Patrick Rizzo has one heck of a support team, including 5 guys he trains with on a regular basis that will toe the line next to him. Rizzo shares what a typical day looks like for him, how he stays healthy, and who will be in Houston screaming his name along the course.
Runners Feed: Take us through a typical day of your life …
RF: Do you work full or part-time while training? If so, what do you do? If not, what has kept you afloat while you pursue your dream?
RZ: Although my basics are covered by Mizuno, who I am fortunate to have partnered with since early 2010, I still have to put food on the table and live a “normal” life. I technically work part-time, but most of the year I wind up covering 30-45 hours a week. I work at a great store called the Runner’s Roost in Denver and although you’ll find me working the retail floor a bulk of the time, I do a lot of working at special events as well (we host the CO state track and cross-country championship, have about 8 booths at the Denver marathon expo, host numerous triathlons, etc.) with another North Central College alumnus who I first worked with when he was my grad assistant 6 years ago there. We have a great dynamic and work is something I really enjoy. I think that even if I was making enough off of running alone, I would still need to get out and interact on a daily basis. I’m just thankful that I can do so at the same time as getting new runners inspired to love the same sport that fuels my dreams.
RF: What do you do on a regular basis to make sure you toe the line healthy?
RZ: I used to get treatments (chiropractic and massage) a lot more regularly than I do now. Now all I do is massage every other week or every 3 weeks. I tend to keep myself really low maintenance and especially so when I know I’m race fit. Early in training, I need those deep massages and stuff. But as my body gets more resistant to the pounding I give it, I don’t go quite as regularly. I would also argue that not having a ton of disposable income forces me to just take better care of myself the whole way too.
RF: My onsite support team will include…
RZ: My parents, my sister, and my nephew are making the trip from Chicago to Houston. That’s very special for me to be able to have a piece of my core support, those who have really been there since I started running back in high school, coming to support me. I know a few close friends from Michigan and Colorado are coming as well.
One of the “secret weapons” coming out is the group I’ve trained with to get to this day. We have 6 of us, all who are training under Brad Hudson in Boulder, that will be toeing the line together. You can bet that we’re all competing with each other, but it helps a lot to know that we are also going to have one another to key off of and work together with as well.
RF: How will you be decorating your bottles to make them easily recognizable?
RZ: I use red, white, and blue electrical tape. The only times I use anything different are in the Chicago Marathon, I use green, white, and red going through Little Italy. It always gets the crowd going as I run through.
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