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Olympian Colleen Quigley Talks about Her Diet & Workouts

Colleen Quigley

Colleen Quigley is a two-time World Championship qualifier in the steeplechase and the third fastest steeplechaser in US history. She was 2nd at the USATF Indoor Championships in 2018 and finished 9th in the 2018 World Indoor Championships. She won the NCAA championships while at FSU and was a state champion and Footlocker Cross Country finalist in high school.

Below we have excerpts of the interview with Colleen Quingley, in conversation with Namita Nayyar, president Women Fitness  

Namita Nayyar:

Starting off to be a dancer, a runner, a professional model, and eventually becoming an NCAA Champion and  an Olympian, it has been quite a spectacular ride for you. If given a chance to define your journey, how would you define it?

Colleen Quigley:

It has been a wild ride for sure! I never dreamed this career for myself when I was a young girl. I didn’t even know being a professional runner was a real job until some point in college.  For me, it worked out because I took the journey just one step at a time. I know a lot of people grow up thinking “I want to be an Olympian” but I never really knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. So each step along the way I just tried to do my very best at whatever it was I was doing. When I did dance in grade school/middle school I was always trying to be the best dancer I could be, listening to my teachers and working hard in class to learn and hone my craft. That’s all I’m doing now too. It’s a different craft, but I still am just trying to do everything I can to be the best runner I can be. I’m having so much fun along the way and as I reach the goals I set for myself, I just set bigger and bigger ones. I see every experience I”m having now as a professional athlete and an Olympian as a complete gift. 

Namita Nayyar:

Your dad was your high school coach. How did he help you in making you realize your potential for running?

Colleen Quigley:

My dad has always supported me in whatever I did. When I played soccer and danced that was great, when I wanted to go out for cross country in high school that was great too. My freshman year of high school I decided to go out for track instead of trying out for the soccer team like I originally planned. When that happened, my dad decided to switch over from the all-boys school where he had been coaching for about 25 years to come to my all-girls school (Nerinx Hall) and help coach the distance runners there. He was the one coaching me from then on and we had SO much fun together for those few years. When it came time to look at colleges, he reached out to college coaches from the schools I was interested in and told them about his athlete/daughter. Without that help, I never would have met my college coach, Karen Harvey, who was the one to make me into a steeplechaser. In so many ways, I owe so much of my success to my dad and I will always be extremely grateful for his and my mom’s support along every step of the way.  

Full Interview Continued On Next Page

All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http:// www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.

Namita Nayyar:

You took a big leap from modeling to make a career in sports, what were the reasons that led to this decision? Will we ever see you again posing for a brand or walking the ramp? 

Colleen Quigley:

This decision was definitely a very difficult one for me. My parents weren’t pushing me in either direction, it was really my call. In the end, I chose running because when I took a step back and looked at the big picture I could see that the accomplishments I had made in my running made me much more proud than what I had accomplished as a model. Becoming a Missouri State Champion was more gratifying to me than being featured in 17 magazine, for example. I was proud of the things I had done on the track because I knew that I had really truly earned them, and had worked so hard to achieve them. Modeling for me was more about luck- I got lucky to have good genes that gave me features that society generally deems to be attractive. I had to learn how to pose and move my body in certain ways, there was definitely some skill to it, but not in the way that being an athlete is. I wanted to pursue running because the thought of becoming an Olympian (to me) is way more exciting than the thought of walking the runway in lingerie at a Victoria’s Secret fashion show. 

Namita Nayyar:

How do you keep yourself fueled during training sessions?

Colleen Quigley:

My track workouts usually don’t last for more than 45-60 minutes so during the workouts I typically just sip on some water. The most important fueling happens before and after the sessions. Beforehand, I usually have oatmeal for breakfast, full of nuts and seeds with some protein powder and fruit (check out breakfast recipes on my website here). If I go from a run to the gym or to the pool and need a snack in between, I love to have a couple of my homemade date balls (recipe here). I also have a few lunch and dinner recipes on my site for you to check out if you’re interested.  

Namita Nayyar:

You have said that “I actually enjoy my time in the pool and see it as a type ofmeditation.” Share with us 5 tips about swimming as a source of fitness.

Colleen Quigley:

Swimming has saved my fitness multiple times when I have gotten injured. It’s a great way to get in a hard cardio workout without any impact on your body, which is great if you are dealing with an injury like a stress fracture. 

1. Get the proper gear- look the part and you will feel more confident. I used to swim in spadex and a sports bra and felt like such a newbie. I love the Nike swimsuits I use now, they make me excited to put them on. Good goggles will help you be more comfortable and be able to see too. And don’t forget the swim cap to protect your hair from the chlorine!

2. Ask other swimmers or lifeguards for tips on your stroke. That is how I learned, really, just getting tips from the lifeguards was so helpful because they are already there watching you anyways and are usually bored and welcome the entertainment.

3. Get into a routine. If you are injured, you can often feel lost, adrift, no set practice times or schedule. So create a schedule for yourself and stick to it. This way you won’t get to the end of the day or end of the week not having done as much cross training as you would have liked.

4. Find a pool buddy. I tell lots of runners who need motivation the same thing- its way more fun with a friend! Make dates with friends at the pool. This will keep you accountable and make you feel better that someone is working next to you (even if you can’t chat while you swim like you can when you run).

5. Mix it up! When I’m injured, some days I do just a steady swim for a certain amount of time (equivalent to a recovery run), whereas other days I do a harder workout with sets and reps. If you are looking for some beginner swim workouts, my teammate and friend, Gwen Jorgensen, is an Olympic Gold Medalist in the triathlon and she wrote some great workouts for beginner swimmers. Check it out here.

Namita Nayyar:

Before taking the decision of joining the Bowerman Track Club, you spoke to Shalane Flanagan several times. Share with us tips extended by her, that helped you in taking the final step towards becoming a professional runner.

Colleen Quigley:

Shalane was so kind to me when I was graduating from Florida State and trying to figure out what my next steps would be. She gave me an idea of what it looks like to be a professional runner and what kind of dedication it takes. Shalane is an incredible roll model for me and for my other BTC teammates. She dedicates her whole life to her sport, she lives and breathes it. But she also is able to find that very important balance with her personal life, especially in the off-season when she needs to take a little break from the intensity of training- both physically and mentally. Shalane does all the little things right- she gets proper recovery, eats good foods, as well as the big things like coming to practice with the right mindset, ready to work really hard and give the workout everything she has on that day. 

Namita Nayyar:

What are you plans or goals for the upcoming year 2019?

Colleen Quigley:

In October of 2019 the World Championships for Track and Field will be held in Doha, Qatar. In 2015 I qualified for the World Champs in Beijing right after graduation and finished 12th. In 2017 I qualified for the World Champs in London after having finished 8th in the Olympics in Rio the year before. I was very fit going into the World Champs in London last year, but unfortunately made a small but critical error and stepped on the white line on the inside of the track after coming out of the water pit and I was disqualified. I was devastated by this experience and completely heartbroken that my hard work did not get to pay off in the way I wanted it to. So for 2019 I am more determined than ever to stand on the podium at World Champs with a medal around my neck and an American flag around my shoulders. 

Namita Nayyar:

On a day-off, what activities do you like to indulge in?

Colleen Quigley:

A day off! Sounds lovely! 🙂

I rarely take a day completely off. An easy day for me is a 8-10 mile run and a 30 min swim with some stretching, core, and rehab exercises. 

Outside of that I am a volunteer coach for the Portland State track and field/cross country team. 

I also love to be creative, so sometimes that means decorating the pages of my bullet journal (check out my journal here) or knitting up a gift for a friend. I’m a huge crafter, I love to knit and sew and make handmade cards- I’m secretly such a grandma!

Namita Nayyar:

You represented the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics. How was your experience at your first ever Olympic games? What were the three learning you got from them?

Colleen Quigley:

Becoming an Olympian was such an incredible experience! I was so lucky that I could experience the whole thing with 8 of my other teammates from the Bowerman Track Club. It was also so great to have my family there- my boyfriend, parents, both my brother and sister, and one aunt and uncle all made it down to Rio to cheer me on. I tried to soak up as much of the experience as I could while also focusing on my event and trying to treat it as any other race. It is all so exciting and there is so much going on, so much stimulation, but my teammates and I were trying to block most of that out and just focus on doing the job we went there to do and trying to finish as high as possible against the best athletes in the world. What surprised me the most about the experience was that instead of feeling like I had checked the box by becoming an Olympian, instead the experience just made me hungry for more! As soon as the Games were over I started thinking about Tokyo in 2020 and how much more I could accomplish there!

Namita Nayyar:

You have spoken greatly about the importance of taking care of your health and recovery from injuries, as it is a must for everyone, most importantly for athletes. How have your own injuries helped you realize the importance of recovery?

Colleen Quigley:

As athletes, we are always riding that fine line between greatness and injury. Sometimes, try as we might, we go over that line and end up hurting ourselves. I have definitely dealt with my fair share of injuries over the past few years as a pro athlete. It is one of the most frustrating things for an athlete when their body does not cooperate with them and it feels like no matter what you do you end up on the sidelines. It can be a very dark and challenging time, but I have found that I was able to learn something about myself and my body each time I got injured. For one, swimming has now become a regular part of my regimen even when I am healthy. I have found that for me if I replace a second run in the afternoon a couple times a week with a swim instead, that will help me stay more fit (such good cardio) without any extra pounding on my muscles and bones. It also serves as a sort of flush for the legs, a great form of active recovery. I’ve also learned that its so important to really know and listen to your own body and that truly every athlete is different. Right now I can’t run as many miles per week as Shalane can, I’ll end up injured. And that is okay! I’ve been able to slowly increase  my mileage from 30-35 miles per week in high school to 55-60 miles per week in college to 75-80 miles per week so far as a pro. As I keep getting stronger and able to handle more, I will continue to challenge myself, but its important to not compare myself to anyone else but myself and focus on my own journey and my own needs.  

Namita Nayyar:

Message for Women Fitness on our 19th Anniversary?

Colleen Quigley:

I love that there is a huge push for active women right now in our society. It’s incredible to see what female athletics is doing right now to push the boundaries and push each other. Women compete against each other for plenty of things that we shouldn’t (i.e. men, beauty pageants), but it’s inspiring to see women competing for titles like “Fastest Woman in the World.” Especially in my event, the steeplechase, which is still so new (steeplechase first appeared for women in the Olympic Games in 2008), the momentum for women has been growing. While the steeplechase used to be an event that both women and men would enter if they couldn’t be successful in other events like the 1500 m or the 5000 m, now the steeplechase is recognized as a legitimate and competitive event in it’s own right. And that kind of competition, where women line up and after months and years of training as hard as they can they try to test themselves against other women in a competition to see who is the fastest, that kind of competition is so awesome. 

Follow her journey on:

All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http:// www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.

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