, naps, etc... Similarly and early on in my running career, I wanted my running to be perfect-- my recovery, my weight training, my sleep, etc... And ironically, I hardly pay attention to those details anymore. So, what is the common denominator? Time. I want to spend as much time with my kids as I can (especially when they're young.) and guess what, it doesn't matter what we're doing. In fact, I think it's best when we don't have plans and just enjoy being present with each other. And with running, it's the same: time putting one foot in front of the other. The last few years, that is the only thing I have mastered-- I run every single day. I rarely get that sick, I don't get injured (knocking on wood) and I love what I do because it's simple and repeatable. I don't have to have these grandiose dad plans to be a good dad in the same way I don’t have to have grandiose training to be a good runner.

I have no idea how this weekends race will go but I’m pleasantly optimistic it will be good. And I have no idea how the next few months will go with our growing family, but I am pleasantly optimistic they will be great. Regardless, I know the recipe to improve either— time. Time spent with my kids and time spent running, which I am totally alright with.

— Drew