Guest Blog: Fantasy Track Camp
San Luis Potosi - elevation: 6,100 feet.
Since 2008 Andy and I have spent pretty much all vacations, certainly all major vacations, traveling to watch our favorite Olympian compete. We’ve been to Eugene, Oregon countless times, and Des Moines, Iowa to watch the national championships; China (not just Beijing) for the Olympics; and Berlin, Germany, and Daegu, South Korea for the World Championships. We’re planning to be in London for this year’s Olympics. From all this track related travel, and because I live with the Chanman, I’ve learned a thing or two about professional athletes. This holiday season I learned a bit more by spending a week at elevation at “Fantasy Track Camp.” At some point when Shannon was planning her winter elevation training she invited Andy and I to come visit her in San Luis Potosi, we took her up on the offer.
Housemates for a week in San Luis Potosi.
I arrived in Mexico already knowing that professional athletes are focused individuals, that being the best in the world requires a lot more than just running – and that those things are very time consuming. I didn’t feel a need do any serious sight-seeing and expected that wouldn’t be on the agenda. Shannon has traveled the world to compete but her job is a lifestyle, one that doesn’t often include taking in the sights. I’m sure that Andy and I have seen more of every city we’ve traveled to, to watch her compete than she has. I arrived in serious need of some real down time, so it was easy to come without any expectations, with a fat book, and let the week just flow. Even so, I learned a couple of things from our week with the professionals.
Out for a long run.
Part of what I love about running is the adventure. I love exploring new places. I enjoy the beauty and challenge of a trail run. I don’t want to run in the same place too many days in a row. I want to see new things. Even though I understood that structure and routine are important for a professional athlete, I was still startled to discover how important. We ran eight times, in only three places – and one of those places while familiar was obviously not a regular part of the routine. We visited a very large park a number of times. I explored a different route with each visit. The others focused on accomplishing their specific workout goals on the flattest most convenient route. We went to a familiar although out of the way place for a long run. I enjoyed the scenery (as much as I could while searching for foot prints to make sure I didn’t get totally lost – since the backsides of everyone else were a distant memory). The others focused on their pace and how to run a course that minimized running into the wind. The hills I love to challenge myself with at home were something the group drove to avoid. We went to La Loma Altitude Training Center and I mixed in swimming. Bolota Asmerom was perfectly content, and consistently fast, running lap after lap after lap on the one mile trail woven between the pool, track and tennis courts.
This all makes sense. For me a run is a break from work, a physical challenge, a release from sitting in a chair, a reward in itself. When you’re training to win, and training involves: running, generally conditioning, strength, treatment, mental preparation, and recovery your goals and objectives are to get it done, done well, maybe with some free time left.
For the first time in my life, mystical “Double Days” make total sense. Since I first heard the term some fifteen years ago I’ve associated it with really hard core runners working to rack up the miles. But I lined that up with an ultra-marathoner or marathoner type of hard core. Tough. Really long. It turns out a few miles here, a few miles there, a few miles later in the day. All on the same one mile loop can add up to a substantial run. One that was less challenging and exhausting than those miles would have been all strung together. I might try this again.
Making pasta for dinner.
The last thing that startled me was diet. I expected the group to be somewhat uptight about their meals. While I would say that everyone in the house paid attention to their diet, the pros ate more meat and eggs than I do. Not uptight. They’re worried about getting the right amount of protein and other nutrition; I’m worried about keeping my cholesterol low. I felt that we all want to be the appropriate weight. The pros consistently ate small portions slowly and stopped. To win they need to; There is some pressure with this profession. I struggle with that one; I’m working on it again.
I’m so glad that Shannon, Pablo Solares, Bolota, and Nick Alvarado worked us into their routine for a week. Andy enjoyed the San Francisco and track talk. It was a gracious, generous, interesting group. We had fun, really relaxed, and I will take an even deeper perspective with me to my next professional track meet to watch my favorite runners tear it up on the oval.
Guest blog by the Track Widow
Thanks for the memories, Daegu
The 2011 World Championships have come to an end. For a track & field geek like myself, this meet is pretty much Christmas everyday for a week. I am in heaven when I am attending the World Championships. For this year’s World Championships to end with a world record was icing on the cake.
The meet itself is spread out into morning and evening sessions. Heats and qualifying rounds are run in the mornings, with semi-finals and finals in the evenings. The schedule is timed perfectly. In less than a three hour period in the evening there will be eight to ten events plus medal ceremonies. The events are spaced so perfectly that you can watch pretty much all the action on the track and in the field events. With the jumbotron screens, Seiko scoreboards on the field, and expert announcing, spectators are kept abreast of all the action as it happens. The events are timed in such a way that there is never anything happening on the track when the final attempts are made by the medal winners in the jumps and throws. That way all the attention is focused on the often overlooked field event athletes. David Storl of Germany used this attention from the fans to his advantage, throwing 21.78 meters on his last throw in the shot put to move from the silver medal to the gold medal.
I am also particularly fortunate that my wife, Malinda Walker (a.k.a. The Track Widow) is willing to foresake typical vacations to travel across the world so I can watch track & field. Our experience at these meets is enhanced thanks to the kindness of Shannon Rowbury, who does all that she can to get us access to things like the Nike hospitality area and athlete’s village. It was quite an honor to time some of her 200’s on the practice track one day during our trip.
This year’s meet in Daegu was particularly interesting because of the great seats that we had. The price of the ticket was 112,500 Won, which is in the ballpark of $112 (USD). They weren’t cheap but they were quite reasonable for where they were located. We were in the section just adjacent to the press area, right on the finish line. I had a better seat for World Championships than I did for the California High School State Meet.
From our vantage point, I was able to get to Shannon to give her a hug after her semi-final race. We could also see the look of pure joy on Jenny Barringer Simpson’s face when she realized that she had 
won the 1500. We were just yards away from Vin Lannana as he reached over a railing to congratulate Matt Centrowitz on his bronze medal. After the 200 and 4X100 relay, hundreds of fans crowded the press area hoping to get a picture or autograph of The Man, Usain Bolt. I was one of those hundred. Malinda and I proudly waved our American flag throughout the meet and I swear if we had been in row five instead of row 10, Bernard Lagat would have taken our US flag to use for his victory lap (he looked up at us and I could tell he was trying to decide if we were close enough for him to get our US flag).
In addition to the best seats I may ever have for an international championship meet, our tickets came with dinner in the Premiere Lounge every night before the meet. The same menu got a little tiresome but how could I turn down free kimchi and beer?
Sadly this year’s meet is now over and it’s time to head home. I’ll post a blog or two about the meet when I get home before I turn my attention to London 2012 and Moscow 2013.
One one-hundredth of a second
Shannon Rowbury battles Christin Wurth-Thomas at the finish of the women's 1500 meters at the 2011 USA Championships
One one hundredth of a second. That’s faster than you can blink. That’s faster than the time it takes to read the word “fast.” That can also mean the difference between qualifying for the USA team for the World Championships in Daegu and staying home.
Ten years ago in 2001, at the end of her junior year, in the middle of a rainstorm at the Adidas Outdoor National Championships, Shannon Rowbury edged out Adrienne Anderson by one one-hundredth of a second to win the 800 meter national championship, 2:12.00 to 2:12.01. That day, just like at the 2011 USA Championships today, I would be cheering on Shannon at the 200 meter to go mark and would be unable to see the finish, relying on the video scoreboard and public address announcer to find out the result.
After battling injuries this past off-season and then running two races that by her own definition were “mediocre,” Shannon arrived at the 2011 USA Championships in a different position than she has been. For the first time in the last three years, she was not one of the favorites for a top three finish.
The USA system for selecting its team for the World Championships is very objective. In a nutshell, the top three finishers in each event get to represent the USA. Having a bad race two weeks before the USA Championships doesn’t matter. You just have to get it together and be in the top three at the USA Championships. Having the fastest time so far this season does not guarantee anything. You still have to be in the top three. Having the fastest lifetime PR does not guarantee anything. You still have to be in the top three. Having the potential to improve over the next two months to be the fastest runner in the country come the week of the World Championships does not matter. It’s what you do at this meet. You have to be in the top three. Two-time USA champion? World Championship bronze medalist? Highest finish by an American woman in the Olympic 1500 meters in history? That looks good on the resume but to stamp your passport to Daegu, you still have to be in the top three.
Those were the circumstances facing Shannon and the third place spot would come down to one one-hundredth of a second.
Christin Wurth-Thomas set a blistering early pace, running 62.1 for the first lap. She built up a lead of up to thirty meters. With 300 meters to go Shannon, Morgan Uceny, and Jennifer Barringer Simpson started to go after Wurth-Thomas. Uceny would take the lead at the top of the final straightaway. Simpson would move into second place with about twenty-five meters to go. Shannon was closing ground on Wurth-Thomas. Wurth-Thomas’s form was really tying up. The question was, would Shannon run out of real estate or would she pass Wurth-Thomas to claim the third and final ticket to Daegu? From my vantage point at the 200 meters to go mark, I had no idea. I could hear the crowd gasp and the announcer say that it was too close to call. It took maybe 1500 one one-hundredths of a second (15 seconds) for the result to flash up on the scoreboard.
4:06.20 to 4:06.21. Third place and a ticket to the World Championships in Daegu….by one one-hundredth of a second. Congratulations, Shannon!
2011 USA Championships Day One – Trials
Action from heat 1 of the women's 1500 at the 2011 USA Championships
Day one of the 2011 USA Championships are done. Whew! Trials meets are very nerve-raking! As a coach and fan of the sport, I know that trials are part of the sport. But that doesn’t mean they are easy to stomach. My feeling is that nothing great can happen at trials. If you are seeded high and expected to qualify for the finals, then if you qualify it’s no big deal. If you don’t qualify, it’s pretty much a disaster. The higher one is seeded, the worse the disaster. My favorite mantra at trials meets is, “live to run again.” Championships are not won on trials day, but they can be lost.
This year alone I’ve anxiously lived through our league (WCAL) and secion (CCS) trial meets. Both those days were pretty successful with the bulk of the athletes that I coach qualifying for the next round. No one that I expected to qualify “stubbed their toe” and failed to move on.
On day one of the 2011 USA Championships, I sat in the stands nervously awaiting the women’s 1500 trials. Unlike the WCAL and CCS trials, I wasn’t on the track talking to the athletes. I was up in the stands with nothing to do but be nervous for Shannon Rowbury’s race. How many times have I told her, “All you want to do is live to run again.”?
With one lap to go, Shannon was boxed in. At about fifth place she fought her way out of the box and started moving up around the curve. With 300 meters to go she was pressing Jennifer Simpson for the lead. Then she passed Simpson and took the lead with 200 meters to go. She held the lead down the homestretch until a couple athletes inched by her. It was a blanket finish:
1 Jennifer Simpson 4:14.20
2 Gabriele Anderson 4:14.25
3 Anna Pierce 4:14.32
4 Shannon Rowbury 4:14.40
5 Treniere Moser 4:14.41
6 Jackie Areson 4:14.42
The top four were automatic qualifiers so by virtue of beating Moser and Areson by 0.01 and 0.02 seconds respectively, Shannon was automatically qualified for the final (with Simpson, Anderson, and Pierce). Moser and Areson would have to await the results of heat two to see if they qualified for the final based on time. I felt that up to eight runners in heat two could potentially break 4:14 so I would have been unbelievably nervous if Shannon were in Moser and Areson’s position. As it turned out heat two went:
1 Christin Wurth 4:08.32
2 Morgan Uceny 4:08.68
3 Katherine Follett 4:09.94
4 Brie Felnagle 4:09.95
5 Emily Infeld 4:10.02
6 Jordan Hasay 4:14.85
Wurth, Uceny, Follett, and Felnagle were automatic qualifiers from heat two with Infeld, Moser, Areson, and Hasay the four qualifiers for the final on time. Hasay beat out Lauren Hagans from heat one by one hundereth of a second, 4:14.85 to 4:14.86. That is why coaches always train athletes to run through the finish line, those hundedths of seconds can make a big difference.
Today is Friday, June 24, 2011. The 1500 meter final is tomorrow. That means the nervousness from yesterday’s trials is behind us and the sweaty palms for the final are still a day away. Today is a day to just enjoy some track & field action. But tomorrow? With a trip to the 2011 World Championships on the line and only the top three earning a spot on the team, tomorrow is bound to be filled with heartpounding excitement. Go Shannon!
Handicapping the 2011 USA Championship Women’s 1500 Meters
Action from the 2010 USA Championship women's 1500 meter final.
In order to qualify to represent the USA at the IAAF World Championships later this summer in Daegu, South Korea athletes must place in the top three at the upcoming USA Championships (June 23-26) in Eugene. One of the most intriguing events will be the women’s 1500 meters (trials on Thursday, June 23, finals on Saturday, June 25). I have a rooting interest in this event, having been Shannon Rowbury’s high school coach.
The competition in Eugene in the women’s 1500 meters will bring together possibly the best USA field in history. The third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth fastest women in US history in the 1500 are all scheduled to compete. The USA Champions from the last six years (2005-2010) will all be there. Team USA’s 1500 meter runners from the 2005, 2007, and 2009 World Championships and 2008 Olympics are all competing for a spot on the 2011 World Championship team.
In alphabetical order here are the leading contenders.
Gabrielle Anderson (PR-4:12.06)
The former University of Minnesota runner has made an amazing comeback from cancer and now runs for Team USA Minnesota. She was seventh at the 2010 USA Championships and ran her PR of 4:12.06 last summer in Europe. In 2011 she has placed third at both the USA Indoor Championships (mile) and at the USA Road Mile Championship.
Erin Donohue (PR-4:05.50)
After graduating from the University of North Carolina in 2005, Donohue has been a presence in the 1500 for the USA. She qualified for the USA team for the 2007 World Championships and the 2008 Olympics. Her PR of 4:05.55 was the fastest time by an American in 2007. She has placed third (2007), second (2008), fourth (2009), and second (2010) at the last four USA Championships. She is currently coached by Frank Gagliano.
Brie Felnagle (PR-4:08.54; 2011 best-4:10.12)
Felnage had a storied high school career at Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, Washington that included eight state championships (two in cross country, six in track & field). In college at the University of North Carolina she excelled in the 1500, winning the 2007 NCAA Championship and setting the school record (4:08.54). After college she has returned to Tacoma and is being coached by her former high school coach, Matt Ellis. She is sponsored by Adidas.
Katie Follett (PR-4:07.44, 2011 best-4:07.44)
Follett graduated from the University of Washington in 2010. During that 2010 season she ran a school record 4:10.66 at Mt Sac. She is now sponsored by Brooks and still coached by Greg Metcalf, her college coach. So far in 2011 she lowered her PR twice, winning two races against strong competition, the Payton Jordan Invitational (4:08.95) and the Oxy High Performance Meet (4:07.44).
Jordan Hasay (PR-4:10.28; 2011 best-4:10.28)
The sophomore from Oregon drew national attention when as a high school junior she qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials Final in the 1500. She set a US high school record of 4:14.50 in the semi-finals at those Olympic Trials, which got the crowd at Hayward Field to chant “Come to Oregon! Come to Oregon!” Three years later she did come to Oregon. She’s coming off the NCAA Championships where she placed fourth in the 5000 and eight in the 1500. She set her PR earlier in the 2011 season, running 4:10.28 at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford.
Amy Mortimer (PR-4:06.55)
Mortimer has quietly been the most consistent American woman in the 1500 over the last decade. Although she’s never qualified for the Olympics or World Championships she has placed in the top 10 of the USA Championships 1500 every year since 2003, when she was eighth as a senior from Kansas State. Her highest finish was third in 2005 but she failed to achieve the “A” standard and thus did not compete at the World Championships in Helsinki. Note: Mortimer has scratched from the race.
Treniere (Clement) Moser (PR-4:03.32; 2011 best-4:07.57)
The three-time USA Champion from 2005-2007 (when she went by her maiden name, Treniere Clement), Moser is making a return to the scene after some injury-plagued seasons. She is now coached by John Cook and has run 4:07.57 (1500) this year and ran an 800 best of 2:00.51 to place fourth at the 2010 USA Championships. She represented the USA at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships in the 1500 and her 4:03.32 PR is from the 2006 season.
Anna (Willard) Pierce (PR-3:59.38; 2011 best-4:10.38)
She qualified for the 2008 Olympics in the steeplechase and for a time held the American record in the steeplechase with her 9:27.59 at the 2008 Olympic Trials. In 2009 she started running more 800’s and 1500’s and qualified for the 2009 World Championships in both the steeplechase and the 1500 (she ran the 1500 only and placed sixth). She was the 2010 USA Champion in the 1500 and her PR of 3:59.38 (run in 2009) ranks her as the third fastest American of all-time.
Shannon Rowbury (PR-4:00.33; 2011 best-4:11.67)
Rowbury was the USA Champion in 2008 and 2009. She represented the USA at the 2008 Olympics (where she was seventh) and the 2009 World Championships (where she earned a bronze medal). She was third at the 2010 USA Championships. Her PR of 4:00.33 set in Paris in 2008 makes her the seventh fastest woman in US history. Rowbury is featured in the July/August edition of Running Times, where she discusses missing some training time in the most recent off-season due to injury, and her prospects for the upcoming USA Championships and 2012 London Olympics.
Jenny (Barringer) Simpson (PR-3:59.90; 2011 best-4:09.56)
While still a college runner at Colorado coached by Mark Wetmore, she qualified for the 2008 Olympics and 2009 World Championships in the steeplechase. She’s the current American record holder in that event with a 9:12.50 in placing fifth at the 2009 World Championships. She is now sponsored by New Balance and coached by Julie Henner. She has not run the steeplechase the last two years, instead competing in the 1500 and 5000. Her 3:59.90 in 2009 makes her the fifth fastest American of all-time. She missed most of the 2010 season due to an injury but returned to compete well during the 2011 indoor season.
Moran Uceny (PR-4:02.40; 2011 best-4:06.32)
Uceny was primarily an 800 runner in college at Cornell. She’s placed in the top six at the USA Championships in the 800 the last four years. In 2008, after finishing sixth in the 800 at the Olympic Trials she doubled back and was a surprise fourth place finisher in the 1500. It wasn’t until 2010, however, that she has fully committed to racing the 1500. Coached by Terrence Mahon as part of the Mammoth Track Club she became the tenth fastest American of all-time in 2010 by running a 4:02.40.
Christin Wurth-Thomas (PR-3:59.59; 2011 best-4:03.72)
Wurth-Thomas is the fourth fastest American in history with her 3:59.59 in 2010. She represented the USA at the 2008 Olympics, and the 2007 and 2009 World Championships (fifth in the 1500 final in 2009). She has placed second (2007), third (2008), second (2009), and fourth (2010) at the last four USA Championships. She is the only American 1500 contender to have raced in Europe already in 2011, where she ran a USA season best of 4:03.72 in Rome in May.
Tune in on Saturday, June 25 (live television coverage on NBC) at 2:33 P.M. west coast time and see which three women emerge from this dogfight to represent the USA at the World Championships.
Action from the 2009 USA Championship women's 1500 meter final.
Summer Vacations
2010 USA Championships - Shannon Rowbury wins heat 1
Our summer vacation in 2008 included a trip to Eugene for the Olympic Trials and a trip to Beijing, China for the Olympics. In 2009 we went to Eugene for the USA Championships and to Berlin, Germany for the World Championships. This summer’s trip is a 4,500 mile road trip from San Francisco to Des Moines to Eugene, and then back home to San Francisco. Along the way we will see the 2010 USA Championships in Des Moines and the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. For Malinda and me, summer vacations like these combine three of our passions: 1) travel, 2) track & field, and 3) cheering for Shannon Rowbury.
Our latest journey began last week. We have stayed in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and are now in the heart of the heartland, Iowa! Along the way we have had a great time. In Reno, Nevada we met up with 1984 Olympian Ruth Wysocki and went for a thirty minute run with her (shake out run after a long drive…although Malinda said it was more like a tempo run for her). In Boulder, Colorado we stayed with our friend, and running and triathlon enthusiast, Jim Moriarity. Jim drove us up to 8,300 feet so we could run on the road made famous by the University of Colorado and Chris Lear’s book, Running with the Buffaloes – Magnolia Road. Also in Boulder we met two elite athletes who were staying with Jim, Fiona Docherty (who competed in the 2009 World Championships Marathon) and Alice Mason.
It’s been an exciting week for a sports enthusiast. Before starting our drive on Wednesday we were riveted in front of the television set like many others just hoping the USA could score a goal against Algeria…and Landon Donovan delivered in extra time! I just read about the Wimbledon match that lasted eleven hours and five minutes, spread out over three days. 70-68 in the fifth
set! That is crazy! The final day’s drive to Des Moines brought us through Omaha, Nebraska and it just so happens to be the week of the College World Series. So of course we made a quick stop to see Rosenblatt Stadium, which has hosted the College World Series since 1950. It turns out this is the last
The College World Series - Rosenblatt Stadium and the vendors on the street
College World Series in the famous stadium as a new downtown stadium will be completed in time for the 2011 event. Perhaps even more memorable than the stadium was the street outside the stadium, jam packed with vendors selling College World Series merchandise.
Anyway, back to track & field. You never know what’s going to happen at a USA Championship in a year like 2010 when there is no international championship later in the summer (like it was in 2007, 2008, and 2009). There is less pressure on the athletes to place in the top three to qualify for the Olympics or the World Championships. Some of the top athletes are not even here; they are skipping this meet in favor of the Prefontaine Classic next week or for meets later this summer in Europe. Some other athletes are competing in their “off” event.
Shannon ran a very controlled race in the 1500 trials on Thursday evening. It was a very slow pace early on (2:22 at the 800 meter mark) and she just stayed with the pack. When the pace picked up (63 for lap three) she smoothly put herself in the top three. In the last lap she looked effortless, covering the lap in 60.8 seconds to win her heat easily and qualify for the final at 2:26 P.M. central time on Saturday.
It’s fun to look back at what I was thinking over the last four years.
Four years ago – 2006
Shannon placed 6th at the 2006 USA Championships in Indianapolis:
1. Treniere Clement, 4:10.44
2. Lindsay Gallo, 4:10.72
3. Sarah Schwald, 4:11.60
4. Carrie Tollefson, 4:12.23
5. Christin Wurth, 4:12.82
6. Shannon Rowbury, 4:12.86
At the time, I remember the feeling was, “she needs to move up three places in the next two years to be an Olympian.” Easier said than done….or was it?!
Three years ago – 2007
Shannon was injured and Malinda and I spent the summer focused on our wedding.
Two years ago – 2008
Shannon was the favorite in the 1500 at the 2008 Olympic Trials after her breakthrough 4:01.61 at a meet in May. She would win the Olympic Trials and go on to place seventh at the Olympics, but boy was it nerve-racking at the Olympic Trials.
One year ago – 2009
Suddenly the competition in the women’s 1500 jumped up a level. Jenny Barringer broke four minutes at Prefontaine. Christin Wurth-Thomas and Anna Willard were on top of their game. Running four minutes low in the 1500 was no big feat anymore. With this backdrop Shannon stepped up when it counted, and even though Wurth-Thomas had built up a big lead, Shannon made up a lot of ground on the last lap to win her second straight USA 1500 championship.
2010
Just three weeks ago Shannon was at Kezar posing for a compression sock photo with the Pamakids.
3 weeks before USA's - Shannon comes to Kezar for a compression sock picture
Now it’s the day before the 1500 final and this more or less marks the halfway point between Beijing and London. Shannon will go after her third straight USA championship. Wurth-Thomas, Willard (now Anna Pierce), and others will do everything they can to beat her. What better way to spend your summer vacation!
Two Year Anniversary
The date May 18 holds special meaning to me. On that date in 2008, in some ways, the world changed.
When I woke up that morning Shannon Rowbury was one of many promising US middle distance runners. She was scheduled to race at the Adidas Track Classic, it was her second attempt of the season to run the 1500 meter Olympic “A” standard of 4:07.00. While running under 4:07 would not guarantee her a spot on the Olympic team, it would make the road to the Beijing Olympics quite a bit easier. Two weeks earlier at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford she had just missed the standard, running 4:07.59.
By the time I went to sleep that night I had a new “claim to fame.” I was now the high school coach of the fifth fastest American woman 1500 meter runner in history… and the owner of two tickets to watch the women’s 1500 meter semi-final at the 2008 Olympics.
But my story really begins the day before.
May 17, 2008
Shannon was to be inducted into the San Francisco Prep Hall of Fame, but she was unable to attend the induction banquet because of the meet in Carson, CA. She asked me to accept on her behalf and I was honored to do so. It made for a hectic day because I was coaching two Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory athletes, Jocelyn Rodriguez and Reilly Hall, at the Central Coast Section (CCS) track & field trials in Gilroy, CA; it was worth it to be able to accept on Shannon’s behalf. Jocelyn ran well and qualified for CCS finals in the 3200 meters and then had to rush back, too, because she was receiving a scholarship from the SF Prep Hall of Fame. So after the meet, we all headed back towards the city trying to make it in time for the dinner.
The end of the road - thanks for 14 years and 182,000 miles
As fate would have it, as assistant coach Christine Jegan and I were driving up the 101 towards San Francisco, my Ford Explorer started making a weird sound. The car lost power as I pulled off the highway at an exit in Sunnyvale. Now we were really going to be late! I later learned that the car had a blown head gasket, and it was the end for my Explorer. After 14 years and 182,000 miles the Explorer died doing what it did for me for so many years, rushing me to and from a track meet.
Fortunately assistant coach Tomas Palermo, who was already at the banquet with my wife Malinda, drove all the way down to Sunnyvale to get us. Christine and I changed out
of our coaching clothes and into our dress clothes in the car while Tomas sped us up the 280 to the banquet. I walked in just as Jocelyn was thanking me, and a few minutes later I was at the podium receiving the award for Shannon. As part of my speech I mentioned that the reason Shannon wasn’t there to receive the honor was that she had an important race the next day.
May 18, 2008
Malinda and I got up in the morning cable-TV-less as usual. We knew we would have to go somewhere to watch Shannon’s race on ESPN, but now were also car-less. We spent too long deciding what to do. Upon realizing we had just 40 minutes until Shannon’s race we ran to the BART station at 24th Street and Mission, rode BART to Balboa Park, and then started running down Ocean Avenue towards my parents’ house. I spotted a K-line street car and we started sprinting to the next stop to get on. I was ahead of Malinda by half a block and it wasn’t certain she would get to the bus stop in time. “Go without me if you have to,” she yelled, “I’ll meet you at your parents.” Fortunately the light turned red so the bus had to wait and Malinda was able to get on to the K with me. As we neared our stop, I called my mom on my cell phone and asked her to turn on the television and open the front door because we were almost there. We got off at Fairfield Way and ran up the hill to my parents’ house. We arrived in my parents’ living room sweating, breathing hard, with less than a minute to spare before Shannon’s race began.
Our big race to my parents’ house was over, Shannon’s big race was just beginning. Shannon ran 4:01.61, not only under the Olympic A standard but also the fifth fastest time by an American woman in history. Like it or not, she was no longer the underdog trying to sneak onto the Olympic team. She was now the favorite to win the Olympic Trials 1500. The subsequent talk on running message boards was of “Rowbury’s medal chances in Beijing.” Our Olympic effort to get to the television to watch the race live was definitely worth it.
We had previously purchased tickets for the women’s 1500 meter preliminaries and final just in case Shannon made it. At home that night, we decided – now that Shannon had run 4:01 – we needed to get our hands on the 1500 semi-final tickets, too. We had to pay scalper’s prices to get these tickets because the men’s 110 hurdles final would be run on the same night and China’s Liu Xiang was hoping to win a gold medal in front of the home fans.
It was really Malinda’s idea to spend the money. She was really into the Olympic excitement by this point. She mentioned that this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity presenting itself and that we wouldn’t want to go all the way to China and miss this race because we were worried about spending too much money.
That night, a tagline that I would become known for was born. The people at Visa (the only credit card accepted at the Olympic Games) might not be happy that this tagline uses their competitor’s theme:
Hotel in Beijing – 10,875 CNY.
Tickets to Olympic Track Meet – $520.
Watching the kid you coached in high school run in the Olympics – priceless!
That’s the story of why May 18 is a significant anniversary to me. Shannon’s status as an athlete changed with that 4:01.61. She would never come from off the radar again. While I have always been proud of Shannon, this accomplishment truly ranked ahead of her previous successes. In the weeks that followed there was a bit of a media blitz as people in the running world tried to find out who this “new girl on the scene” was. I was lucky to be part of all the excitement leading up to it.
Compression Socks at the Payton Jordan Invitational
Shannon Rowbury's compression socks
Chris Solinsky's compression socks
Saturday’s Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University featured a lot of great action. You can find results and race coverage online. I write about the two races that stood out the most to me. In both these races the race winner was wearing compression socks.
A group of nine Pamakids sat together in the stands with Shannon Rowbury’s parents, Gary and Paula, and other assorted Rowbury supporters. We took over a whole section in the stands just off the finish line at Angell Field. The Women’s 5000 meters was expected to be a great race, featuring the American record holder and World Championship 10,000 meter bronze medalist (Shalane Flanagan), the World Championship 1500 meter medalist (Shannon Rowbury), two other World Championship qualifiers (Amy Begley and Julie Culley), the reigning USATF Indoor 3000 meter champion (Renee Baillie), the 2009 NCAA 5000 meter and cross country champion (Angela Bizzarri), and the collegiate 10,000 meter record holder (Lisa Koll).
Flanagan and Baillie, sitting behind the rabbit Megan Metcalfe, took off at American record pace (14:44). Even after the rabbit dropped out and Baillie dropped back, Flanagan, running alone, looked determined to run a record time. I didn’t think this pace made sense since I presumed that Flanagan was in training for longer road races (an upcoming marathon is rumored), so was she really in 5000 meter PR form? But, who am I to know or question Flanagan’s tactics? I was more focused on the two women in second and third place who were taking turns leading into the wind – Shannon, wearing black compression socks, and Begley. I don’t know if they agreed to work together before the race or if it just happened when they found themselves together six to nine seconds behind Flanagan, but it worked. I knew for sure they were working together when, at one point, Shannon moved out to lane two to let Begley pass on the inside.
Shannon Rowbury and Amy Begley
Flanagan’s chances of bettering her own record time were done when she fell off pace around mile two. At this point she was still leading Shannon and Begley by nine seconds, but I also knew that Shannon planned to run 72 second laps until this point and then was going to try to pick it up. With one mile to go, it appeared to me that Shannon had a lot left, but she still trailed Flanagan by seven seconds. With three laps to go Shannon and Begley still had a six second deficit but Flanagan had slowed down so much that she was now on pace to run only 15:00. That told me that Shannon still had a chance to win the race. With two laps to go Shannon and Begley were still six seconds behind. Amid a chorus of cheers from our section I yelled to Shannon to “compete.” There was no point in pacing or holding back anymore. It was time to race. Shannon probably didn’t hear me but she was probably thinking the same thing herself anyway. After three laps at 73, Shannon ran a 71 with two laps to go. The deficit was down to four seconds. This was still a lot of ground to make up, but I’ve seen Shannon come from a long way behind on the last lap and something inside told me she would do it again. With 300 meters to go she was gaining. By 200 meters to go Shannon’s turnover was much faster than Flanagan’s and I knew it was game over. Shannon accelerated past Flanagan with about 120 meters to go, running her last lap in 67.4 and her last 200 in 32.7, to win the race in 15:00.51.
Our section in the stands went crazy! Shannon’s mom, Paula, is pretty well known in the track world for her loud screaming for Shannon. I think Malinda may have earned number two billing as the next loudest in the stands on Saturday. I thought she was going to fall off the stands the way she was jumping up and down and screaming in those last 100 meters.
The next big race was the Men’s 10,000 meters. All week long there was scuttle from Galen Rupp’s camp that he would make an attempt at Meb Keflezighi’s American record of 27:13.98 (set at the 2001 Payton Jordan Invitational). First Rupp said he’d race at the Oregon Relays on Friday. But if it was too windy, he would fly down to Stanford for the record attempt. Then Rupp’s coach Alberto Salazar said that the pollen count in Palo Alto was too high and that maybe they would instead stage a 10,000 meter race in Eugene on Saturday instead of Friday. Finally on Friday at noon they said Rupp would be racing at Stanford on Saturday night. The Nike PR department was so confident that Rupp would set the record that they made plans for Rupp to appear at the Nike Store in Palo Alto Sunday morning should he set the record.
That was the backdrop to what turned out to be an epic race. And what a race it was. Not a time trial record attempt with the outcome of the race a foregone conclusion; not the only drama about the time on the clock. I had made a print out so I could monitor if they were on record pace or not. If I were more of a businessman I would have printed extras, because I could have sold them in the stands. Instead everyone was peering over my shoulder to check my paper. Finally I just started announcing if the pace was on or not to the people sitting around me.
The rabbits were a little slow in the first mile and Rupp was already a few seconds down. I immediately started looking around for his coach Salazar to see what he would tell Rupp. Salazar was on the high jump apron just after the start line so he had an easy time yelling instructions to Rupp after every lap. After the first mile the rabbits, Rupp, and a pack of eight others started hitting the 65.3 pace needed for the American record. I assumed that the plan was to just run that pace and not to try to make up the two or three seconds they lost in the early laps until later in the race. Rupp ran some 64’s during the second mile and when he ran a couple 63’s around lap ten, he was actually ahead of record pace. The split at halfway was 13:34, 27:08 pace.
Chris Solinsky
Once the second rabbit dropped out after sixteen laps, Rupp assumed the lead. However, he was not alone. This was, after all, a race and: the Oregon Track Club’s Chris Solinsky (making his 10,000 meter race debut) and Simon Bairu (hoping to better the Canadian record of 27:36), Liberty University’s Sam Chelanga (the collegiate 10,000 meter record holder at 27:28), and Kenya’s Daniel Salel, were not going to just step aside and let Rupp run into the record books. With five or so laps to go many of us in the stands started to comment on how smooth Solinsky, in his white compression socks, looked. I thought to myself, maybe it’s Solinsky’s day…and wouldn’t that be funny to sort of crash Rupp’s American record party! Based on seeing Rupp run in the past, I felt confident that he could run 2:00 for the final two laps. So even though the pace had slowed to 66 and the lead pack went from three seconds ahead of pace to only right on pace with three laps to go, I felt the record was going to be broken. The question was, by who?
With just over two laps to go Solinsky bolted to the front. Rupp, Chelanga, and Salel chased after him so he didn’t build a huge lead, but Solinsky had definitely thrown down the gauntlet, challenging the others to stay with him. Solinsky’s penultimate lap was a 60. Meb’s record would stand for less than one minute longer. Solinsky, “Socks” as I have been known to call him over the years, wasn’t close to being done. He pulled away from the other three as he lapped runners on this twenty fifth lap. The crowd was incredibly loud cheering him on for a 56 second last lap (1:56 for his final 800) and a new American Record of 26:59.60. Salel would grab second, Chelanga would set a new collegiate record with a 27:08 for third, and Rupp would finish fourth in 27:10, three seconds faster than Meb’s old mark and a twenty-three second PR. Further back in the pack people were still running incredibly fast. Bairu in fifth set a new Canadian record of 27:23. In seventh and eighth place Tim Nelson and Bobby Curtis became the tenth and eleventh fastest Americans over 10,000 meters in history.
But, the main story was at the front of the race. Rupp did what he came to do, he ran faster than 27:13, but “Socks” stole the show.
Indoor Track and Field
Out here on the west coast, where the weather in January and February does not prevent you from training outside, indoor track & field seems more like an exhibition sport. But in other parts of the United States and internationally indoor track & field is a full-fledged championship sport.
This weekend is the USA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Competition will take place Saturday, February 27 and Sunday, February 28. Of note, Shannon Rowbury is entered in the 3000 meters (Saturday at 7:35 P.M. pacific time) and the 1500 meters (Sunday at 3:25 P.M. pacific time). Television coverage of the meet will be on ESPN2 on Sunday from 4:00-6:00 P.M. pacific time. This is not Shannon’s first time competing at the USA Indoor Championships. In 2008 in Boston she pulled what was then a bit of an upset by winning the 3000 meters.
The top two athletes in each event qualify to represent the USA at the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Indoor Championships. Some athletes choose to go and represent the USA and some choose to pass their qualifying spot. You may wonder why an athlete who qualifies would choose not to go to the World Championships. Athletes have to make a lot of tough decisions. Is the travel and consequent disruption in their training routine worth attending an international indoor meet? Some athletes may have very different goals than performing well at indoor meets. Other goals might be: outdoor races, a particular road race, or the upcoming IAAF World Cross Country Championships. In 2008, Shannon chose not to go the Indoor World Championships because she wanted to continue her training plan that was building towards achieving the Olympic “A” standard and preparing for the 2008 Olympic Trials.
The IAAF sanctions a World Indoor Track & Field Championship every even numbered year. The last one was in Valencia, Spain in 2008. The 13th annual championships will be in Doha, Qatar from March 12 to 14, 2010. The international indoor championships include sprints (60 and 400 meters), distance and middle distance (800, 1500 and 3000 meters), hurdles (60 meter hurdles), field events (high jump, long jump, triple jump, shot put and pole vault), relays (4X400 meter relay), and one combined event (heptathlon for men and pentathlon for women).
But back to the USA Championships. You can participate too, by playing the USATF’s Pick-N-Win Fantasy Game. You need to create a log-in but then you’ll have access to play. The deadline is Saturday at 1:55 P.M. The objective is to pick the winner for each event. There are drop down menus for each event with the most current list of entrants so you can easily make picks. You don’t have to be a track geek to do well – at the last meet Track Widow outpointed Chanman’s Irish 122 to 100!
The USA Indoor Championship is the third and final meet of the Visa Championship Series (the two previous meets were the Millrose Games and the Boston Indoor Games). The top American male finisher and top American female finisher in each event at Visa Championship Series meets have their performances assigned a point total based on the IAAF Scoring Tables of Athletics. At the conclusion of the USA Indoor Championships the top three men and top three women earn prize money (1st-$30,000; 2nd-$15,000; 3rd-$5,000). This competition is the Race for the Visa Championship. One caveat is that, although the winning performance can come from any one of the three meets, to be named the Visa Champion you must compete at the USA Indoor Championships. Heading into the final meet, sitting atop the women’s leaderboard is Ms. Rowbury with 1,172 points from her 8:47.14 performance in the 3,000 meters at the Boston Indoor Games.
A brewing controversy is the fact that Albuquerque is at nearly 5,000 feet of elevation, putting the distance runners at a decided disadvantage in terms of achieving a high score on the IAAF scoring tables. This has led to an outcry from many stating that this is unfair. Shannon’s chances of remaining the leader could very much be affected by the elevation. A sprinter or field event athlete, who actually benefits from the thin air, could put up a top mark and pass her in the standings. Even if Shannon wins her event, her mark is likely to score less points on the IAAF table than the sprinter’s or field event athlete’s mark because the altitude will cause her time to be slower than it would have been at sea level. Because of this very real possibility that Shannon could lose out on some prize money due to the altitude, her coach, John Cook, has been leading the charge to get the scoring to include an adjustment for altitude. In an interview with www.LetsRun.com this week Cook said:
“At altitude, you aren’t going to run good times if you are a distance runner – that’s like breathing through a straw. But the sprinters are going to come to altitude and they are going to rock. It’s a huge advantage (to sprint at altitude).“
“Everyone I’ve talked to at USATF agrees with me and says we need to make changes, then they say don’t know how to do (the altitude adjustment). Well there are books out there. There is a green book out there. There is an IAAF book out there. I’m not the smartest guy in the world but I can figure this out. And if I can figure it out, everyone can.”
But on Tuesday, USATF CEO Doug Logan released a statement that said that there will be no altitude adjustment for the distance events.
How many of you don’t follow indoor track & field at all and didn’t even know the USA Championships were this weekend? After reading this, I hope I’ve sparked a little interest and you’ll play the Pick-N-Win game, watch the meet on television or follow it on the internet and look up the Visa Champion on Monday and see if the altitude made a difference.
Shannon Rowbury’s schedule
I get many questions about Shannon Rowbury so I thought I would give a general overview of what she does. This is not an inside look at Shannon’s life or training, just kind of the nuts and bolts of what she does.
Shannon is a professional athlete, sponsored by Nike. Her full-time job is to train to be an elite runner. That means more than just running once a day. Training includes a lot of ancillary work like drills, stretching, strength and core work as well as recovery modalities like ice baths, massages, and seeing appropriate medical personnel. Getting enough sleep and eating the right foods are also part of her daily schedule. Her coach is John Cook, who lives in Sarasota, Florida, and has successfully coached top athletes.
There are international outdoor track & field championships three out of every four years: Olympics every four years (2008, 2012, etc) and World Championships in odd number years (2009, 2011, 2013). So 2010 is an “off” year, with no championship meet to focus on. I read this quote from Shannon, about the coming 2010 season, “It’ll be fun getting to peak for what I’m hoping will be a fast race, as opposed to this past year when my peaks were at U.S. Championships and World Championships. They were tactical, not quick.”
Between January and April, Shannon and her coach do a variety of things to prepare for the season. Included among the things that are possible: 1) racing indoors or on the roads, 2) going to Mexico for altitude training, 3) meeting up at a training camp somewhere with other elite athletes, 4) Coach Cook coming out to the Bay Area to oversee some of Shannon’s training in person, 5) training here in the Bay Area.
Recently Shannon has been part of a new group of runners who have banded together as the Bay Area Track Club (http://bayareatrackclub.com). It’s a group of elite Bay Area runners who have formed a group to pool resources to enhance their own training, while also working to promote Bay Area running. I don’t know if I can do the club justice in my explanation so if you are interested, be sure to check out their website.
May through June is usually the beginning of the competitive outdoor season for Shannon. That usually means some domestic races (sometimes local, like at Stanford or Cal) to get ready for the USA Championships in June. When there is an international championship later in the summer, the USA Championships serve as the qualifying meet for TEAM USA, so in those years, Shannon definitely has to bring her A-game to the USA Championships to make the team.
Then it’s off to Europe for a series of races in Europe. The international athletics season (what we call outdoor track & field) for someone at Shannon’s level runs from June through September. Most of the high powered meets are in Europe, although with the new Diamond League (http://www.diamondleague.com/en/DiamondLeague/Home/) now in place, the US will host two big international meets in the summer of 2010 (the Adidas Grand Prix in New York on June 12 and the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on July 3).
Shannon usually returns to the Bay Area in the fall, where she takes a short break from training and then begins her base phase of training in preparation for the next year. And then the cycle begins again.
