Today’s guest is Val Constien. CITIUS MAG had her on the show about two months ago, and that episode sets things up perfectly for more context on her comeback from a torn ACL last year. We really enjoyed hearing from the listeners that they felt more invested in Val’s comeback and were overjoyed to see her running well at the Prefontaine Classic and at the Trials after knowing more about her.

At the Trials, Val put together one of the best races of the entire 10 days. She won the women’s steeplechase in 9:03 – which moved her to No. 3 on the all-time list behind Courtney Frerichs and Emma Coburn in an epic race that we encourage people to watch on YouTube. Val qualified for her second U.S. Olympic team and she will be joined in Paris by Courtney Wayment and Marisa Howard.

In this episode, we unpack that U.S. Olympic Trials final and then look ahead toward Paris, where Val is thinking that she has a shot at a medal.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Val Constien | @valerieconstien on Instagram

The following interview excerpt has been edited lightly for clarity. You can listen to the full interview with Val Constien on the CITIUS MAG Podcast – available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.

CITIUS MAG: I think most people, when you ask them what is the race they’re still thinking about from the Olympic trials, a lot would say the women's 1500m meter final, and a lot would say the women's 3000m steeplechase. You guys delivered with the theatrics and the drama, and you were at the front of it all. So what are your thoughts now that you've had time to process the race?

Val Constien: Yeah, I mean, a 9:03 is really fast. And I think it's easy to just be like, “Oh, it was just another race, whatever.” There are still Americans who are faster than me, but 9:03 is a really big deal. And I think that I needed to take time to let that sink in, kind of like you were saying, to be like, “Wow, I'm really fast, on a global scale.” I don't even think that there are that many women globally yet who have run much faster than 9:03. It's been a huge confidence booster, but now it's time to shift the mentality of how I go into races in the future.

CITIUS MAG: The winning time at the Paris Diamond League was 9:03.68, and you ran faster at the Trials. Has that part of everything settled into the fact that now when you sign up for these races, you would be in contention for the win?

Val Constien: Yeah, it's still kind of crazy to think about, but I mean, I was even looking back at the Pre Classic where I ran 9:14. Sure, the winner ran 8:55 which is amazing. But I think the second-place woman ran 9:00 flat and the third-place woman ran 9:06, something like that. And so it is actually really cool to reflect on these things. I mean, winning a Diamond League meet would be amazing. Winning a World Championship would be amazing, or at least medaling, or finishing top four. And so that's kind of been the huge shift, like, “Okay, I'm going to the Olympics, probably with maybe like the sixth fastest time going in, and if I can run a few seconds faster, I mean, why can't I medal at the Olympics?” So that's kind of a really cool thing to think about.

CITIUS MAG: And now to think of sub 9:00, or even just creeping up on like that 9:00 flat territory… What do you think needs to be done to really sharpen up on that speed or that closing, you know, that last 1K in practice for that to be possible at the Olympics?

Val Constien: I think that everything that I have done, and everything that because all of the workouts that I have done, were pretty much just going to copy-paste those moving forward because they've worked and they're a good stimulus. I might be like a second per lap faster in certain workouts, which will be exciting, but we're not going to switch things up too much. We're just going to keep the formula the same. And I think the biggest thing that's going to help me get sub 9:00 is just the mental game, I just have to have the confidence and I have to put myself in it. I mean, at the Trials, in the final, I put myself in it. I think that maybe in the first lap or two, I was a little bit buried. But then I got myself right out of that pack and up into the second or third position for pretty much the whole race. And so I have to have a very similar race strategy going into the final at the Olympics and just put my nose in it.

CITIUS MAG: I think the first word that comes to mind to describe you as a racer, is just pure competitor. I feel like there are people who obviously thrive more in that time trial setting and taking it out from the front and just going wire to wire. But for you, just in observing each of your races so far this season, you thrive in just being in that competitor mode where it's "I'm trying to beat the person next to me."

Val Constien: Yeah, 100 percent. I mean, I've had races in the past where I've been told like, “Oh, you're the best one in the field. So just, you know, go out there and time trial it.” But now that I'm a pro and I can get into good races, I don't really like to race like a time trial. I'd rather just sit in the pack and practice racing because sure, those time trial-style races can produce really fast times. I mean, we saw that in the 1500m, in Paris, when Faith Kipyegon kind of just went to the front and dominated it for the most part, and Jessica Hull latched on and was able to run really fast, too. And even in the 1500m at the trials, Elle Purrier St. Pierre went to the front of the 1500m and just paced it, and they ran freakishly fast. And so I think that there's a time and a place for that.

But for me, the most important thing is practicing winning and practicing trying to win. Because at the end of the day, like, yeah, PRs are awesome. And running super fast is great, but people aren't going to say like, “Oh, well, 9:03, the third fastest time.” They're going to say “Val won,” right? And so for me, I just want to try to win. That's all I care about. I don't even care if we run slow because I just want to win.

CITIUS MAG: Was there anything else about the way that that steeple final unfolded that really surprised you, that maybe we probably haven't picked up on? I've gone back and rewatched it 2 or 3 times because it's just so thrilling from start to finish.

Val Constien: I think that there were a few things that surprised me, a few performances that I thought, holy smokes, that's amazing. And a few performances where I was like, that's a bummer that they couldn't run to their potential – Krissy Gear dropped out of the race, which I thought was very unfortunate because she ran a 9:12 last year and, you know, she's an amazing racer and a wonderful person. And it would have been even more interesting had she been in the mix with 400m to go also.

Madie Boreman didn't have the best race ever, because I think that Madie totally could get into the sub-9:20 group. I believe it because she's so good technically and she's so fit. And so I hope that Madie, maybe she can turn around and do another race this year and try to run fast. And then obviously, Marisa Howard, I mean, we all know that she's good, right? She's been to how many Olympic trials? And she always shows up and she always gets like top 8. Like I think she was 5th in 2021. And then even at U.S. Championships, she’s always in the top 10, right? She always has a good day and runs fast. And we knew that she was ready for a breakout because a lot of women after they have a baby… we were talking after the race and she was like, “Oh yeah, the pain of a steeplechase is nothing after I gave my natural birth.” I'm thinking, “Oh my gosh, she's built different.” And honestly, Olivia Markezich too, the fact that she's just some college kid who's just hanging in there with the best women in the United States is also incredible. And I think that the way she raced was super gutsy. I think we can expect really great things from Olivia in the next couple of years. And even Gabbi Jennings, too. I mean, the girl ran a 9:12, she had a huge personal best.

And so I think that we just saw so many people in that race run so out of their minds fast. It's just really inspiring.

CITIUS MAG: Here's a thought – is this the strongest team we've ever sent to an Olympics? In a way, it is kind of crazy to say when this team doesn't include legends like Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs, but the times speak for themselves and in general, just the strength it took to break through and make this top three.

Val Constien: Yeah, I agree, I mean obviously, you know, Emma Coburn was the watermark, right? For 15 years she's been the watermark. And what she did to pave the way for this sport obviously can't ever be forgotten. And she's been the inspiration for hundreds of female athletes in her, you know, 15 years in the sport. And obviously, Courtney Frerichs has the American record and is an absolute beast in her own right. But I think that to say that this year was less competitive, I think is just incredibly insulting to all of the women who ran so insanely fast. This is the deepest it's ever been. And so I think that when those two eventually do come back, we're going to see even more competition and it's going to be even crazier.

CITIUS MAG: So the next couple weeks, now that you're back to being healthy, what does that look like?

Val Constien: It's just back to the regular training. I don't really do anything crazy, and I'm not going to do anything crazy. Before the trials, I was doing one steeplechase workout a week and then maybe a 5K-specific workout, some strides, and a hard, long run. And the only big thing that's going to change is that I'm going to be heat training a lot more aggressively.

I have a heat training protocol where right now I have to run in a t-shirt and a long sleeve for everything. So even today, for the workout, I wore the long-sleeved shirt for most of it. And then it wasn't until like the last 2K where I just got too hot and I had to take it off. But then I'm going to add a rain jacket next week to kind of lock everything in, and then a week before I leave, I'll start running in sweatpants or tights.

It's not fun, but it makes a huge difference. And I've been using the sauna at the rec center since February, basically 3 or 4 days a week. And so I already have some adaptation where it's not too bad, but there's only one way to adapt to the heat and that's to suffer. So I just have to be prepared to do that.

CITIUS MAG: Does the feeling of being an Olympian now that is official for you feel different this time around than it did in 2021?

Val Constien: Tokyo was also kind of a weird pandemic bubble Olympics. And so even though it was really, really cool, there were a lot of Olympic experiences that I didn't get to do. My family couldn't come to watch, my coaches couldn't come, and I couldn't really interact with other athletes. I couldn't go into the city at all to explore. I couldn't even stay for the closing ceremonies, even though it was only 2 or 3 days after my race. And so there was just like a lot more to be desired.

And so that obviously didn't help with the imposter syndrome that I was experiencing because everyone was like, “Oh, she was just lucky to make that team. Oh, she was just a flash in the pan, you know? She'll never get any better.” That was just tough. But going into Paris, I think it's going to be a totally different experience. Because if everyone's going to be there and get to interact with people and explore and participate in Olympic activities. But also at the end of the day, it's just another race and I just have to treat it like any other race. Because I'm such a strong racer, I can't put this race up on a pedestal. I have to be very level-headed about it. Like, “Okay, this is my race strategy. I'm racing women who are really fast, but I'm really fast. It's just another race.”

Time Stamps:

• 5:35 - Getting COVID and what life has looked like for Val after the U.S. Olympic Trials.
• 7:46 - Initial reactions after qualifying for her second U.S. Olympic team and her hopes to medal at the Olympics.
• 9:12 - Her expectations and training breakdown going into the Trials.
• 10:47 - How she plans to adjust training in between the Trials and the Olympics.
• 12:14 - What was going through her head during the steeplechase final.
• 14:39 - How she approaches racing.
• 16:17 - Her reaction to running 9:03.22.
• 17:29 - Her analysis of the current state of the women’s 3000m steeplechase.
• 23:40 - Her reaction to being third on the U.S. all-time list.
• 25:59 - How she thinks the Olympics will play out.
• 26:19 - The details of her heat training protocol leading up to Paris.
• 27:48 - Her excitement about the sunglasses she is going to wear in Paris.
• 28:58 - Comparing her Tokyo Olympics experience to her feelings going into Paris.