Hello and Happy Monday!
I got home super late on Friday night, slept, woke up Saturday to run and then rushed to my mom’s for the baby shower. So, I am barely catching up on all the work, emails and deadlines that are way past due.
And that’s why I haven’t told you about the coolest thing ever – I chatted it up with the AMAZING Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards Ross the other day.
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I vividly remember watching Ross during the Olympic finals last summer. The bio the news did on her back story was super sweet and I was cheering for her. So, it was an honor to speak with her and ask her some questions so we could all learn from the BEST.
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I asked her all the good stuff we’d want to know – what she eats, how she looks so gorgeous all the time and how we can get faster!
I caught her right after a workout. So obviously I started there…
RER: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me after your workout! What were you working on?
Ross: I am just coming back from toe surgery. I had a boot. So, I have been doing a lot of biking and elliptical. Today I did functional training. It’s a lot of body weight and core exercises.
RER: What do you eat after a workout?
Ross: A lot of time I try to do a protein shake – especially after a hard workout. If I’m lifting heavy I try to have something right away.
RER: Do you have any other rituals or things you do after a workout?
Ross: I love to soak in a long bath. I use Olay Moisture Body wash…
RER: Wait, like an ice bath or…?
Ross: No! I mean like a relaxing bath. I do ice baths as well, about once a week. That’s something I do closer to the Olympics and World Championships.
RER: How do you look so good while you’re working so hard in the heat?
Ross: I never paid attention to my skin for years. I have a skin condition though. I am paying more attention recently. I use sunblock now. In the African American community we don’t pay attention to that as much as we should. I have been paying more attention, using spf.
RER: What do you eat before a big race?
Ross: My food regimen varies. We complete overseas or at different times of day – afternoon or night… it’s not always one thing I eat before a race.
I have a pretty boring diet. I’m not too strict. I don’t eat a lot of meat.
For breakfast it’s usually egg whites or bagel or oatmeal or fruit.
Lunch is tuna or chicken salad.
Dinner is grilled chicken or salmon with vegetables and rice.
I do protein shakes. I juice a lot. My dad helps with that.
I have a cheat day once a week. I love cheese pizza, it’s my guilty pleasure. My purple bag of Skittles, that’s my other guilty pleasure. And Rum Raisin ice cream. I definitely think you should treat yourself. Everything in moderation. It’s hard to be completely clean.
RER: Do you have any mantras, or what do you tell yourself to get through a hard race?
Ross: I always tell myself I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
I refuse to lose. I tell myself that in racing, ‘refuse to lose’. You can’t just turn it on on race day. You have to have that competition, it pushes me that extra.
RER: My readers run everything from 5k or marathons. Do you have any advice for getting faster?
Ross: I’m a sprinter. I don’t do a lot of long runs. I despise that part of my training. I think to help with a PR you should focus on form. The casual runner doesn’t focus on form much. Don’t have any wasted motions! Keep your arms in and keep your knees up. I make sure my form is great and it cuts off time. Make sure your running style is efficient. It helps cut off time for long or short distance.
(Um, don’t you love that she eats pizza and goes to God for one of her mantras?! Awesome.)
Her tips for working on form to get faster are a great reminder – so many of us work on speed runs or getting light shoes or putting on fast music. But making sure your form is efficient is very important! I have some arm swing tips in this YouTube video. Check it out and use it on your next training run!
I love the point about paying attention to form… my friend took a photo of me finishing a half over the weekend and I looked terrible… I need to do a better job paying attention to my form!
Great interview. Nice to hear that Olympians have a weakness for pizza too.
My mantra lately is “you can do this”! Simple but it reminds me that I will finish this run and eventually the race!
Love this:) Great interview!
Umm — you’ve got to stop interviewing all these people because I’m convinced we should all just be BFFs.
I think the same!
Wow! Love the mantra…Refuse to Lose! 🙂
Super cool Monica! My new mantra find Rum Raisin Ice Cream yum:)
Oh my gosh, how exciting! What a great little interview. And it’s nice to know other people like to cave in to their weak foods as well as us 🙂 the bible reference is cool too. Thank you so much for sharing this 🙂 hope you had a good weekend!
wow, i love her – she seems really awesome and down to earth. love that she allows herself to indulge in cheese pizza 😉 thanks for sharing your interview with her!
Thats so cool that she eats pizza and skittles. I feel like a lot of successful athletes are always talking about protein shakes and salads 364 days a year with one day for a cookie.
I super-duper love that Philippians 4:13 just rolled right out of her! Awesome role model and athlete!
Mine for the week will be Ephesians 4:32.
As far as running, press on through a nasty head cold and try to get a 10-miler done Wednesday afternoon (after work)!
Have a great week. 🙂
Great interview Monica! I love that she eats more or less like the rest of us!
Oh, what a fantastic chat! And great advice; form is something I really don’t pay attention to.
Maybe I could blame my slow running on that? 😉
I think I will adopt that mantra for this week! I love it. Refuse to love! Great interview!! Glad you were able to do it!
one of my classmates right now was on the olympic T&F team and knows her 🙂
Ah! That is crazy cool!!!
This is so awesome! Thanks for sharing!!!
This is one of my favorite verses! I also use it as a mantra and know all things are possible.
What a great role model!
She came and spoke w my running group here in Dallas a couple of years ago. Really awesome lady and down to earth.
Wow! She is an amazing woman…how lucky to have this one on one with her!
My mantra this week is probably something like “don’t eat all the candy corn in the dish…” Kidding..seriously when I’m doing a tough workout or run and I want to give up, I tell myself ” You are so much stronger than you think you are” and that gets me through 🙂
Wow that is amazing that you were able to interview her! What an experience! She is definitely an amazing athlete!!
Cool interview! I like that mantra, refuse to lose.
Wow! That’s so cool that you got to interview her! I’ve always been so impressed by her poise during interviews after big televised races. She seems so “normal” and down-to-earth! Not gonna lie, my mantra during the week is sometimes “only x days until the weekend!”, but I’m trying to enjoy and find the good in each day and not just look forward!!