Olympic athlete Allyson Felix talks about what training has looked like in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.
Felix has been training alongside American Olympic athlete Sydney Mclaughlin and says that it has been great to have her talent and energy in the group.
“It’s been great to have Syd as a part of our training group. Obviously, she has all the talent in the world and it’s just nice to have her energy in the group and have her talent there. [I hope to] impart any of my experiences that might be helpful to her as she embarks on the beginning of her career,” said Felix. “It’s exciting to see. I remember when that was me, so it’s just really cool to see her just at this very fresh stage and I’m just excited for everything that’s to come for her.”
Felix claims that during her time in Los Angeles County, she has not been able to train at a track, but instead has gone out to train and practice on different surfaces; nothing is holding her back. Felix also mentioned traveling to Arizona to be able to properly train on a track.
“Training has definitely been challenging during the pandemic, especially being in Los Angeles. We have been locked down, so the biggest challenge that we’ve had is having a facility to train at. We’ve actually just come back from Arizona from a month-long training there because we haven’t been able to get on a track here,” said Felix. “It’s been the constant challenge throughout. We’ve trained on the street, we’ve trained on the beach, we’ve trained on San Vicente, we’ve been all over the place and Bobby has been really great at navigating us through this process and as long as there is a surface to run on, we’re running. It’s been difficult, but we have been able to move forward.”
“We’ve left a couple times to go to Arizona to train and I think at a certain point it has been frustrating to not be able to have a place, but also you get it, you understand,” Felix said. “We’re all going through so much, so it’s kind of just figuring it out. I think just having that openness and being willing to say ‘I’m game for whatever we have to do.’ it’s a bit different now with a two-year-old in toe and getting the million things that you need to go somewhere for a month, but my whole village has been very supportive and helpful and helping us navigate through this unchartered territory.”
Felix says Bobby Kersee – one of the “premier sprints and hurdles coaches in the world,” according to RunnerUniverse has been great at guiding the runners through this time period.
During the lockdown, Felix claims her craziest training experience was sprinting through her neighborhood because even though she has gone out for jogs, training in front of her neighbors and having them wonder what she’s doing has been the most “bizarre thing.”
“I would say that the craziest experience was training in my neighborhood. I’ve gone for runs before in my neighborhood, but I never have sprinted through the streets. The scene of Bobby measuring out with his wheel on the street in front of my door and seeing some of my neighbors come out wondering what’s going and hearing him with his very energetic yelling… That’s probably been the most bizarre thing.”
Felix is preparing for the 200-meter and 400-meter dash and plans to run these distances at trials.
“Right now I’m still preparing to run the 200 and the 400 at trials. I’m just going to see how training unfolds, but I would like to participate in both at trials and see the outcome of that, so that’s what I’m getting ready for and as we lead up to them, if I need to focus on one or the other, then, along with Bobby we’ll make that decision, but that’s our mindset right now,” she explained.
