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Stories of Transitions and Triumphs.
LaVonna: Hey y'all, it's your girl,
LaVonna, and it's time for another
episode of taking a deep breath.
Once again, I am thrilled to take you on a
journey of stories, reflecting transitions
and triumph because much of life is
how we move from one phase to the next.
And this podcast is an opportunity
to reflect on the lessons learned
through triumphs that are created
when we look back at our journey.
So come with me as we journey to discover
life's aha moments through encouraging
stories and shared experiences.
Today's episode is historic.
It's black history personified.
This podcast features along
with myself, three US Olympians.
Joining today is the first US female
athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in
the shot put at the 2016 Rio Olympics,
three time Olympian, Michelle Carter.
And the 2020 Olympic finalist and 2023
World Championship silver medalist in the
women's long jump, Tara Davis Woodhall.
Ladies, welcome to Taking a Deep Breath.
Thank you.
Thank you for having us.
So I personally feel like my
introduction didn't do justice to
both of your illustrious careers.
So I'm going to give you a chance to
fill in any of the blanks that you
want about your career, adding in some
other accolades or even one of your
favorite moments, because I know we
usually let others do that for us, but
no one knows our career stats like us.
So I'll start us off.
Not only am I two time and
Olympian and Olympic silver
medalist, I think my most favorite.
accolade is that I won my state
championships by myself twice, scoring
all the team, my team's points and winning
the state championships back in the 80s.
That's my fun fact.
Michelle, what about yours?
Something you can add to it.
Oh, something that I can add?
Well, I am an eight time state champion.
Okay.
I Texas, I was, I held the state
record in discus for Texas, and
I was in national high school.
in high school.
So those are a couple of fun facts.
Awesome.
Tara.
Wow, you're up.
Okay, hold on.
Hold on.
You guys are way too cool for me.
I guess.
My fun fact is I started this sport
when I was four years old and I feel
like I've been at this sport for a
very long time at such a young age.
And I feel like my favorite moment in my
career right now is making the Olympic
team with my entire family watching.
Yeah, that's pretty cool.
That's definitely exciting.
Well, I came up with this idea of this
podcast called endurance beyond the
finish line navigating the inevitable
end of a track and field career.
When I had a conversation with my
honey, Edrick Floreal, Coach Flo,
and he made mentioned to me, like,
maybe you should get two athletes.
One that has just transitioned out
of the sport and then one who is in
the sport, but it's inevitable that
they're gonna have to transition.
And so, bingo, the light went off.
Why not ask two Lady Longhorns to join me?
And so that's where the thought and
the idea came with having you guys.
And so I just thought maybe we can just
have a little bit of a conversation about
what this is like, because Michelle,
you're newly out of the sport, Tara,
you're in the midst of yours, but
knowing that it's coming eventually,
I've been out of the sport for years,
but my transition from LaVonna.
The elite athlete to LaVonna, a regular
person was really difficult and took
many years for me to get over that part.
And so I'm curious as to
what your journey looks like.
And so Michelle, I'm
going to start with you.
And I want to ask you, like,
can you share with us a defining
moment that you realized, or you
understood that it was time to step
away from professional competition?
I always knew that around 2021
was going to be my last year.
Number one, because I felt
like I did it long enough.
Like I didn't want, like my goal was
to never just go as long as I can.
That was never my goal.
So I figured after a few world
championships, a few Olympic games, I
was shooting for four then I'll be done.
And so but once COVID hit, that really
kind of sped up that process for me being
at home and that was the first time I've
ever sat down at home for an extended
period of time since I can ever remember.
And so I knew that things were changing
for me when I was okay being at home.
And my family was wary about me
because they were like, you have
not been home like this ever.
Like, how are you going
to be okay during COVID?
But I was like, Suzie Homemaker.
I was like, I'm still in my own house.
And so over time I was like,
okay, yeah, this is it.
Like, this is it.
Whatever happens after COVID,
what's going to happen.
If it goes any further, if it
doesn't, I'm good either way.
But then as.
COVID came and gone and getting
ready for the Olympic Games, and I
remember going to practice one day.
And I realized, I said, why am I here?
Mm hmm.
I'm like, I really don't want to be here.
And there's been a day when you
don't want to go to practice.
Yes.
And he's like, I gotta practice.
But it was like a day I didn't
want to be at practice, and I just
didn't want to be at practice.
Mm hmm.
And it was like, why
am I even here anymore?
And that's when I knew I came
to show y'all, we done done.
It's like, I knew it was done, but now
I know for sure that I was done and I
just had to kind of play out the rest
of the season and and that was it.
That's all I did.
I'm like, I've got to play this out
because right now I know I'm done.
So I have another question
for you, Michelle.
So did you feel, did you feel like
it was better for you to make?
That decision to be done because
for example, in my career, I
felt like I was pushed out.
I mean, I was starting to get beat by
people who never beaten me before and
I just couldn't move like I wanted to.
So I don't, I still don't feel like
I ever ended it the way I want it.
Do you feel like you did?
Yeah, I mean, of course, I knew I was
going out, but I also had an injury,
too, that kind of forced me out, and I
should have came back if I wanted to,
just to really end more on my terms the
way that I would have liked to, but the
thing is, I was going to have to move on.
And I never wanted to be that
person trying to hold on just
for the sake of holding on.
And and so I didn't want to get to that
point where I'm realizing people who have
are beating me and never beat me before.
And I'm still trying to beat them.
I'm like, no, that time has passed.
Right.
I am pushing 40.
Let me not be the 42 year old out here
talking about holding on to this dream.
Like I didn't want to be that person.
Right.
But it was easy for me to.
Get to that point and like,
okay, yeah, we're done.
Let me start.
It wasn't me actually preparing myself.
It was me preparing everybody
else around me for my transition.
That's good.
That's good.
Well, Tara, you're in the midst of, you
know, the height of your competitive life.
And so how do you envision your life?
I mean, I get it as elite athletes.
We don't really like to think of it
being over, but how do you envision your
life beyond competitive track and field?
And have you thought about
what that looks like for you?
I, of, of course I've thought about what
it looks like for me and taking what
Michelle said, COVID sat me down and COVID
showed me a life without track and field.
And I think honestly, for me,
it was a blessing in disguise.
My whole entire life was, it has
been wrapped around track and field
is like ever since I could remember.
So having that one year, eight months
of not thinking about track and field.
kind of saved it for me to keep on
going and to keep, you know, this is,
this is a dream that I want to fulfill.
And this is like moments that
I want, you know, selfishly.
But I, you know, I honestly think
if it wasn't for 2028 being in
LA, I think Paris, I would be
done just because I don't know.
I, I see life outside of track and
field and it's so beautiful and I
want to start a family and I want
to, you know, travel the world.
And I think you guys have set that
an example for me, so I can do that.
I see that you guys
have beautiful families.
I see that you guys are, you know, living
your lives without track and field.
And I don't think before we ever
really saw that because everyone
just kind of wanted to win.
Wow.
I like that.
I definitely like that because I feel
like I didn't again, you know, I like
to listen to you guys and then come back
to my own journey and my own experience.
And I feel like you guys have something
that we didn't have and you can create
your own brand while you're an athlete.
And then you can continue along with that.
When you go into the next phases of
your life and michelle, what challenges
did you face during your transition
and how did you overcome those?
I think the biggest challenges I had was
the emotions that you go through once you
retire from sports because you grieve.
And I don't think we talk about the grief
that comes because we act like we're
so happy to be retired, but there's a
whole chunk of your life that's gone.
And even if you recognize
it or not, you are grieving.
Yes.
And so.
going through that grieving
process, being sad for no reason.
And you don't know why, but then also your
body's on this clock that you've been on.
Well, at least I was
on for 25 years, right?
We're around a certain
amount of time a year.
My body's like, why are we still at home?
Why are we not doing this?
And then you see social
media, everybody's doing this.
And I'm like, Oh my God, like
what is going on, but just going
through that grieving process of
life that I once knew was over.
And now I'm stepping into a whole new
unknown world that I have to figure out
and I don't know how to do this yet.
Wow, Michelle, that is some
good stuff right there.
That is really good because
grieving is exactly what it is.
It, it feels, it feels so hollow.
It feels like what am I supposed to do?
I know for me again, when I, when my
career was over, I just thought, wait a
minute, I'm going to be somebody's wife.
That's it.
Like I'm just his wife.
And now I'm going to be their mother.
And now I'm going to have to go to the
PTA meetings and just be regular LaVonna.
And every once in a while, I'll bring
out the silver medal to impress people.
But it's like, so.
Like nobody talks to us or we don't
talk enough about you are gonna agree
oh, I, you know, I try to
take one day at a time.
I feel like college taught me
that very well, where I kept
on looking for the future.
I kept on trying to,
you know, what's next?
What's next?
What's next?
And I stopped living in the moment.
And that's where, like, life kind of
slipped away from my hands a little bit.
So right now I'm just kind of Taking
one step at a time and one meet at
a time, just because, you know, I'm
never going to get these moments back.
And, you know, the future
will be the future.
And I've kind of learned throughout my
years of just like, just stay in the
moment and stay present because you've
been wishing and dreaming of being in
these moments and now you're not like now
you're actually in them and you're just.
It's just going by as quick as light.
So I kind of just right now I'm
just trying to stay present because
I've dreamed of all of this.
So Michelle, I'm wondering, what
role did you think identity played
in your life for post retirement?
And how, or did you manage
those identities shifts?
LaVonna: I think for me, how I
managed the identity, I never just
saw myself only as an athlete.
I feel like I portrayed that
I did other things as well.
I kind of kept like, hey, there's Michelle
and then there's Sot Viva Michelle.
Like those are two
different Michelles, right?
That's cool.
I've always had things that I was
interested in and held on to in the
background, or I held on when I had
time, because I, I, again, I have
a a point of view that is different
from most people, because I watched
my dad play sports and repair.
Wow.
So I knew that there's life
after sports, you just get to
decide what you want to do.
So I've never got caught up in the
identity of, like, I'm only an athlete,
because before I became an athlete I had
other dreams and aspirations, and even
while being an athlete in high school,
I had other dreams and aspirations,
it's just that I turned out to be so
good in track that it took over my life,
and then over time you do sometimes
lose some of those dreams and those
ideas because you're consumed with
what's going on in life at the moment.
But now I'm having a chance to
revive those things that I once
wanted to do and now have the time
and space to actually pursue them.
Like I actually get the time to
do things I only dreamt of doing
and now I have the time to do it.
Wow.
I am, I am, I guess I've lived
a sort of a different life.
I feel like my life was so
wrapped up in the track and field.
So I was just the future
Olympian Tara or the track star
Tara, just like I never had.
I feel like a life outside of track and
like, I did sociably, but I would still
be considered the girl who's going to go
to the Olympics or Tara, the track star.
Like I, I just kind of now learning
that there is a separation.
Like when I come home, I do think
about track, but it's like not.
I have all of that time to do that at
the track, like when you're at home,
like it's just trying to balance, you
know, athlete and a normal person.
And it's so difficult because, you know,
when you get home, you can't just go
eat a bag of chips and some chocolate
and binge watch and binge eat, you know,
but I think that my My learning how to,
you know, turn the athlete slash person
switch is I'm still learning but social
media has kind of helped a little bit
because now I can be like Michelle said,
the shot diva, and I can just be like
Tara from Instagram or tick tock and
just my normal self off off social media.
That was really great information.
I, I, I, I feel like there's a catch
22 when it comes to our sport, right?
Because our sport requires, and I
mean, it's like a jealous girlfriend.
It requires.
Or boyfriend, I should say boyfriend too.
It requires like 100 percent from us.
And so, you know, when you, when
you think about the importance, and
I think Tara said this really well,
the importance of having mentors
to guide you into this experience.
Michelle, who did you find
was a great mentor for you?
If you found anybody that helped you
to guide you through this transition
period, I'm not gonna say I had a
particular mentor, but I just watched
my friends as they retired from sport.
Like when I came in 2008, by the time
2012, half of them were gone and then you
get a new batch and you just people are
cycling in and out the store all the time.
So I start asking questions for
those who are about to retire.
Those who have been retired, those
who've been retired for a long time.
Like, what did you do?
What was it like?
What was you interested in?
Like, how did you make that move?
And so I just started collecting
information from people that I knew.
Because I do believe that you can gain
wisdom through other people's experiences.
But it's not going to save you
from any negative experiences.
But I kind of had a better idea of what
to expect and how to kind of handle it.
A little better than some might.
Okay.
And then Tara, is there anyone that you
look up to right now that you're gaining
that guidance and that experience?
I mean, I've been watching you
guys throughout my entire life.
So like, Michelle, I've watched
you on my counter from my house in
Texas and my house in California.
Like, so I feel like you
have paved the way for me.
I've also seen.
I'm Ivana Spovenik, the girl who won,
you know, Worlds this year in long jump.
And she's 34, 32 right now, and she's
still at her top prime, so I'm A little
bit of me is like, wow, like, you can
still be on top when everyone so called
says, like, that your age is limited
to 30 or whatever, but it's, it's not.
And it's just about how much
hard work you want to put in.
And like, I don't know, I'm, I
would, I would say Ivana definitely.
And same with Brittany Reese.
She, she went out on top and that
is, I think that is super dope.
And it doesn't matter when you leave
the sport, as long as you feel like you
fulfilled your journey and your purpose.
I think that's like, what's
most important about it.
And so Tara, do you feel that you're
wanting to, are you watching your career
to just figure out I mean, like, are
you wanting to go out on top or you're,
you're just going to just let it flow
and, and see how it works out for you?
You know, I.
I probably will end up just going out
when my body says, like, let's be done.
But that, I don't know if that's in
30 years or in 10 years, you know?
Like, I, I feel like I am watching
my highlight reel, you know, unfold.
And that's like, as
long as I am satisfied.
That I have done what I wanted
to do in this sport, and there's
no more left for me personally.
Mm hmm.
Like, personally, not for
others, then I think I'm good.
Got it.
Well, I have one more question.
So when you reflect on your career,
What advice would you give to aspiring
track and field athletes as they're
starting to plan for that life?
So Michelle, it would be the space that
you're in now, the type of advice that
you would give or, and for Tara, it
would be leading to what the inevitable
is when your competitive days are over.
What advice, based on your life
experiences, would you like to tell that
next generation of upcoming, you know,
Texas track and field athletes or junior
athletes that are starting to come up?
I kind of want to circle back real
quick to something that Tara said, is
that you want to end on your own terms.
And when you're ready, I
think that's important.
And I want to kind of bring that
to, that's what I would tell
people, like do things according
to how you want to live life.
I've been in the sport for so
long, especially in my event.
In the beginning when I first started,
we weren't making a lot of money and
people weren't calling us a real career.
And I've seen so many talented women.
Ended up leaving this because their
family didn't believe in them, they had
to go get married and become teachers
and go get a real job type of thing.
But was it really what they wanted?
A lot of them would say no, right?
But when you decide to take
control of your own life, you
get to make your own decisions.
You have a sense of peace that
nobody else can take away from
you because it's what you wanted.
It's how you wanted to end it.
Now, we're not going to be Ignorant to
wisdom and advice, like we are going to
want to take wisdom and advice, but at
the same time you know what you're capable
of, you know what you want deep down
inside, and it's up to you to answer the
call that's in your heart, not to what
others expect of you, not what others
want from you, it's about what you want
and what you're called to do in life.
That's good.
Absolutely.
That is, yeah.
That's really good.
Tara?
You know, I feel like.
I've lived a lot of lives at this point,
which is so weird to say at 25, because
I feel like I've lived Just separate
places multiple times and I don't know
I would honestly say like these are the
moments and these are the moments that
like you have just either prayed about
or wished about or just saw a glimpse
of someone else doing it and said wow
I wish I could be doing that right now
and you actually are and Life goes by so
freaking fast and just slowing down and
just being in the moment and having fun.
Everyone sees that I'm
having fun out there.
It's because I truly am having fun
because this is what I like to do.
This is how I, you know, express
my feelings, express my emotions.
And I say this all the time,
like, if you're not having
fun, why are you doing it?
And This sport is so mentally draining.
Obviously physically, but mentally.
And it's so easy just to get like
stuck in a rut because this sport
has like, you're not seeing the
results that you are working for.
And it's just like, your time's coming.
Just keep on working for it.
Like, and I don't know, just never
give up on what you truly love to do.
Yeah, that's awesome.
I remember Coach Flo always saying
that, you know, he had to release
you and let you just be who you are.
I mean, that's who you are on the
track, that happy go lucky, crazy,
energy filled drawing from the, you
know, from the fans type person.
And that is your, that's your superpower.
Yeah.
And, and Miss Shot Diva.
Yeah, we, we love that.
I mean, in my era, we didn't
see throwers who were glamorous
and You know poised in that way.
And so it's been fun watching your career
and ladies I appreciate the both of you
coming on and giving some insight and
encouraging me I just love that part about
grieving because I think that it's just so
fantastic to just recognize the realities
of life And you just walk through it
and yeah, it's great that young people
have you guys to look up to so I thank
you so much for joining me and I I so
look forward to connecting with you and
encouraging together all of us encouraging
the next generation of athletes.
Awesome.
Thank you so much.
Yeah.
Thank you for having.
Yeah.
Thank you for having me
and having a time as well.
I really appreciate what you're
doing and the support you've given
us over the years and us reconnecting
and making things like this happen.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Good ladies.
All right.
Well, thank you.
Hook them.
Welcome, Horns, baby.
Welcome!
Hehehehe.