In our weekly Q&A segment we asked Rachel Johnson a few questions about life on and off the course. We caught up with him before he headed out to the NCAA Championships.

You had an amazing performance at Pre-Nats, take us through what was going on in your head when you made the move and opened up the field?

Thanks! I was feeling pretty relaxed the first part of the race and at the 3k I was feeling strong and my coach was telling me that I was looking good so I decided to make a move and see if anyone would go with me. I was a little scared that I made the move too early but I kept positive thoughts running through my head and kept telling myself that I was feeling good and I felt strong for the rest of the race.

Describe your childhood dream.

The cliché runner's dream of running in the Olympics, hopefully it will happen!

Describe your fondest race memory.

My fondest race memory is still winning NXN in high school. There are a few reasons why... First of all, they start the race off with fireworks, what? That's crazy! And that course is awesome; it's like a cross country playground! There are fun little hills to run over, it's super muddy, and there's hay bales to hurdle (my love for steeple begins!!). It's such a tough course but I loved it. It was also the first race I remember having to tell myself to shut up during a race and turn my negative thoughts into positive ones. Coming through that line was so fun because I felt so accomplished for getting over a mental barrier and that's something I've taken with me to college because running really is a mental sport and positive thinking is sooooo important in any race or workout.

You ended your outdoor season last year on a high note; take us through your summer training.

Outdoor was so fun! I have definitely missed running the steeple this cross season. I raced at NCAAs, then USA's, then a NACACs in Canada in August so I was racing for a lot of the summer. Before nationals and through USA's I was tapering and would run a couple track workouts along with a long run and some mileage days. After USA's I took a week off and then started building up mileage again. I did a couple of track workouts just to keep my legs going leading up to NACACs, then I took a few days off after that and started building up for cross. It was a busy summer because I had an internship and had to get in my runs pretty early in the morning but it was a fun summer of racing!

Describe your worst habit.

Watching the bachelor/bachelorette. My mom and I watched it in high school and I'm really not a girly girl but it's so addicting and the drama is too good to resist watching.

Has your mindset changed at all this year compared to last year? Tell us why?

My mindset has definitely changed compared to last year at this time and I would be upset if it hadn't because I believe that in order for a person to be growing, their mindset must be constantly changing. Otherwise they become complacent and will never be able to get better because they are content with where they are. College is a huge adjustment for anyone and I am no exception, it was hard for me to adjust and do the right things to be the best athlete I could be. This year, my mindset has changed because I've really been trying to do all of the "little things" (as my coach calls them) right. It sounds simple but sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest difference and it just takes a little focus and patience to get there.

Describe the kind of kid you were in high school.

I went to a huge high school; I graduated with over 1,300 people. My school was pretty cliquey and I definitely wasn't in the "popular" crowd at school, which was fine with me! I mostly hung out with the girls on my cross country team and friends from a class I was in called PALs (peers assisted leadership) where we helped out around the school, mentored elementary school kids, and volunteered around the community. I loved my school friends and they were really fun to be with but my best friends were definitely the girls on my club team. We practiced together on Tuesdays and Saturdays and pretty much every Saturday night we would all get together for dinner, grab a movie or froyo, swim, blast Mumford and Sons and go for a drive, cook things, or do something else fun and then we would sleep over at someone's house and run long run together on Sunday. I remember one time we went to Target pretty late at night and got back to my best friend Aly's house really late and her mom was convinced we were out partying. I still don't know if she believes we were just cruising around in the dollar section of Target (I promise it's true Mrs. Nielson!!)

If you had a day off from your everyday responsibilities, describe how you would spend it.

I would probably still go for a run because I really do love running, then I would go to a coffee shop and read, write, and chill with God for a while. I would love playing sand volleyball with some friends or going to the marina and paddle boarding for a while, hammocking, going for a hike, bike ride, or something outdoorsy. One of my friends and I really like salmon so we would cook out salmon and I love bonfires so I would get together with a bunch of friends around a bonfire to talk and hang out and end the day falling asleep under the stars. Ok I've decided I'm skipping school today, this is what I'm doing… I wish!

Describe your most embarrassing moment as an athlete.

At outdoor conference when I was a sophomore I got tangled up in a big group and tripped over the first barrier in the steeplechase, not my best moment but I haven't wiped out in a race since then! (knock on wood)

Tell us about your favorite memory with one of your current or past training partners.

My fondest race memory is breaking 5 minutes in the 1600 for the first time and making it to state with one of my best friends from high school, Kim Kirby. We were on the same club team together and had been training hard together all year, always pushing each other in workouts. We had never broken 5 before and our goal was just to make it to state because there were some other pretty good girls in our region. The race went by fast and when we came around for the last lap there was still a good-sized group of girls at the front. At 300 to go Kim and I started kicking in to the finish, we were running together step by step just like we did in practice and when we crossed the line and saw our time it was one of my favorite running moments ever. We had worked so hard and pushed each other in practice and the race and it was so cool to accomplish something like that with one of my best friends.

Describe the perfect post-race meal in detail.

One time last year after an indoor race in Kentucky me and some of my teammates walked from our hotel in this freezing tundra (cold is not my favorite) all the way to this restaurant called the Mellow Mushroom where me and my Canadian teammate and training partner, Mariah, slammed down a whole pizza each then decided we were still hungry and our stomachs were still eating us alive so we ordered another pizza which we split and ate the entire thing. That was probably my favorite post race meal ever. The only problem was after that we had to walk a mile in the freezing cold against the wind in the snow back to our hotel. It was worth it for the pizza but it took an hour to thaw out from the journey back. Love me a good steak or salmon too!

Describe your favorite workout?

In high school I loved 400s with Terry (the coach of my club team). In college, my coach hasn't ever given me a 400 workout but we do a workout with two sets of 300s with hurdles broken up by a 10-minute threshold paced run which I really like. A good threshold run through some hills is fun as well if I can get going at a good pace, relax, and start clipping off miles. I love thresholds with one of my training partners, Alex, when we can get going at a good pace and stay relaxed together. It feels like we're running as one and I love workouts with her.

Dream place to run or train and why?

I would love to do a run up the volcanoes in Hawaii, I don't know if that's possible or if people do that but it would be so cool to say I've run up a volcano! Team trip to Hawaii coach?? :D

Who is your childhood hero and why?

My dad was my childhood hero and still is. The way he leads my family and has this selfless attitude about him is so amazing and I'm so thankful and blessed to have him as my father. We are similar in a lot of ways so it's always fun hanging out with him. He is so intentional in his relationships with people, especially his daughters. I remember when I was little and he would always take the time to take my sisters and me on "dates with dad" where we would go and spend time playing putt-putt, bike riding, flying a kite, or something fun and he really used that time to invest in my life and show me he loved me. Both him and my mom have always supported me no matter what I do but have never pushed me to do something I don't want to. They have always been there to give me wisdom and advice and I owe a lot of who I am today to them, I truly am blessed to have the family that I have.

Describe your guilty pleasure.

I love this drink at Common Grounds (a coffee shop in Waco) called the Mocha Mint Madness. It's heaven in a cup and it's not healthy at all but it's a great post long run or hard workout recovery drink (at least, that's what I tell myself, it's just like chocolate milk with coffee, right?)

If you could give one piece of advice you think to any runner should hear, what would it be and why?

Be patient, relax, and do the little things right. When I got to college, I thought I would be easy to adjust but it wasn't as easy as I thought. I stressed myself out over school, friends, and running until one of my friends gave me the best advice ever and told me to relax and stop caring so much. I had to look in the mirror and reevaluate what I was doing. I went to a sport's psychologist who really helped me and when I finally stopped stressing out over small things, managed my time better, started getting sleep, eating right, and stopped running my recovery runs at supersonic speed, I felt so much better and was able to think clearly, recover, and race a lot better. Just be patient, keep believing in yourself, and surround yourself with people who believe in you and will push you to be your best because you can do so much more than you think you can.

Describe your favorite place to run or train.

I love training at this camp in Missouri that I worked at the summers after my freshman and sophomore year called Kanakuk. There are all these hills, it's on a lake, the people there are so encouraging, and I can feel God's presence when I run there it's amazing. This may sound kind of lame but I really do enjoy running in Waco (where Baylor is). There's this unexpected hidden beauty to the city and every morning when the sun rises up over the Brazos or the trees in Cameron park and creates this beautiful sunrise (which Coach Harbour always points out to us) I feel so blessed to be able to run and have that day to live and enjoy. Sometimes the simplest joys in life are the ones that mean the most.

If you had to listen to 1 song in your head every time you ran for the rest of you life, what would it be?

That's a hard one, I love music and would probably get tired/go crazy listening to just one song for the rest of my life but right now I really like the song Latch by Disclosure.

Dinner for 3 (living or dead) who and why?

My grandparents (Nanna, Poppy, and Grammy J) because I love them and they have good stories.

Describe your pre-race ritual.

I always read Psalm 18 before I race, I love drinking coffee right before (but let's be real I love drinking coffee any time haha). We warm up, huddle up as a team to pray, hear the most inspirational speech you'll ever hear from my teammate Mariah, do our pre race cheer, and then line up with my team to do some damage together! I try be pretty chill and not to have too many things that I have to do before a race because if something's off and I don't get to do something I know I would feel like my race is off. Mostly it's about relaxing and feeling confident to race when the time is right!

What does racing/training look like for you in the next 6 months?

Tapering (yay!) and running Regionals next week in Arkansas, Nationals in Terre Haute, then I'll take a break, start up a base for indoor, and start racing indoor in January. I haven't given too much thought to track yet because I like living in the moment and focusing on the season I'm in but I am very excited to run the 3k and 5k indoor and even more excited for the steeple when outdoor comes around!