New Zealand Track Star Camille Buscomb

Today we speak with New Zealand Track Star, Camille Buscomb.  Camille is currently preparing for the 5000m and 10000m events at the Commonwealth Games and as you’ll see in question 4 she has an amazing attitude when it comes to training.  I also want to point out her diet, many of our athletes are struggling to reach their goals and most of the time it all comes down to food.  Pay attention to her answer for question 5, ATHLETES NEED FOOD!

Good luck with your upcoming races Camille, and thanks for taking the time to speak with us.

1: How did you get started in your Sport?
I first started athletics when I was 5 years old. I have always loved competing in different sports, but I loved the pure competitiveness of running, the feeling of racing and the option to push yourself beyond barriers. A dream of mine has always been to compete at the World Champs, Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games and to represent New Zealand so the goals themselves also helped in getting me started.

2: What was a major struggle for your training and/or success
Finding a balance of training that works well for me has been challenging. It can be easy to over do it and end up racing fatigued or getting sick. I have struggled with sickness in the past and not until the last 2 years have I really been able to get on top of this and find a balance of the type of training where my body stays healthy whilst also continuing to improve.

3: What is your current goal
To have a top performance at the Commonwealth Games. I am competing in both the 5000m and 10000m events and to be able to be right up there at the top of the field is what I am really working towards and have been working towards for some time now.

4:  What advice would you give a young athlete?
Be consistent with your training, and look after yourself. The more consistent you can be with years and years of gradually increasing your training load, and the healthier you are the faster you will run long term. Don't cut any corners, and try to have some balance. Keep the love for the sport, for training and by looking after yourself you will reap the benefits of a much higher level of racing for a longer period of time. Try not to be overly strict on yourself with eating clean, and make sure to reward yourself along the way, also be happy with each small success as they are stepping stones for bigger performances in the future.

5:  How big of a role is nutrition when it comes to your training?
Nutrition is very important. Eating enough is the main problem that many athletes have. With so much training in a given day it is really important to eat enough to replace the energy output. I find that this really helps me to stay healthy, and to be able to continue training at a high level. I eat a very balanced diet including a lot of meat, dairy products, eggs, fruits and vegetables and a high amount of carbohydrates also. Including breads, pastas, potatoes etc. I try not to have a meal without carbohydrates. I don't eat anything with low fat, or artificial sweeteners and I find the balance eating enough foods rich in fats and nutrients and energy combines well with the type of high volume training that I am doing. I never allow myself to be too hungry and would rather over eat as in the end you will burn it off and it will help you recover quicker for the next session, next week etc.

Olympian Colleen Quigley -3000m Steeplechase Athlete

Today we speak with Nike athlete, Bowerman Track Club member, and 2016 OLYMPIAN, Colleen Quigley.  Colleen has an impressive story that you can find at https://www.colleenquigley.org and a very promising Track career ahead of her with plans of making the 2020 Olympics with Team USA!  In 2016 she placed 8th in the 3000m steeplechase with a PR of 9:21.10.  In question 5 she states that she sees food as FUEL, this is a view that all our athletes need to start believing.  You can not reach your full potential when you don’t feed your body correctly.

Big thanks to Colleen and good luck this track season.

1: How did you get started in your Sport?
My parents and older brother are runners, so I just got into it because they were doing it. I danced for 9 years growing up and played soccer all throughout gradeschool/middle school. I didn't start running track and cross country until I got to high school.

2: What was a major struggle for your training and/or success
The biggest obstacle for me has been setting goals for myself and not reaching them right away or at all and seeing that as failure. The truth is that we all fail at some point, but it matters more how you react to that failure. I have tried to take those as opportunities to get better, to hone my craft, and be better the next time.

3: What is your current goal
My next big goal is to make the 2020 Olympic team for USA!

4:  What advice would you give a young athlete
When I was growing up I played soccer and danced and just had fun being active and using my body. I think that was so important as I developed. I didn't really get serious about running until later in high school. My running gradually improved over my career- I didn't find crazy success right away. I just kept plugging away at it, kept setting new and bigger goals for myself as I achieved them, and eventually it seemed reasonable to say my goal was to make the Olympic team. That took many many years and I loved every minute of the process. The minute you lose the joy in the sport, that's when it is over.

5:   How big of a role is nutrition when it comes to your training?
HUGE! I cannot say enough about how important my diet is to my performance. I have to make sure I refuel my body with the nutrients it needs to perform at a high level. It sounds silly, but the saying "garbage in, garbage out" is so true. I see food as fuel, but I also believe that healthy and nutritious food can also be delicious and enjoyable!

Maggie Ewen, Champion THROWER!

This week we caught up with Arizona State Track and Field Athlete, Maggie Ewen.  In 2017 she placed 21st in the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP for Hammer Throw in London, Placed first for Hammer both the PAC -12 (230-4) and NCAA outdoor (240-7) plus 1st place for Discus and Shot at the PAC-12 with a 193-6 Discus and a 56-4 Shot.  Expect to see some impressive Throws this season as the 2018 season kicks off.

For our athletes, I’d suggest paying close attention to Maggie’s answer to question #4.  Always push yourself.  Missing a new PR is always better than cruising through an easy workout.

1.) How did you get started in your sport?

I was introduced to track and field when I was in third grade. My sister joined the junior-high track team and my dad offered to coach her in the discus. Since I always wanted to be like my older sister, when they went out to practice I went too. Eventually, my sister found success in the jumps and the sprints but I never stopped throwing. My dad continued to coach me throughout my junior-high and high-school career. He convinced me to train shot put, but we never did more than extremely basic footwork drills for hammer. He wanted to leave my hammer career up to my college coach (aka he didn't want me worrying about getting rid of "bad habits" once I was in college). My first year of college was the first time I actually threw a hammer. I didn't touch a weight until my second year of college.

2.) What was a major struggle for your training/ success?

A major struggle for me is the sacrifices I have to make. Aside from the obvious things like my family, boyfriend and dog, throwing is my first priority. There are only two weeks in the year that I am free to do whatever I want, whenever I want. The rest of the year, I have to evaluate every decision based on how it will effect my training or competition. 

3.) What is your current goal? 

This has always been an awkward question for me because my goal is simply to throw further. Each new personal best is very exciting and Im always proud of each new accomplishment. However, I am never satisfied. I think my lack of specific goal setting comes from a lack of understanding of my own potential. I recently changed coaches. Since the coaching change, all of my personal bests (shot put, discus, hammer, and weight) have all significantly increased. Working with a new coach with new ideas has shown me that there is a lot of potential for improvement in all of my events. 

4.) What advice would you give to a young athlete?

I would tell them to be adventurous. You'll never know what you are capable of if you don't try. You shouldn't be afraid to explore things outside of your comfort zone. Be smart smart and be safe with this advice, but try new things! If you're doing a bench press workout and your on the fifth set and you're unsure if you should put 200lbs or 205lbs on the bar... I'd say find a good spotter and put 205 on the bar! You might find out you're stronger than you though you were. On the flip side, you might fail that set. But, if you did you know you gave it your very best effort. You're not going to know what you're capable of unless you try. If you aren't stepping out of your comfort zone every now-and-then your'e probably limiting yourself. 

5.) How big of a role is nutrition when it comes to your training?

Nutrition is a huge part of training. Personally, I really notice in my training when I skipped breakfast or made a bad decision for dinner the night prior. You have to think of your body like a race car. If you're in the biggest race of the year, you're not going to fill your gas tank with any random fuel. In order to ensure it will run at its maximum potential, you're going to put in the highest quality fuel you can find. What you put in your body is what you will get out of your body. Putting in high quality foods will optimizes your chance to have a high quality performance. Putting in low quality foods or eating nothing at all, will likely result in a poor performance. That goes for practice, competition, and rest days. You have to take care of your body so you can maximize your potential.