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Colleen Quigley

Think Bigger, Dream Bigger

By InnerVoice

January 18^th, 2019

Lessons for life

There are plenty of workouts, and even races, that I wish I could have dropped out of. I’ve never dropped out of a race because at the end of the day, you have to take the bad with the good. My college coach taught me the importance of realizing that even though it might not be your best day, if you truly give it everything you have and don’t give up on yourself, you will cross the line with your head held high and without regret. And on more than one occasion I have stuck it out through a bad patch in a race, only to have my competitors start to falter. All of a sudden the race opens up and I end up doing so much better than I ever dreamed.

And I always think, 'thank goodness I stuck it out.'

One thing I’ve learned about myself through my running career is that I am more resilient than I ever knew. There have been many times where I’ve been in a low place, like when I’ve had injuries that have kept me from being able to run or feel connected to my team. These times have made me feel vulnerable and weak, leaving me questioning whether or not I’m good enough to make it in this sport. I have leaned on my family, my boyfriend, my teammates, my coaches, and my doctors. Every time things got rough, I have somehow found the strength to put in the work in the pool, do the rehab, and keep seeing my doctors until I got what I needed, and eventually things have turned around. Once I’m through that, I’ve often wished I could have told my previous self: “You’re gonna get through this, just hang in there.” But maybe, deep down, I already knew that. I think that mentality of continuing on even if the path isn’t smooth or straight will be crucial for the rest of my track and field career, and the rest of my life.

Bowerman Track Club

My favorite thing to talk about is my team, the Bowerman Track Club. Track and field (and running in general) can be such an individual sport. When you’re out there in a race, it’s just you. But to get you there it takes so much more than just you. I joined BTC in 2015 when there were only three women: Shalane Flanagan, Emily Infeld, and Sammy Silva. Now, we have eleven women; nine of them are Olympians (one is an Olympic Champion) and the other two just graduated from college and haven’t had the chance yet. We have two coaches: Jerry Schumacher, and Pascal Dobert. I knew that if I was going to run as a professional, I wanted to do it with a team, not by myself. I train with these women every day. We push each other in workouts, lift weights together, support each other in the ups and downs, cheer for each other, and even race against each other.

Right now, we are living and training in Colorado Springs for a month of high altitude training, which leads into the indoor track season. During this month, on top of everything, we also cook meals and live together. I feel extremely lucky to have such a talented and kind group of women to spend these years with. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t be nearly as successful (or as happy) if I didn’t have them by my side.

I never had it figured out

I started out as a dancer and soccer player. I danced for nine years (tap, jazz, ballet, pointe) and was even a part of a traveling dance performance group. I played soccer until my freshman year of high school. Before soccer tryouts in the spring, I went out for the cross country team, fell in love with the sport and decided to do track in the spring instead. It all just developed from there. My dad moved from his coaching job at an all-boys school to start coaching me at my all-girls school, and by my senior year he had coached me to two state titles and helped me earn a scholarship to Florida State University. I really have my dad to thank for so much of my success in track and field.

For all that, I was never one of those kids who had it all figured out. When people asked me what I wanted to do, I never had a good answer. I was undecided about what I wanted to study at Florida State, then I found out that you could study food and nutrition so I decided on dietetics as a major. My idea was to become a dietitian when I graduated, but the option to be a pro runner kind of just appeared, and I felt like I couldn’t turn down such an incredible and rare opportunity.

I also spent some time as a model in high school, and for a while there I thought I would graduate high school and move to New York to pursue a professional modelling career. Then, coaches started calling me and giving me offers to go to college for free. I had to think about what path made me happier, what made me feel proud, and what I was truly excited about. I had no idea what the life of an NCAA Division I athlete would look like, and I definitely had no idea that I would have a shot of being an NCAA champion and earning a pro contract with Nike. I just followed my passion and saw an opportunity to get an education, something that is highly valued in my family. Now I can’t imagine my life any other way, and I’m glad I decided to take that scholarship over chasing the limelight as a model.

ONE Mile at a time

There are so many lessons from running that translate well to the rest of our lives. One that I’ve come to learn (mostly from my practice of meditation) is to not take the highs and lows so drastically and to live a little more of a balanced life. I started meditating in 2017 and have really benefited from it both in my personal and professional life. It’s easy to get caught up in thinking that one race, or one workout, will make or break your season, or even your career. The truth is that it’s really about consistency - consistently doing your best on a daily basis. If you can figure out how to do that, you will go really far in sport and in life.

Long tempo runs are one of my biggest challenges, both mentally and physically. That type of workout is not my specialty, so I don’t have much confidence going into them. Lately, I’ve been working on staying calm during these workouts so that I can keep my heart rate lower and keep my form relaxed. It’s easier said than done! One of my tricks is to recognize and acknowledge the pain and tell myself

“Yep, this hurts and it’s uncomfortable. But it’s really not getting any worse, it’s just nagging, and you can keep going. Just take it one lap at a time and don’t get ahead of yourself.”

For me, it’s easy to worry about the fourth or fifth mile when I’m only on the first mile. My meditation practice has helped me to stay in the moment, focus on one mile at a time, and do my best on each lap.

I try to keep that same balance away from the track as well. Just like one race or workout isn’t going to make or break my season or my career, one fight with my boyfriend or one forgotten birthday doesn’t have to ruin a relationship. I try to forgive myself for having an off-day at the track, and I forgive my friend for being late for dinner. There might be a conversation there: a conversation with my coach on how I can tackle the workout better next time or a conversation with my friend about how I value my time. But then it’s over, and we learn and move on. In Maria Sharapova’s book, she talks about how athletes need to have a bad memory - you can’t be thinking about the last crappy shot when the ball is flying at you again. For a steeplechase athlete, you have to forget about the previous hurdle (literally, there are hurdles in my race) and focus on the one you are approaching next. In my personal life, there’s no use in dwelling on how my roommate didn’t clean up her dishes yesterday because she was running late.

“When my college coach saw me running in high school, she said she would give me a full ride to Florida State and that she wanted me to run the steeplechase. I had never even run hurdles, let alone the steeplechase, so learning that skill was scary at first - I had no experience running full force towards a stationary object.”

London 2017

A really tough experience for me was the 2017 World Championships in London. I was so healthy and fit going in and was one year removed from finishing 8th in Rio. I had my sights set on a medal in London. In the qualifying round, I got put in a very tactical, slow, strategic race with lots of bumping. I was running on the inside over one of the water pits (where there is only a white line separating the track from the infield, this particular track didn’t have a rail there) and half of my foot stepped on half of that white line. An official standing at the pit deemed that enough for disqualification, and when I finished the race, I learned that I had been DQ’d and would not be allowed to race in the finals. I was completely heartbroken. I felt like my dream had been unfairly ripped from underneath me. We tried to protest, but the officials would not budge. Two days later, I watched in the stands as my Team USA teammates finished 1-2 in my event. I burst into tears watching them achieve what I thought I too was capable of. I just wanted the chance to see if I was good enough. It was a costly mistake and one that I will never make again. The next World Championships are this year, in Doha, so I will hopefully get another shot at that medal.

Like I mentioned earlier, my teammates are definitely my biggest inspiration. When I went pro in 2015, I thought I would try to make the Olympic team in 2016 then, no matter what happened, I would move on and become a dietitian. My teammates have huge goals for themselves, and they work so hard to reach those goals. They have taught me that I need to think bigger, dream bigger dreams, and not be afraid to realize my potential. Now, I have my eyes on World Championship medals, Olympic medals, and an American record. I don’t know if I’ll reach those goals, but making them and working towards them is so much more fun than making small, easily-attainable goals.

Healthy perspective

In high school, I remember missing a lot of social events (even my graduation ceremony) because of sports, either because I valued my sleep as part of my recovery, or because I had practice or a race. Those in my life who didn’t understand that started to fade away. That hasn’t changed as I’ve gotten older, in fact, it has intensified as my dedication to my sport increased. Those who have stuck by me understand what I have sacrificed in order to get to where I am today, and they respect the decisions I have made along the way. If you are my good friend and you want to get married in the summer, I’m not gonna be able to make it to your wedding. And that sucks. I see how a lot of elite athletes end up only being friends with other elite athletes because those people understand the obligations. But I think it’s important for me to keep my balance and do my best to maintain relationships with people who are not in sport but still appreciate my job. For example, my boyfriend played lacrosse in high school, but he is just a ‘normal guy’ when it comes to sports and fitness.

I love that balance and know that he keeps me grounded and helps me keep a healthy perspective.

#fastbraidfriday

#FastBraidFriday started out as a silly Instagram post of me in a braid on a Friday. I have long hair and have worn it in braids since I was really young. I never expected what happened after I posted that photo. Girls and women started sending me photos, or posting pictures of themselves in braids too, and it quickly evolved into a more significant message with a much deeper meaning. I think it’s important to do something on the outside, even if it’s something as silly as your hair, that makes you feel good and makes you feel fast. That extra boost of confidence helps me get to the start line feeling ready to take on a big challenge with more bravery. The way that the movement has taken off shows me that I’m not the only one. Now I get messages all week from women and girls who say things like “I raced my first marathon and I braided my hair beforehand to pump myself up!” Or “My team all braided our hair for States this week, and we made the podium for the first time in team history!” Or “I did my longest long run this weekend and braided my hair as part of my preparation.” The tendency is to follow this up with “It was because of the braids!” And I always try to remind them that it was because of YOU! YOU did all the hard workouts to prepare, YOU fueled your body with good food and nutrition, and YOU showed up on the day with the right mentality to reach your goal. If putting your hair in braids helps you feel like you can take on the challenge that your body is capable of, then I’m all for it!

I love to see what style you choose, so make sure to use #FastBraidFriday when posting about your accomplishments in braids.

The indoor season is about to start, and it will be a short one. I will defend my Wanamaker Mile Champion title at the Millrose Games in New York on Feb 9th. Then the USA Championships are also in New York and will be Feb 22-23.

Looking to the outdoor season, I am excited to race the steeplechase at the Prefontaine Classic and then hopefully qualify for the USA team to the World Championships in Doha, Qatar in the end of September. My big goal of 2019 is to earn a medal at the World Championships after being DQd in the London World Champs in 2017.

Footnotes

Words by Colleen Quigley, Cover Photo by David Bracetty, Photos as attributed and courtesy of Colleen Quigley, Edited by Cody Royle, Published by Travis McKenzie, Copyright NTSQ Sports Group

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FootNotes

Words by Colleen Quigley, Cover Photo by David Bracetty, Photos as attributed and courtesy of Colleen Quigley, Edited by Cody Royle, Published by Travis McKenzie, Copyright NTSQ Sports Group

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Colleen Quigley

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Season 3