In only her second year as a professional athlete in the sport of track and field, Amanda Vestri has burst on to the scene with supreme confidence and the results to match.
The talented distance runner who runs for ZAP Endurance in North Carolina has racked up a series of phenomenal performances throughout the season against elite competition. As she heads into the 10,000m at the U.S. Olympic Trials, she’s calm, cool and collected due to the preparation that she’s put in to get to this point.
Vestri, who was an All-American runner at Syracuse, prides herself on her work ethic, and her business-like approach that she takes to training with her every day. She doesn’t want to waste an opportunity to get better as an athlete, and she knows that the hard work that she puts in will pay off.
“I show up to work, and I work. That’s how I view it,” she said. “As much as I love running. And I view it as therapy for me. In a lot of ways I feel like it should be an expectation that you show up to practice, and you’re focused and ready to do the work, because that’s how you get good.”
Her mindset and mentality has caught the eye of Pete Rea, who is the head coach of ZAP Endurance. He noted that Vestri requested to move to North Carolina earlier than she was required to when she first joined the club, so that she could start training. She stayed with Rea and his wife, Zika, for a month until her apartment became available. Rea said that her willingness and hunger to be great has paid off for her.
“She’s got a long term view,” Rea said. “And with rare exceptions, she’s 90% of the time all about business. She punches the clock each day when she comes to practice, and that energy doesn’t necessarily suit everyone the same way, but it’s worked for her.”
Vestri was the first American to cross the finish line at the Mastercard New York Mini 10k earlier in June. And she ran a new personal best of 31:10.53 at the Night of 10,000’s PB’s in London in May. While Vestri’s results may come as a surprise to some, because of the work that she puts in when training, Vestri’s success hasn’t caught her by surprise.
“The preparation that I’ve put in my workouts and my running gives me confidence headed into races, and the people who are surprised about how I’m running are the ones who aren’t with me everyday in training,” she said.
Vestri’s confidence also comes from her faith, which has given her perspective when things may not go her way. She suffered an injury during cross country season which kept her out of competition, but she believes that if she hadn’t suffered the setback, she wouldn’t have the success that she’s having so far this season.
“I just trust myself, and I trust that God has a plan for me, and that allows me to follow His plan and what He’s laid out before me,” she said.
One of the lessons that Vestri has learned about herself is that she can overcome any difficult obstacle that comes her way. She also believes that she’s learned how to manage one of those most difficult concepts as a professional athlete.
“I know that I’m capable of doing hard things,” she said. “I’ve learned the recipe that works really well for me to perform well, and I’ve learned that consistency is more important than anything in this sport.”
The consistency that Vestri continues to show is rooted from her preparation. Her preparation also gives her peace whenever she lines up to race, and it allows her to have fun in the process.
“I think the reason I show up to the races really relaxed, and I don’t really get nervous anymore is because the weeks, the days, the months and the years I put in – I know I couldn’t give it any more than I gave it,” she said.
Vestri won’t be intimidated by the moment when she lines up in Eugene for the 10,000m final. She’s ready to let the work that she’s done speak for her, and have fun doing what she loves to do, which is racing.
“I love racing, just getting on that line and giving it my all,” she said. “You can’t change anything, so that takes the pressure off of me. I’ve done my part, now it’s time for the body to take over.”
Great job Dom as usual