What are you expecting for the trials race this weekend?

It's really exciting to do it in my hometown and to be running on a criterium course. It's going to make it really spectator friendly. So it's going to be a nerve-wracking day but also an exciting one.

How will it go?

I want to go into it prepared for anything, I want to be prepared for it to go fast from the start, slow from the start or someone breaking away. But luckily I have a great coach (Terrence Mahon) who has prepared me for any scenario, so hopefully I can respond well.

What has he been able to help you with? Transition to the marathon must have taken a lot of mental work.

That's probably the biggest thing – he really puts a big importance on the mental training side of things. He's already coached Deena Kastor to a few American records in the marathon and the same with all of the success Ryan Hall has had in the marathon. Every time I see one of them doing well in the event it's confirmation that he really knows what he's doing, both in terms of the physical training and the mental training.

What's it like to be running against teammates and training partners?

It's not something that's that unusual. It happens at races all the time. But people are generally really good at separating what happens in a race with personal stuff. There's a reason there are so many training groups in the country. People realize that they benefit from training with other people and you're going to excel if you can learn to work well with other people. So I've found that people usually place that stuff aside. Everyone wants to run as well as they can that day and we all have the same goals of placing in the top three.