Olympic lessons

It’s 8:30am on a sunny, 30-degree Monday morning in March in the tiny mountain town of Mammoth Lakes, California, and the lithe athletes of the Mammoth Track Club are bouncing on their feet in a parking lot, deciding where they’ll run today. Among them is elite runner Deena Kastor, a sprite of a woman who brims with supernova-size personality. Have a conversation with her, and she’ll earnestly, endearingly talk about the great loves of her life: her husband, running, cooking, wine and the beauty of Mammoth.

Kastor, 37, has been up since 6:30am and has already eaten a bagel with jam and butter, walked her dog and enjoyed a stretching and massaging session from her husband, Andrew Kastor. Today, she’ll run for 75 minutes at an “easy” pace (sub–seven-minute miles!)—recovery from yesterday’s 20-mile run. Afterward, she’ll head home for some lunch and a nap. Then it’ll be up and at ’em for some more food (she consumes 4,500 to 5,000 calories each day to maintain her 100-pound racing weight), an hour of drills (to improve her gait efficiency) and strength training at the gym. And finally, she’ll bang out a few more miles and some hill repeats. She’ll get home at 6pm, eat a big dinner, then hit the sack by 8pm. And tomorrow? She’ll do it all over again. Ditto for the next day, and so on.

Thanks to her Herculean efforts and some seriously good DNA (“it’s like every cell in her body is designed to make her run fast,” marvels Andrew), she has won many coveted prizes: the bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics, first place at the 2005 Chicago Marathon and the women’s American world record in the marathon in 2006 in London. She lives in the remote, sleepy town of Mammoth because it’s at 8,000 feet—a crazy-high altitude that chemically alters the body in important ways, such as increasing the quantity of red blood cells, which helps her deliver oxygen to her muscles very quickly. (Translation: She can run fast for longer.) The Kastors are creatures of habit, and each day is designed to maximize Deena’s performance in her next race—from the food she eats to her early bedtime. Some might consider it a blah existence, but for Deena, it’s living life to its fullest. “It’s a choice, not a sacrifice, if it’s bringing you closer to your goal,” Deena explains emphatically. “I believe that holds true for anyone who has a goal—whether it’s in your career or family or something else.”

One of those choices was giving up red wine and coffee after suffering a broken foot at mile three in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Doctors ultimately determined that a deficiency in nutrients—sparked by a stomach virus that whittled six crucial pounds off her tiny frame during training—made her bones more susceptible to fractures and breaks. So she gave up wine and coffee cold-turkey for nine months and never once felt tempted. “How could I?” she muses. “It was my health!”

Kastor happily has been cleared to drink her favorite beverages again and is back to training full-time. Her comeback race after the broken foot was the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle last March, which she won on a brutally frigid, slushy day. She adores Chicago—she races here often and is looking forward to trying Sepia on her next visit. While she won’t compete in Sunday 21’s Shuffle—she’ll be running the New York City Half-Marathon that day as part of her buildup to the April 25 London Marathon—36,000 other hearty souls will be up bright and early to usher in running season with the annual run.

And lucky for mere running mortals, Kastor wants to help all of them reach the finish line injury-free and with a smile on their face. “The motto in our family is, ‘If you have something, share it,’?” she says over a barbecue-chicken sandwich and a glass of red wine the night before her toughest workout of the week. Below, find her best tips and tricks for racing strong—whether it’s during the Shamrock Shuffle or another race this spring, summer or fall.

DEENA’S RUNNING-SEASON STANDBYS

The night before
“Twenty-four hours leading up to a race is bland all the way around, but it’s a good way to store excess energy. Don’t put it past me to have the lights out at 7:30pm.”

Race-morning breakfast
“I usually have two scrambled eggs and two pieces of toast with butter and jam. There’s no superstition to having two of each; it just seems the right amount to fuel me for the mission ahead.”

Pre-race jitters
“What most call ‘nervous’ I call ‘excitement.’ Just rename what you’re feeling. In a way, the race is easier because the extra enthusiasm and energy from the thousands of people who share the journey will help move you.”

Fave training apparel
“You’ll find me in this Y-back tank top [$45 at asicsamerica.com]. I love the blue and that the strap down the back reads ‘sound mind, sound body,’ which is what ASICS means.”

Lots of winter greens
“I’m making foods that are rich in Vitamin D a regular part of my diet. [Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, for stronger bones.] We put organic kale in pretty much everything.”

Lucky charms
“If I’m spending the night anywhere in the world, I bring two Maneki Neko—lucky cats—to rest on my nightstand. They represent life and the simple reminder that we can help create our own good fortune.”

Motivating music
“Right now, the song ‘Brazil’ by Deadmau5 gets me going. I am being pulled by the love of this sport more than ever before. It’s about the pure joy of pushing myself to new limits. This song inspires that feeling of ecstasy that comes with running hard without resistance.”

Inspirational words
“There’s one book that I have re-read over the years called A Practice of Mountains, by Andrea Lawrence, a two-time gold medalist in downhill skiing. She recently passed away but had a rich passion for life and a deep appreciation for everything around her.”

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