Speed Goggles: Someday
For professional runners, the time before a race is when you think about where you’ve come from and where you’re going.
By JEREMY TEICHER on Publish Date August 3, 2016.
Before a big race, I always feel more sensitive than usual. I feel as if I could cry any minute and also never cry again. I feel nervous. I notice the texture of the grass on the warm-up field more than I usually do — I also sense my heartbeat more than on a normal day when I don’t notice it at all. Stray frizzy hairs tickle the back of my neck. I try my best to keep the thoughts positive and productive and inspiring. Or at least distracting in a good way. When I step on the starting line, I will need to be razor-focused and entirely present – more so than any other time in my life. But on the warm-up field, it is perfectly fine — in fact, encouraged — to daydream.
“Speed Goggles” is a five-part series created by Alexi Pappas and Jeremy Teicher, who also created the feature film “Tracktown.” Ms. Pappas will be competing in the 2016 Olympics for Greece.
Watch: “The Elite Runner.” | “Normal People” | “Nightmares Mean You Care.” | “Group Run.”