"I’ve never been a person to think that just because someone has a better PR than me that they’re going to beat me. I think that it’s important to have belief in yourself and your capabilities. You have to believe that you’re going to do something great before it actually happens."Thrilled to have Kellyn Taylor join me on the podcast this week. The 31-year-old mom, who trains in Flagstaff, Ariz., as a member of coach Ben Rosario’s HOKA Northern Arizona Elite squad, ran a 2:24 at Grandma’s Marathon on June 16. It was a four-minute personal best, two-minute course record, and the seventh-fastest marathon ever run by an American woman.Taylor’s breakthrough came just 61 days after being forced to drop out of April’s Boston Marathon with hypothermia, an experience she described as a disappointment and a blown opportunity. The Wichita State alum, who finished sixth in the marathon and fourth in the 10,000m at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, was eighth at last fall’s New York City Marathon (2:29:56). She’s run personal bests in both the mile—4:33.4 indoors at Boston University in January—and marathon this year, and describes herself as a “jack of all trades.”Competitive running isn’t Taylor’s only pursuit, however; last fall, she successfully completed her coursework and training to be a firefighter, a topic we got into over the course of our conversation. “It’s something that I can just see myself just doing and being happy with for the duration of my working life,” she explained to me. “For me, one of my biggest goals in life is to never have a job that I don’t love. I’m 31 years old, almost 32, and so far, so good. If I can have that carry on for the next 30-35 years, I think that would be a special thing.”We covered quite a bit of ground in this episode, including:— Her breakthrough performance at Grandma’s Marathon.— What her husband said to her after she broke the tape.— How much time she takes off after a marathon.— Where she now sees herself on the map of U.S. women’s marathoning.— How she was feeling heading into the Boston Marathon (where she eventually dropped out due to hypothermia).— Her thoughts on why many of the elite women struggled so much at Boston this year.— When (and why) she decided to run Grandma’s Marathon.— What her training looked like in the two months between Boston and Grandma’s.— Where her self-confidence comes from and how she uses it to her advantage.— Reflections on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, where she finished sixth, and what she would do differently if she were in that situation again.— How she’s a different runner now versus when she joined NAZ Elite 4-1/2 years ago.— The importance of a longterm coach-athlete relationship and training in a group environment.— The appeal of firefighting and how she’s been able to juggle that with her training as an elite-level athlete. “I think that I can do it all, don’t get me wrong,” she told me.— Her aversion to foam rolling and strength-training. “I have like five foam rollers,” she admitted to me. “I don’t use them. I don’t know why I keep buying them, but I have them.”— The lessons she wants her daughter to take away from her athletic pursuits.— A whole lot more.I really enjoyed this conversation with Kellyn and letting her share some of the secrets behind her recent success. If you’re looking for some insight on setting yourself up for a breakthrough or learning how to bounce back from a bad race, this episode is for you.This episode of the morning shakeout podcast was edited by John Isaac at BaresRecords.com.Complete show notes here: https://www.themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-20-with-kellyn-taylor/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout

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