{"id":51573,"date":"2016-08-11T07:15:03","date_gmt":"2016-08-11T11:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=51573"},"modified":"2021-05-18T07:35:30","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T11:35:30","slug":"allyson-felix-interview-rio-2016-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/allyson-felix-interview-rio-2016-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympian Allyson Felix in Her Own Words: Sprinting to Gold in Rio"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Allyson
Photo: Courtesy of Bounty<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Track-and-field star Allyson Felix<\/a> is so ridiculously fast, just watching her run leaves us breathless. Her fast and furious pace (ahem, with a personal best in the 400 meter of 49.26) has earned her a spot at the Olympics three times running. And now, the four-time Olympic gold medalist hopes to add two more to her trophy case at the Rio Games.<\/p>\n

The road to Rio hasn\u2019t all been smooth sailing for the 30-year-old frontrunner, though. After a serious\u00a0hamstring<\/a> injury\u00a0back in 2013<\/a> and an ankle injury this past\u00a0April<\/a>, Felix says she\u2019s grateful to even have a shot at competing in the 400-meter and 4×400-meter in Rio. Still, she’s coming in as a favorite, and is more determined than ever to shatter records in both events.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>6 Reasons to Get Pumped for the 2016 Olympic Track Events<\/a><\/p>\n

As she adjusts to life in Rio and makes her final preparations for the Games, Felix caught up with Daily Burn to talk about how she has recovered from her injuries, her plans for setting new records and her recent partnership with Bounty<\/a>, one of the athlete\u2019s key sponsors. (Proctor & Gamble, which owns Bounty, is also a sponsor of the 2016 Olympic Games.) Read on to hear Felix\u2019s take on the best thing to eat pre-race, the evolution of her training, and the surprising tools you’d find in her gym bag.<\/p>\n

Meet Olympic Sprinter\u00a0Allyson Felix<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On the Olympic experience, take three\u2026<\/em><\/strong>\u201c[I plan to] embrace it and take it all in! It\u2019s been a difficult year with some ups and downs, so I\u2019m really grateful<\/a> to be in Rio. I want to take in the whole experience and cherish it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the evolution of her training\u2026<\/em> <\/strong>\u201cAs I\u2019ve gotten more experienced, I\u2019ve been able to adjust my workout. For example, I\u2019ve revamped my weight program. As I learn about my body more, I see what works and I\u2019m able to change things as needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

On rehabbing her hamstring\u2026<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>\u201cI\u2019m doing a lot of treatment and therapy. I\u2019m really just staying on top of what I need to do!\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>The 25 Team USA Olympians to Follow on Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI try not to make the moment bigger than it is. Just be calm and do what I\u2019ve always done.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On keeping up with training while traveling\u2026<\/em><\/strong>\u201cI love using the Nike+ Training Club app<\/a>. They have a lot of workouts you can do in small spaces that don\u2019t require a lot of equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

On staying calm and managing pressure\u2026<\/em><\/strong>\u201cI try not to make the moment bigger than it is. Just be calm and do what I\u2019ve always done.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the last meal before a race\u2026<\/em><\/strong>\u201cI try not to change anything too much. I typically eat grilled salmon<\/a>, brown rice and broccoli for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

On “good luck” rituals\u2026<\/em><\/strong>\u201cI\u2019m not superstitious \u2014 but my mom gave me a cross necklace, and I feel like I always have to have it when I compete. My mom and I always talk and pray together before I compete as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

On what\u2019s in her gym bag\u2026 <\/em><\/strong>\u201cI have a lot of tools for stretching like a softball, stretch rope and lacrosse ball for my feet. And, I also have some lip gloss and moisturizer.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>50 Running Resources for Speed, Strength and Nutrition<\/a><\/p>\n

On the next few weeks\u2026<\/em><\/strong>\u201c<\/strong>Other than the competition, I\u2019m looking forward to the Opening Ceremony. It\u2019s amazing, and I love how the culture is always infused. I\u2019m excited to experience that.\u201d<\/p>\n

On life after Rio\u2026<\/em><\/strong>\u201c[I plan to] take a vacation somewhere and just stay away from the track. I’ll do something fun and not running related!\u201d<\/p>\n

On overcoming obstacles\u2026<\/em><\/strong>\u201cMake small goals, create a plan and go after it. You should go after whatever you\u2019re passionate about. Don\u2019t focus only on the end goal, but embrace the process and enjoy growing and everything that gets you where you need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Felix, her lifestyle is all about being quick \u2014 from on the track to at home. Despite her record-breaking pace, Felix is just like us and makes a mess or two in between cooking meals and workouts. That\u2019s why she\u2019s partnered with Bounty for the Rio Olympics \u2014 the brand that helps her pick up messes in record time.<\/em><\/p>\n

To track Allyson Felix\u2019s Olympic journey in Rio, follow her on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>. For all major track and field updates from Team USA, visit teamusa.org<\/a>. The Olympics begin on August 5, and the first track and field event is on Friday, August 12.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Allyson Felix, four-time Olympic gold medalist, won\u2019t let a hamstring injury hold her back. Here\u2019s how the sprinter is taking on the Rio Games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,24,6],"tags":[209,289,62,181,108,341,357],"class_list":["post-51573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cardio","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-athlete","tag-exercise","tag-interview","tag-olympics","tag-running","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2running"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51573\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}