Shannon’s 1500 Final – SPOILER ALERT

If you are hoping to watch the 1500 Final on TV and not know the result, then read no further.

I’m not kidding…you’ve been warned….

Well, it wasn’t the race we were all dreaming would happen.  But life and especially athletics are not a fairy tale stories that you get to script.  Shannon gave it a good run and ended up 7th.  Crazy how that is a bit of a letdown?!  I got an e-mail from Ruth Wysocki (1984 Olympian in the 1500) that said Shannon’s 7th is the highest finish by an American in Olympic 1500 history (she thinks).  7th in the Olympics!  Wow!

Shannon was well positioned in 4th/5th for the first 2 laps but unfortunately it was a slow pace (65 and 68 for 2:13 at the 800). That meant it was a large pack together at this 4:03 pace. In my opinion, it would have been better if the race were strung out a bit at a faster (4:00) pace.

Quick track strategy lesson for those who are asking “if Shannon wanted a 4:00 pace, why didn’t she go out and lead the race at that pace since she knows she can run that fast?” The answer is that it takes a lot of energy to lead a race (physical and mental) and to lead the pack at that pace usually (99% of the time) leads to others passing you and running 4:00 and you fading to a 4:06.

Back to tonight’s race.  With 500 to go Jamul surged hard.  I thought that was the key moment and Shannon had to respond.  Unfortunately a gap opened between Shannon in 4th and the top 3.  But it wasn’t over.  Shannon kept fighting.  Others were with her.  And sometime in the last 200, a Kenyan runner took the lead and Jamul (the big big favorite) fell back to 5th.  Shannon was 7th in 4:03.58.

I haven’t talked to Shannon yet.  She smiled and waved at the camera when she was introduced so it appears she was relaxed and enjoying the moment.  I watched through binoculars as she did an interview after the race and she seemed to be smiling and at the end got the interviewer to laugh, too.  The only thing better than her running ability is her class act!

Her plans after the Olympics were to stay overseas (Europe) and run a couple more races.  I think this will be good international experience for her.

It was an emotional day.  I read a great e-mail blast from SHCP letting the whole community know about the 1500 Final.  Then I was in the middle of reading the e-mail I mentioned in the other post, thanking me for coaching her and saying all kinds of nice things about how Shannon represents everyone who’s ever run for me, etc. when Shannon called me.  It was a real honor to get to talk to her and give her some advice the morning of her race.

Well, 2 more days left in China.  We were originally going to watch the men’s marathon on TV but I just scouted the course on the map and I think we can easily get to a couple spots on the course between 25-35K so we are going to get up early and see what we can see.  We still have Summer Palace, Peking Duck for dinner, watching the Closing Ceremonies on TV, shopping at Silk Street, seeing the Olympic Village with Shannon, and seeing if there are any Olympic souvenir sales the day after on our to do list.  It’s been a great trip but Malinda and I are both looking forward to going home.  This travel stuff in a foreign country and not speaking the language is tiring!  But I wouldn’t have missed this for the world!

Not sure if we’ll be sending out any more messages.  If I don’t send any more messages, thanks for reading.  It has been a memorable few weeks and it’s been very special to share the memories with our closest family and friends – our immediate families, the SHCP community, and the Pamakids Runners.  I look forward to sharing Olympic stories with another of my extended families when I get home – my current Irish cross country and track & field teams!

The SHC Family

One of many group pictures between 1999-2002 when Shannon and Jessica were both on the SHC teams together

It’s the morning of Shannon’s Olympic Final.  I just received this email from Jessica Lau (SHC class of 2003), who also ran cross country and track and field for the Irish.

 “Tomorrow, as Shannon runs, she is not only representing the U.S., but she is representing all of us who have run under your leadership, all of our hopes and dreams. She represents every single person who has a vision, a dream, and has had the power and commitment to make that a reality, despite all challenges. She is a symbol that every person can make the impossible possible, that everyone, under great leadership and care, can fly. As she runs, we are all running with her, we are all cheering with you, because you have taught us how to be a true team. And I cheer on her greatness, her accomplishments, which are also yours and mine, and I thank you for all that you have done for so many people—for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself and for teaching me how to be a leader, how to dream, how to create my own reality, how to stand in my power, and how to hold every single person I meet to their greatness.”

 I was all teary-eyed from Jessica’s touching email, and then my cell phone rang—it was Shannon calling. Talk about an amazing moment I’ll never forget.

Good luck, Shannon, and thanks, Jessica!

Shannon’s 1500 Semi-Final

We had computer troubles last night after Shannon’s 1500 and were unable to send out anything. 

Seeing Shannon competing for the first time in the “Bird’s Nest” stadium in Beijing, in the 1500 semifinal evoked a lot of emotions for me.  It’s hard to believe this is all happening. I almost can’t believe I am here, halfway around the world.  There are 91,000 spectators here in the Bird’s Nest, and the energy level is extremely high. I don’t think I ever dreamed I would be at a meet like this, cheering for someone I know so well. I love that I had a nervous feeling in my stomach all day long. Although I’ve been anticipating this moment for a long time, I almost don’t want it to end. Shannon’s Olympics were about to begin.

Before Shannon’s race, she jumped up and down three times. Nothing unusual, just part of her routine. Other athletes went through their typical prerace routines, too, I’m sure. But Shannon’s three jumps just warmed my heart. I’ve seen her jump up and down three times before a race hundreds of times. She’s done it at SI, at Los Gatos, at Crystal Springs. Tonight she did it at the Bird’s Nest.

By now I assume it is pretty old news that she qualified for the 1500 Final.  She was in the 3rd heat and her heat was by far the fastest.  She came in 4th and qualified on time. 

What’s most interesting is that of the 10 so-called medal contenders that I publicized on my chart, only 3 are still standing (guess I am not so expert).  The 3 Russians were DQ’ed for doping a month ago, 2 did not enter the 1500, and 2 did not qualify out of the semi-final.  The big three are Shannon, Jamul (Bahrain), Lishchynka (Ukraine).  Of course there are 9 other women in the race chasing those precious medals, too.  I am hoping for a fast pace….if the leaders are on 3:59-4:01 pace, I think Shannon can beat some people by being faster than them.  If it’s a slow pace, anything can happen and things like international experience and your final kick speed become more important.  We’ll see.  It’s pretty exciting to be here thinking about the possibilities.

Malinda and I made a banner to wave around at the Bird’s Nest.  We bought the material on Wed and then Thur morning had to go running in the rain to the Chinese equivalent of Target to get permanent markers to finish our art project. 

We have an award for the first person to correctly indentify what the Chinese characters in the bottom mean.  Any Chinese readers out there?  E-mail your answers.  Feel free to guess but just one guess per person.

Some other track & field/Olympic comments:
- We can’t believe both the men and women’s 4X1 dropped the baton.  It was ugly and pretty embarrassing as all the foreigners in the stands around us were giving us a hard time.  I came up with the idea that the US should send the NCAA champion 4X1 team to the Olympics/World Championships.  Let the Tyson Gay’s concentrate on their individual events and let a college team that works together on the relay all year and would be willing to focus all their energy on just the relay, run it.
- The 1-2-3 US sweep in the 400 was bizarre because Jeremy Wariner was clearly disappointed and did not fake being happy very well.  
- The men’s 200 from a couple days ago had a ton of controversy.  Usain Bolt’s WR 19.30 was easily 1st and again amazing.  But the original 3rd place (US’s Spearman) was DQ’ed for stepping on the line.  The US protested.  While reviewing the protest officials decided that the original 2nd place (Charunday something) should also be DQ’ed.  So Americans Crawford and Dix (originally 4th and 5th across the line) were awarded the silver and bronze.  Both looked awkward and uncomfortable on the medal stand.
- Today (Fri), we saw some boxing and volleyball.  The men’s volleyball semi-final (Brazil over Italy) was quite exciting as the fans for both sides kept singing/cheering throughout the match.

Well, I am off to bed now.  Sat is going to be a big day.  Shannon races at 7:50pm Beijing time, so 4:50am in SF.  I am not sure when it will be broadcast.  Shannon’s mom told me that NBC did an interview with Shannon the other day so if that interview hasn’t been shown yet, maybe it will be part of the lead-in to the 1500 Final race coverage.  It’s hard to believe this is all happening.  I met Shannon about 10 years ago this week.  I was in my first weeks as the SHC cross country coach and she was a freshman who decided to come out for the sport, despite having no running experience.  And 10 years later she’s running the Olympic Final and I am in China to see it!

Olympic Update: It’s Time to Storm

I just borrowed Shannon’s latest SFGate blog title.  It is quite appropriate.  Her first Olympic race is in less than 24 hours.  Malinda and I had lunch at the Noodle Loft with her, her friend, and parents on Tue.  Tonight (Wed), we talked on the phone….I have called her many times in my life but never to wish her luck the night before an Olympic race so I wanted to do that tonight.  I told her about my planned call to the SHC faculty and staff meeting on Thur and the possible 4:00.33 time trial at Kezar Thur night by Coach John Spriggs…..she definitely thought it was all cool.  After all the anticipation, it all comes down to the next 72 hours.  The beauty is that although the Olympic experience has been different, she is a veteran at handling herself the last 72 hours before a major race.

Heat sheets for the Aug 21 1500 races are here:
http://www.iaaf.org/oly08/results/eventCode=3659/racedate=08-21-2008/sex=W/discCode=1500/combCode=hash/roundCode=h/startlist.html#det

We’ve been here 2 1/2 weeks now.  Some things we have gotten used to:
- The large number of people everywhere you go (especially on the subway) and all the time.
- No 4th floor at most places (the number 4 is unlucky in Chinese).
- The fact that we are paying 2 RMB (28 cents) to ride the subway and 1 RMB (14 cents) to ride the bus.  That is when we are paying.  On days we have Olympic tickets, public transportation is free.
- Across town taxis are 70-80 RMB (or approx $10).
- The high concentration level that it takes to safely cross the street, avoiding collisions with bikes, mopeds, cars, buses, and other pedestrians.
- We are also getting used to (but not liking) hearing the Olympic theme song almost non-stop and watching 95% China athletes when watching Olympic coverage on TV.

A few things have been surprising:
- There’s no good food at the track meet….no garlic fries and polish hot dogs (I miss AT&T park)!
- The Chinese are missing some great consumer opportunities – they are not selling a meet program at the track and the souvenirs are actually reasonably priced.  They actually close the gift shops early to get people to leave – talk about missing the boat from a money-making perspective.
- Most restaurants close at 9pm.  We’ve had to search for food after the meet (Ramen noodles the first night).  We attempted to get Peking Duck last night but arrived a couple minutes past 9 and were denied.

Sightseeing
- We’ve gone shopping with Monica Z, been to the Forbidden City with Frank, and eaten numerous meals with Tower and his family.
- Tonight we saw some Chinese Acrobats perform.
- We’ve become regulars at the Hometown Hopefuls Hospitality area.  The free massages, meals, and ice cream keep bringing us back.
- We’ve become real pin traders.  I had plans to trade pins all along but it was slow getting started.  But while shopping at the official Olympic souvenir store (picture IKEA), the women working kept stopping me and asking to trade pins that I had on my lanyard.  Since then we’ve been on a roll.  The Chinese love this Tyson chicken pin that we picked up at the Trials in Eugene.  We were literally mobbed at a department store today because of our pins. 

Track & Field
- Mon night we saw a world record in the pole vault by Yelena Isinbaeva, which was a real highlight.
- We’ve also become buddies with Shalane Flanagan’s mom, Cheryl (herself a former World Record holder in the marathon).  We seem to bump into her everywhere.  Talk about a modest mom….you really have to drag it out of her that her daughter won a bronze medal in the 10,000.
- But the best track story so far comes from Frank.  He was watching the women’s marathon on Sunday and started running around with a group to watch the race unfold.  After awhile it was just him and another guy who could keep up.  Turns out that “other fast guy” was Magdalena’s husband Richie (sub-4 minute miler) Boulet.  Frank did not say if he told Richie he was the Pamakid club record holder in the mile race walk.  But it will be pretty cool when at the next PA race, Frank can go up to Richie at the start line and say, “Hey remember me?  We ran around together in Beijing and you gave me a ticket for the finish of the marathon in the Bird’s Nest.”

Well, if you can’t tell, we are having a great time (it is our honeymoon).  I have this excited/nervous feeling in my stomach for Shannon’s races, which is also nice.  We bought some fabric to make a banner and tomorrow we are going looking for red and blue sharpies.  Look for us on TV….we’ll be the obnoxious Americans screaming our heads off for Shannon and waving our Go Shannon banner from the 3rd tier of the stadium.

First time to an Olympic Track Meet

Me and Lopez Lomong outside the Bird's Nest

Malinda and I are having our first Olympic experiences.  On Sat night we watched the Men’s 100 on TV.  Even in Chinese, Usain Bolt was fast!  9.69 and he was celebrating the last 20-30 meters.  You won’t see an SHC sprinter not running through the finish line like that!  Then Sun morning we were able to watch the Women’s marathon on TV.  Too bad about Deena and Magda.

We came back into Beijing and on our way to pick up some more tickets we see an American woman walking on the street and Malinda goes “Is that Shalane’s mom?”  Shalane, as in bronze medalist and American Record holder Shalane Flanagan.  Because Shalane has the same coach as Shannon, we’ve gotten to know Shalane’s mom.  So standing on a street in the middle of Beijing we got a first hand account from mom on her daughter’s 10,000.  Shalane’s mom is a former World Record holder in the marathon so she knows the sport but still, you could feel her excitement and pride in her daughter.  It was very cool.

We rushed to the Bird’s Nest on Sun night to catch our first Olympic competition.  What a place!  I’ll have some flip videos to show when we get home.  Bolt’s medal ceremony, World Record in the Women’s Steeplechase, 1-2-3 sweep in the Women’s 100 by Jamaica, Lagat not making it to the 1500 Final, more hammer and triple jump than I’ve ever watched, and a 2nd straight 10,000 meter gold by Bekele (53 last lap; Gebriesallasie gave it a good fight, led for a lap late but faded to 6th).  The Jamaicans and the Ethiopians were going nuts in the stands when their athletes did well.  All very cool.  On the way out we spotted a crowd of Chinese around a tall black man…..it was Lopez Lomong (US 1500 runner, US flag bearer for the Opening Ceremonies, and one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” of HBO documentary fame – Shannon seems to be good friends with him).  I like Lopez a lot so it was nice to get a picture with him and shake his hand (I told him he did a good job holding the flag).

According to the IAAF schedule (www.iaaf.org), there is no Women’s 1500 prelim on Aug 19….so I think it is cancelled.  This iaaf website is the best place for schedules and results.  If you have time, enter their fantasy league – maybe you can beat the Track Widow or the Chanman.

We’re in a Holiday Inn Express with free internet (and laundry – thank God), so time permitting there should be some good updates coming.  I’m almost disappointed Shannon’s 1st round race was cancelled…I am getting anxious to see her race in the Olympic Games!

Thoughts During a 12 Hour Plane Ride

One of the many special moments between an athlete and a coach

I can’t believe we’re here in China. This trip has always seemed so far away. It’s been months and months of talking about this trip. When it started years ago, it was just an idea.  Then in January, when we booked the trip, it was a great honeymoon with the possibility that Shannon would make the Olympic team (she was “an underdog trying to sneak in” at that point). In May when she ran 4:01, things changed and there was now a good chance she would make it. But even when she qualified at the Trials on July 6, it didn’t really sink in. This last week, when I started saying “we leave on Saturday,” it finally sunk in.

Lots of great coaches who run terrific programs and have coached a long time, never get a 2-time State champion athlete like Shannon on their team. It seems almost unfair that I got to coach Shannon my first 4 years as a head coach.

Lots of high school champions do not go on to collegiate success and even less continue on as professional runners.

There are many professional athletes who are not Olympians or US Olympic Trials champions. And many Olympians who are not medal contenders.

That’s what’s incredible. I feel blessed and fortunate that these things have all happened and that I am still involved in helping Shannon.

Other coaches (especially high school coaches) really understand how cool and amazing this is. I feel genuine happiness for how proud I am feeling. It’s been so much fun to share how I am feeling with people like Margi Beima, Coach Fran, Ed Nevus, and Tony Kauke. And I’ve never had so many people wish me safe travels!

As a coach, my goal is to have a successful program. You do the best job you can with every kid and every team. The passion and hard work you put into it often gets unnoticed – but that’s okay because the reward is the relationship you build with the kids. Whether or not Shannon ever came along, I think I’m a pretty good coach with a pretty good program at SHCP. I do the same things today that I did when I coached Shannon (OK, maybe I can’t keep up with my varsity runners like I did ten years ago – that age thing!). Thanks to Shannon’s accomplishments I’ve been recognized and thanked a lot lately. I admit it’s been real nice but again I think a lot of this has been just good luck on my part.

Those are the thoughts I’ve been having (following 12 hours on a plane!). I’ll end by sharing with you what I told Shannon on Friday: Thanks for bringing me along on this great journey!

Interview with Doug Speck (www.dyestatcal.com)

Questions basically on what has allowed her to improve so significantly in last couple of years:

1) What has been the support system for Shannon that has allowed her to focus on her running in the last year?

I’m glad you asked this.  Shannon is always very quick to mention how although it’s her out there running, her success is only because of the tremendous support team that she has.

Her support system team starts with her coach, John Cook.  He’s the man coaching her.  She is also fortunate to work with some excellent people who help her with other aspects of being an elite runner.  Dan Pfaff has helped her with drills and strength exercises and Greg Dale with sport psychology.  Amol Saxena (podiatrist), Leonard Stein (chiropractor), and Lani Green (massage therapist) are also involved in keeping her healthy and able to train and race hard.  When she was injured last year she used an Alter-G treadmill, which allowed her to comeback sooner.  Her agent, Peter Stubbs Management, and people from her sponsor Nike are also very involved in helping her.

The other part of her support team are her parents, family & friends, and I guess, me.  Her parents love that she is successful and are enjoying the ride but never pressure her and are always there to support her with whatever she needs.  Among those supporting her are members of my running club, the Pamakid Runners, who have gotten to know Shannon over the years.  Also, her alma mater, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory.  Everyone at school is very excited for Shannon and she is allowed to use the Fitness Center when she is in SF.  Because she spent some time with my cross country team last fall, my current athletes feel like they know her and are very much excited to follow her.  There were five SHCP alumni, who made the trip to Eugene for the Olympic Trials.  She’s also made some great friends along the way, people that help her design a website, give her positive publicity, make her team shirts, hang out with her and distract her from the pressures of running, etc.  My role with her of late has been to help her get Coach Cook’s workouts in and to be a sounding board for ideas and planning.

2) What personality or psychological characteristics does Shannon have that have made it possible for her to feel comfortable in moving from the top of the NCAA stage to near the top of the World stage as we approach the Olympics?

She’s competitive and that’s important.  But also, she has a real positive healthy outlook.  She puts and keeps things in perspective.  She analyzes both the good and bad from a workout or race and then moves on, not dwelling on a negative or becoming complacent because of success.  She concerns herself with things that are in her control.

She does not and never has concerned herself with rankings, competitors’ PR’s or records.  She focuses on competing against whoever is in the race and lets the times take care of themselves. 

3) What areas of her athletic development do you think have made it possible for her to make such significant improvements in her times–are there specific areas of training that have been focused on or is it just continued overall development through training?

Not being a full-time student has been a big difference for her.  For the first time, she can devote all her energy into running.  She is getting great coaching from John Cook, who has experience with runners at her level.  Her two training partners when they go to altitude or meet for training are fellow Olympians Shalane Flanagan and Erin Donohue.  As a result she is getting challenging workouts with a real emphasis on some ancillary training like strength work, hurdle drills, etc.  She also is able to devote time to an often overlooked aspect of training, which is proper recovery – both in terms of nutrition and massage, ice bath, stretching, etc.

4) Where do you see Shannon going as a runner after the Olympics?  Does she seem to have motivation to take this whole scene years into the future?

My wife, Malinda, and I recently marked our calendars for 2009 Berlin, 2011 Korea, 2012 London, and 2013 Moscow….so I even though you never know, I guess we think there’s a good chance Shannon will be continue to be competing internationally for awhile.  Hopefully the past few months is just the beginning.  She is only 23 years old.  She has fun running and as long as that continues I think she’ll want to keep going as a professional runner.