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Magazine Articles
A day in the life: Olympic competitors have to wake up early and hit the ground
running. Here, we show you an average day for above-average athletes
By Dimity McDowell
Deena Kastor 31 years old, Marathon
Lives: With husband, Andrew Kastor, a massage therapist, and Aspen, a chocolate lab, in
Mammoth Lakes, CA
6:00 Aspen is sitting right next to my bed, waiting for me to open my eyes. As soon as I
move, she tosses her stuffed animals around, excited for the day. I feed her, take her outside and
make some coffee in the French press.
6:30 Andrew fetches fresh bagels--a morning ritual. I either have an everything bagel
with cream cheese or an oat raisin with butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar.
7:00 Take Aspen for a 20-minute walk. When I get home, Andrew stretches out my
legs and lower back and lightly massages any tight areas.
8:30 Meet up with a Running USA team, a group of elite runners, for practice, which
lasts anywhere from two to four hours and 10 to 24 miles. I'm the only
woman, but the guys are super-supportive of me. Because we're all training for different events,
we usually meet and then head out in separate directions. If it's really sunny out, I ask everybody
if they're wearing sunscreen; I've had a ton of problems in the last year with skin cancer, and I'm
adamant about everybody wearing it. I used to love it when guys took off their shirts while
running, and now I think. "Oh no, don't do that."
11:00 Draw an ice-cold bath. While it runs, make and eat Lunch 1, as I call it.
Something small but filling, like a banana covered in peanut butter then rolled in granola.
11:15 Sit in the ice bath. I hate it, but it really aids recovery. If I make it too cold, I sit in it
for seven minutes; if it's normal, 10 minutes; and when it's more bearable, 15. And I always blast
Madonna's American Life and belt out the words to get my mind off of the pain. I get out,
shower and get ready for the day.
Noon Head for a 90-minute massage from Andrew, which I get four times a
week. On Sundays, I get one from a female therapist--good because her hands get to different
things and work in different ways.
1:45 Nap. It's essential to rest hard when I'm working hard.
3:15 Lunch 2: a sandwich or some leftovers.
3:30 Weights. I lift on my hard practice days--Tuesday, Thursday and
Saturday--so that my easy days give me more recovery time. Finish with core work, which I do
every day.
5:00 Grab Aspen and take her on the first 20 minutes of my run, a four-to-six-
miler. It's an easy recovery run; after I lift, my legs are pumped full of lactic acid--I feel
horrible, heavy and uncoordinated for the first 10 minutes.
6:00 Best feeling of the day: walking in the door when my work is over. Stretch a bit and
shower.
6:30 Pour a glass of wine or make a cheese and crackers plate to enjoy while I make dinner.
7:15 Eat dinner in front of a fire. We don't have a television, so we just chat and laugh.
8:45 Bedtime, even for Andrew. He works really hard during the day, so he's ready then too.
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