For Tuesdays with Toyota, we are spotlighting some of USATF's most dedicated members with a short feature on USATF.org and our social media channels. Here is our feature with USATF athlete Phoenix Normand, member of the USATF Pacific Association from Union City, California. Tell us about your journey with USATF and how it has impacted you: “Admittedly, the pandemic did a number on me. I lost a few close friends to COVID-19 and my business of five years — based primarily on my ability to travel 30 or more weeks per year — got neutered almost overnight. Despite my attempts to keep it alive via Zoom, I ended up sunsetting the business and returning to working 'for' a company vs. building my own business. In short, it was disappointment on a level I hadn't experienced before. To top it off, my mother's husband passed away leaving [her] and I as the surviving members of our incredibly small family comprised mostly of 'only children' with no siblings to help shoulder the burden. So, I decided to move home with my mom at age 52 — which seemed like the final slap across my confidence's face in the time of COVID-19. I was overweight, defeated, unhappy, and looking for something to pull me out of the worst doldrums of my life. As an ex-professional dancer and lifelong fitness enthusiast I was desperate to find something, anything, to reignite the passion to get into optimal shape again. Luckily, this was right around the time the Tokyo Olympics took place and somehow the Allyson Felix story caught my attention. Hearing how she almost died while giving birth, fought her way back into competition shape postpartum at an 'advanced' age, and managed to snag a gold and bronze medal at the Olympics was the exact fuel I needed for inspiration to get back on the track and into shape. For context, I [ran] track in grade school and my first year of high school at a high level before giving it up to train in dance. I had not seen a track or a medal in 30+ years. I was determined to do something big, like Ms. Felix, and set the astronomical goal of becoming the fastest 55-year-old on the planet. I'm 52, so I reckoned I had quite a bit of training (and winning) to do in less than three years. I took my company's monthly health stipend, signed up at a local gym, and proceeded to watch hours of YouTube on training for sprinting, proper running technique, and mastering block starts. Admittedly, it was overwhelming. Luckily, a good friend's husband happened to be a multi-time Swedish National Champion in the decathlon who, in one great session, helped me tie all those YouTube [videos] together by making me focus on the basics. I lived at the gym four days per week, 5:00 a.m. - 6:30 a.m., and on Sundays I hit the track. I bought blocks and embarrassed myself with some rather awkward starts until I got the placement and technique mostly perfected. I moved my kick from being a propeller behind me to a knees-up, drive down motion that dropped my sprint times by seconds. Most importantly, I signed up for my first track meet since high school and placed dead last in each one of my events, the 100m and 200m, 50-54 sprints. I've never been giddier. While there was no hardware around my neck, I did feel something — hope. For the first time in a long time, I was hopeful of achieving something great, that challenged me, that pushed me to my limits, and that only I could manifest through my own efforts — that was the win. I immediately signed up for another meet a bit over a month later and hit the gym and track with even more focus. I'm happy to report that I walked away with a bronze medal in the 100m and a gold medal in the 200m. Two medals. Same colors. Just like my new hero, Allyson Felix.” What are you most thankful for in regards to your USATF community? “The one thing I was not expecting was just how warm and inviting the USATF community was. Everyone was so kind and helpful and genuinely interested in getting to know me. I was clearly an unfamiliar face and instead of being ostracized I was invited into the fold like an old friend, so seeing more familiar faces at the following track meet felt like extended family. And I got the opportunity to pay it forward by welcoming several other athletes who were 'running their first meet since high school' into the fold. The USATF community is incredible, evidenced by the amazing athletes who span decades and are still competing at a high level. I'm often speechless (and a little teary eyed) watching athletes who are 80+ trucking on down the track — sometimes as the only entrant in the heat — and finishing as if they're leaning at the tape with a track full of fellow superstars. I'm thankful, grateful, and honored to be a part of this transformative community.” Is there a word, phrase, or thought that helps you focus while you train?
“My coach has admitted he's not the biggest fan of running competitively. He regaled a tale of getting caught up in the hoopla and external expectation of being a topflight athlete to the point where anything less than a gold medal felt like failure or a letdown. So, he quit. And once everyone forgot his name and he was able to return and get back to his winning ways through several losses, he said this one phrase to self-soothe and not fall victim to 'the voices' anytime he lost: 'Just run faster next time.'" Anything else you'd like the @USATF community to know about you? “I'm incredibly inspired by and so proud to be a part of this community, and as long as I am standing, I will always be indebted to the community and the individuals I've met and will meet. This group, in a way, saved me, and I believe my purpose is to pay it forward with excellence on the track and in my advocacy to others trying to find ‘that something’ to do to find themselves and get back to a place where they're healthy inside and out — hardware or not.”