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You never really think about what happens after the Olympics - you're just like, 'I want to compete. I want to do well' and thinking about that. After it all happened, it was such a whirlwind. I've gotten to do so many amazing things. My favorite thing was getting into acting.

The big picture is the Trials and Olympics. I just have to keep focused for that, keep moving forward.

You dream about the Olympics for so long and you have that one day, then it's over, and when you don't run well there is this huge letdown. It took me years to deal with that. I feel like I almost had to cleanse myself of that experience.

But it is nice to know that you have other races lined up, because sometimes you can get so focused on your next marathon that it can become kind of unhealthy in some ways. So it's nice to have something else to slap you in the face and say, all right, there is life after the Olympics.

I'm going to keep living my life the way I've been living my life, and nothing is going to change that even if the Olympics are coming up.

I really feel like that concept of enjoying the now and not worrying about the future is what my coach has been trying to teach me for 14 years - and that is what has made me such a different athlete 10 years later, and that is what has made me strong enough mentally to make this Olympic team.

You learn a lot from your first Olympic Games experience. Everyone thinks they're prepared, but you never are.

The Olympics are a world apart from racing for a record. You put out of your mind pretty much what anyone else doing in the race.

I didn't really ever dream of going to the Olympics until after 2012.