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.
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