Standing on the beginning line on the 2024 Paris Olympics marathon as a member of Group USA is the second main accomplishment. The primary one comes roughly six months earlier than, when you need to race to earn your spot.
On a scorching and humid morning in Orlando, Fiona O’Keeffe received the Olympic Marathon Trials in 2:22:10. To name it a shocking debut marathon can be a large understatement. O’Keefe commanded the lead in a discipline of deeply-talented runners with a calm-yet-complete confidence, and received by over 30 seconds.
O’Keeffe, 25, is not at all new to working. (She was a six-time All-American at Stanford College.) However she is new to the extraordinary highlight that Olympic success usually brings. Fortunately, the Group USA star excels at defending her peace.
“I’ve been with the PUMA Elite Operating Group for the final month or so of my coaching buildup in Mammoth Lakes, California, which is considered one of my favourite locations on the planet,” O’Keeffe says. “It’s so calming and delightful to only spend time outdoors right here—there are stunning alpine lakes and forests crammed with pines and aspens throughout us. I additionally discover it useful to have a pleasant group of teammates up right here, so I’m not continuously pondering of solely my very own preparations.”
The soft-spoken, under-the-radar racer caught up with us forward of her Olympic debut to share just a few wholesome habits that not solely maintain her stress in examine, however maintain her mentally and bodily on prime of her sport.
1. She is aware of find out how to bounce again
Restoration is a big a part of her precise job, particularly throughout a marathon coaching block. So this isn’t a spot that O’Keeffe skimps on. Actually, she’s usually contemplating find out how to maximize her restoration even whereas working.
“Coaching within the PUMA ForeverRun NITRO and Enlarge NITRO 2 sneakers provides my legs a little bit additional love after they’re feeling drained,” she says. “I additionally get common sports activities massages—not all the time a calming expertise!—and use a foam curler and lacrosse ball to focus on tight spots most days.”
However the piece that makes the largest influence on how she ensures she’s being constructed up moderately than crushed down by powerful coaching? Prioritizing bedtime.
“Sleep is big for me,” O’Keeffe says. “I all the time have a pair of earplugs and a bodily guide on my nightstand—I have to learn a bodily guide at evening to go to sleep.”
2. She finds time to unwind
When she’s not working, there’s a very good probability you’ll discover O’Keeffe with a guide–normally a bodily copy–in hand.
“My style in books is a bit all over,” says the voracious reader. “I rotate between classics, enjoyable mild reads, non-fiction, and memoirs. I just lately learn Emily Henry’s Seaside Learn in addition to Lindsey Vonn’s memoir, which was fairly inspirational. At present, I’m working my approach by means of Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls and a Paulo Coelho novel.”
She places her personal pen to paper, too.
“I do a very good quantity of journaling,” provides O’Keeffe. “I’d describe it as fairly unstructured. Writing has all the time been a pleasant outlet.”
“Sleep is big for me. I all the time have a pair of earplugs and a bodily guide on my nightstand—I have to learn a bodily guide at evening to go to sleep.” —Fiona O’Keeffe
3. She outlets sensible
O’Keeffe may be very captivated with environmental points, and tries to reside extra sustainably and devour extra consciously.
“I undoubtedly use a reusable water bottle day-after-day and all the time have it readily available to do my finest to remain hydrated,” she says. “Nevertheless, I feel the largest approach we are able to reside extra sustainably is to cut back our total consumption moderately than specializing in particular merchandise. If there’s a selected fashionable merchandise on social media, I attempt to discern whether or not it could actually be one thing that holds up and that I’d use for a very long time. If not, I attempt to cross on it.”
4. She retains it easy
O’Keeffe is a superb reminder that not sweating the small stuff is an lively selection. Her favourite non-running accent in the mean time? A pair of sun shades she picked up from the grocery retailer. “They simply occurred to suit completely,” she stated. “You’d by no means guess!”
From how she retains her beautiful locks wholesome (“My hair care routine may be very easy—the largest factor shouldn’t be washing it too continuously and utilizing a very good conditioner on it,” she says) to her pre-race packing checklist (“I pack in a small black PUMA curler bag—so long as I’ve my uniform, trainers, and a guide I’m good to go!”), O’Keeffe doesn’t waste power worrying about all of the little issues. And in consequence, she has extra power to care concerning the huge issues, like bringing her finest 26.2 to the streets of Paris.
You possibly can catch Fiona O’Keeffe competing within the girls’s marathon on August 11. NBCUniversal is the official U.S. broadcaster for the Paris 2024 Summer time Olympics, however you you may also watch O’Keeffe on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, USA Community, CNBC, and E!
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