“Run more.”
When I asked Shalane Flanagan what her number one piece of advice is to achieve my goal 5k time, she confidently gave me this simple answer: to run more.
This past Thanksgiving weekend, Marblehead native Shalane Flanagan came home for the fourth annual Back the Track 5k road race, which continues to raise funds towards the upkeep of the new Redfield Track at Village School. Flanagan is a four-time Olympian, silver medalist, 2017 New York City Marathon champion, American record holder, and co-author of best-seller cookbook Run Fast Eat Slow. It is no surprise that this year, 775 runners (and hundreds more spectators) came out to participate in the race with Shalane.
On Friday the 24th, Shalane talked to high school, middle school, and elementary school runners, at our local Community Center. As a member of Marblehead cross country and track teams, I was lucky enough to attend the event and meet Shalane. She passed around her NYC marathon medal as she described her recent marathon victory (she was the first American woman to win this marathon in 40 years). Shalane has been role model since I first began running, over 10 years ago. So, when it came time for the group to ask questions, I was the first to raise my hand.
First, I asked, “how do you deal with the feeling of disappointed after a bad race, when you don’t meet your own expectations?” Shalane explained that the key to dealing with these bad feelings is her support system. She has a great support system of coaches, family, and sponsorship (Nike). When her performance doesn’t go her way, Shalane relies on her support system to help her make a plan of attack, for how to come back after a disappointing race.
Next, I asked, “do you have any phrases or ‘mantras’ that you repeat to yourself to stay mentally tough during races?” In response, Shalane described her focus on confidence as she ran the NYC marathon. As she ran, she repeated to herself to “run confidently.” She needed to to look confident and strong to show the other runners that she was not scared.
I was also eager to know about her next cookbook, Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow. Using Shalane’s first cookbook, my family has been cooking up a storm of nutritious recipes, made from whole foods, to fuel our active lives. So, after her little lecture, I talked with Shalane about her next cookbook, which will be released in August of 2018. She explained that the second cookbook features quicker, easier recipes than those featured in the first, because (as my mom knows) the recipes from the first cookbook take quite a bit of effort to make – it is always worth it, though!
After running Saturday’s road race, I was able to talk with Shalane even more! First, she presented me with my age group medal, and she asked me how the race went, to which I nervously responded “it’s a beautiful day for a race!” Then, she signed my racing bib. That is when I asked her about how to achieve my goal 5k race time. And when she told me to run even more… I dropped my medal in my dad’s hands and went for another run.