It's been a wild past year for Bay Area standout Chelsea Reilly. After an up and down collegiate career, where she dealt with injuries for much of her time at the University of California-Berkley, she took a shot at the professional running life. In her first major test as a pro, Reilly won the USA 10 km Championships, proving to herself that she still had much more left as a competitive athlete. Currently training under the guidance of fellow pro runner Magdalena Boulet, Reilly is off to a stellar start in 2013, winning a U.S. indoor 3k title, then busting out a World 'A' standard for 5,000m with her third place, 15:13 performance at the Stanford Invitational, solidifying herself as an early favorite to challenge for a 5k spot on Team USA heading into the World Championships this summer.

We caught up with Reilly this week, as she gears up for the Payton Jordan Invitational 1,500m this weekend. In our chat, Reilly discusses her current training and sponsorship situation, her persistence as a post-collegiate athlete, how she got into the sport and much more.

Scott Bush (SB): A U.S. Indoor 3k title and a 15:13 5k PR at the Stanford Invite. You have to be pretty pleased with the start to your 2013 racing season, right?

Chelsea Reilly (CR): I am definitely pleased with where we are at this point in the season! We had initially geared all of my winter training towards the U.S. Cross Country Championships and for whatever reason I had a really bad day there.  Because World Cross was no longer on the table my coach and agent both did a really great job of helping me shift focus towards the track. The Indoor 3k was a great opportunity to practice championship style racing – I had a lot of fun mixing it up at that level. 

I think that the 5k PR is certainly a great starting point.  I am elated to have run the A standard this early in the season. I had only run the 5k a handful of times before and never felt that I was mastering the event. I’m excited to see that all of the work we’ve been putting in is starting to pay off.  I’m looking forward to being in contention to make the U.S. Team for Moscow.  That being said, I realize that I have a long way to go.  I didn’t win the 5k at Stanford and I am still 30 seconds behind the fastest American women. As soon as I finished the 5k at Stanford I immediately started thinking about running faster and competing at a higher level.  Running 15:13 is such a dream for me.  I set a 44 second PR.  But now I want more! I think that’s a pretty typical mindset for a distance runner…

This year is all about capitalizing on opportunities.  I am getting into races now that I was watching from the sidelines a year ago.  I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to compete post-collegiately.  I hope that my performances this spring and summer will be a reflection of all of the hard work that we’ve put in over the past year.  

SB: Umm...is it true you don't have a primary shoe sponsor yet?

CR: No, I don’t have a primary shoe sponsor.  I am signed with Flynn Sports Management though and I’m confident that we’ll have something worked out pretty soon.   I get support from the Bay Area Track Club as well. 

SB: Lets rewind a bit. You had an up and down collegiate career, but have really bust out since graduating college. What gives?

CR: My collegiate career was definitely tumultuous. I was always injured or coming back from an injury.  I learned a lot about myself and I think that dealing with adversity has forced me to become a very resilient athlete.  I have a “no-quit” attitude. My injuries certainly tested my love for the sport and my love for competition. Now that I have been healthy for about a year, I think that the work I’ve put in is finally starting to show.

Since graduation from Cal I have also had the privilege to run full time. I am able to take a very professional approach to my training.  I train twice a day, everyday.  My life revolves around training and recovery. My lifestyle is pretty simple and monotonous, but I absolutely love the daily grind! I also started eating a mostly plant-based diet and eliminated processed foods.  Professional running is a full time job!

When Magda and I first started working together last June we decided that training full time would give me the best shot at “making it” as a professional runner. My boyfriend, Steve Sodaro (former D1 All-American in the steeplechase for Cal), has been a huge champion of my running. He actually has three jobs so that I don’t have to work.  I’m surrounded by people who believe in me as an athlete and who enable me to pursue my dreams on a daily basis.

I also have a really tight knit support group that we’ve created:  this includes Magda and Coach Tom Kloos, agent Ray Flynn, training partners Clara Peterson (marathon) and Brian Pilcher (American Masters Record Holder), bodywork expert Lucie Samuel Charping, and Physical Therapist Tyler Williams at SOL. PT. We have assembled this great team of people to keep me healthy and race ready.

SB: Your training under the guidance of Magdalena Boulet. What's it like training under the guidance of such an experienced veteran?

CR: Above all, Magda is one of my dearest friends and I think that bond is the foundation of our coach-athlete relationship.  Our friendship transcends running and I have complete trust in her plan for me. We’re in this together for the long haul and that is a very rewarding way to be an athlete. And I am training with my athletic hero every day! Magda was coaching at Cal when I was a freshman in 2008.  We’ve known each other for quite awhile now and it has been a dream of mine to work with her.  Watching her make the Olympic team in 2008 is one of the most inspired performances that I’ve seen. Magda is one of the most generous, optimistic, and courageous people that I know – she’s a class act and I aspire to emulate her as an athlete and as a person. She is the best thing that could have happened to my running.  I feel like she’s given me this gift to pursue what I love. 

Magda and I sat down about a week after I finished competing for Cal and I asked if she would be interested in working with me.  She said she would, but thought that I should explore other options before committing to training with her – I called her the next morning and asked if she could start me on a program.  Magda has been gracious enough to let me follow her around and essentially copy everything that she does.  During the first six months we did everything together.  We met seven days a week, sometimes twice a day, and she took me to altitude camps in Tahoe and Flagstaff.  She always says that she’s helping me to skip the mistakes she made as a young athlete. She has a very hands-on approach to my running and is involved in all aspects of my training.

I feel very lucky to have Magda as my coach, training partner, and friend.  She has revived my love for running and for this sport.  She approaches all that she does with incredible care and passion – my recent successes are a product of that attitude.

SB: What's a typical week of training look like for you at this point in the season?

CR: My training is based on Jack Daniels Running Formula (Jack is Magda’s coach). Magda is a brilliant physiologist as well – I defer training/racing decisions to her! So things are pretty scientific.  We try to keep things pretty consistent throughout the year and sharpen when we get close to a big race.  I run about 70-100 miles a week depending on the quality of my workouts and the proximity to competition.  I also do a lot of hill repeats and workouts on the treadmill.  The treadmill has been a great injury-prevention tool.  I do core work everyday, Pilates, ankle weights (check out Magda’s video on Flotrack), and weight training.

SB: What's the next race coming up for you?

CR: I’m racing the 1,500 at Payton Jordan and then the mile at Re: Run San Diego.  I’m very excited to gauge my speed at this point in the season. Should be fun!

SB: Do you see yourself sticking primarily with the 5,000m this season, or will you test the waters over 10,000m?

CR: I think we’ll probably stick with the 5k and 1,500 this season.  I think the 10k deserves a lot of respect and I still have a bit of work to do before I’ll be able to master that event on the track.

SB: You're still a rookie on the pro circuit in many ways, so lets learn a little about you. How did you first get into distance running? What's been your evolution as a runner?

CR: Honestly, I just love to run. Running was my first passion — the first sport where I really found my calling. I loved to get out the door and explore my physical and mental limits.

I grew up in Davis, California and was always really active. I played a lot of soccer, swam, and dabbled in ballet.  My dad was a serious recreational marathoner and I started riding with him on training runs the second I learned to ride my bike without training wheels! I really admired his dedication to his training and was in complete awe every time he finished a marathon. Honestly, I just wanted to be part of that running world.  My mom was the captain of the gymnastics team at UC Berkeley so I’ve got some athletic genes.  My parents have always built me up as a runner and have empowered me to pursue my dreams.

I had some early success at my junior high races, but I fell hard for the sport during my freshman year at Davis Senior High School.  I loved the team aspect of cross country and had an amazing mentor in Coach Bill Gregg. He’s incredible. He is passionate about the sport and is invested in all of his athletes.  Bill believes in long-term development so I was never burned out or over trained. In high school I discovered that hard work leads to tangible success and I loved the feeling of a breakthrough race. A fourth place finish in 4:47 at the California State Meet highlighted my high school career.  I was pretty set on pursuing the 1500 meters in college.

Although I struggled with injuries at Cal, Coach Tony Sandoval always encouraged me to stick with the sport. He would say, “you have greatness within you. It might not show when you want, but eventually good things happen to good people. Eventually things will work out.” I also worked really closely with Ann Detmer my senior year at Cal.  She helped me to see myself as a strength runner, and convinced me to strive for success in cross country and in the 5k. She is an amazing woman and coach and empowered me to pursue running after college.

Since graduating from College, I’ve learned that my body can handle quite a bit more work.  We’ve gradually increased my mileage and I’m learning to embrace longer workouts and tempos. For a long time I just wanted to be a miler. Now I want to be competitive at everything distance – from the 1500 to the marathon one day! Magda is helping me to become a versatile and balanced athlete. We are looking to explore a variety of distances on the track, roads, and cross country course. We’re trying not to set any limits!

Quick Six

SB: Favorite TV show?

CR: Thirty Rock. Tina Fey is phenomenal. She’s so witty and has a great edge.

SB: Top song on your playlist?

CR: Brian and I listen to a lot of Aerosmith on the way to workouts.  So probably “Dream On” at the moment.

SB: Long run, speed work or tempo run?

CR: All of the above! I just love to train hard and push my limits across the board.   We really believe that you have to master all aspects of training in order to excel at this level.  I just moved to Marin, though, so I have been digging long runs on Mt.Tam. The mountain is stunning.

SB: Shoes you train in?

CR: Saucony Mirage

SB: Favorite snack food?

CR: Any type of nut butter! I could eat almond butter by the spoonful…

SB: Best part of living in California?

CR: The Bay Area has it all! I truly believe that this is one of the best places to train.  We have gorgeous trails, marked bike paths, and phenomenal weather year round.  We’re also only a three-hour drive to Tahoe, so altitude training is extremely accessible.