Q&A with Rebecca on Kimbia.net

A fan of Rebecca, Brian S., had a few questions for her after the US Championships on Kimbia.net. View all the responses from the Kimbia athletes.

Excerpted from Kimbia.Net
Rebecca, 2 questions. 1-Do you regret at all leading early on in the race seeing that you faded a little bit at the end? Did you do that because you were going for the B standard? And 2-What are your plans for Europe and possibly chasing a spot on the world’s team? Do you have specific races lined up yet? –Brian

Rebecca: I do and I don’t regret leading for almost half the race. Typically I tend to be a front runner, I’ve always felt quite comfortable leading races. I sat in second for the first four laps which were pretty slow. Then the woman leading dropped back and I was next in line. It was pretty windy but I didn’t think it was too bad at the time. I slowed the pace a little more thinking someone else would lead for a while; I even swung wide in Lane 2 figuring someone would take it. No one did, so I just continued, but my workouts indicated that I’d be able to really switch gears when necessary, so I was confident. However, fighting the wind for so many laps proved to take its toll on me and I didn’t have quite enough left at the end to place higher. I was still able to close with about a 4:50 which I was pleased with, but had I not led for so much laps I’m confident that a top 3 finish would have been realistic.

As for your second questions, this is my first time racing in Europe and I’m very excited to have this opportunity. Right now I’m in Holland getting ready for a 1500m in Belgium tomorrow night. I ran a 4:13 1500m at a New Balance Twilight meet in Boston a couple weeks before nationals which was a big pr and feeling really strong the entire way. So I’m looking forward to trying it again. I’m also scheduled to run a 5000m next week and possibly another 1500m and 5000m. The goal is to take advantage of my track speed right now and post some fast times. If I hit a time as fast as the World standard for the 5000m that would obviously be a huge plus. [Ed. Note - Rebecca ran 4:14.76 in Kortrijk. She will run the 5000m in Liege on July 15th.]

Ask Rebecca: Coaching

What made you go into coaching?

Rebecca: I first got into the idea of coaching when I was in college. I worked as a camp counselor at a running camp, Camp Foss in New Hampshire. I went there myself when I was in high school and really loved it. So, as a counselor, we were assigned a whole cabin of girls. We had to keep them in line but also give advice with their running. I found myself really enjoying helping them and sharing my own experiences with them. After college I worked part-time as an art teacher at a middle school for a couple months. There was a cross country team there and I assisted with that as well. It was funny to see how the kids at this age literally begged you to run more. We limited them to about a half mile to a mile a day and then played games after. It was different but refreshing. Then after a few months I started working as a full-time art teacher at a high school just outside Boston. There was also a track coaching position and took that on as well. I coached the boys distance that first year and then the girls position opened up the following year and I switched to that.

What is the foundation for your coaching philosophies?

Rebecca: As a high school coach, I certainly wouldn’t throw a schedule like this on my athletes. First off, a high school athlete is still in the developing phase, racing too much and high mileage are not part of the equation in my mind. I know sometimes the high school schedules can be loaded with races, but I tend to work around that. I’ll either figure out ways to turn dual meet races into workouts or sit some athletes out. I recently had an athlete compete in 2 open events and 2 relays at the indoor state meet. This is not a regular thing and I prepared her to handle this volume for this one day, and it was a special case. My high school coach was very smart in that he hardly raced us and kept the weekly mileage very low. He always said he wanted us to have fresh legs after high school and I really stand behind this way of thinking. I hear of all of these stellar high school teams that win numerous team titles in cross and learn of the super high mileage they do. That’s great that they win and I strive for us to win as well, but what kind of careers do the kids have after high school? It is possible to achieve huge things with lighter mileage. I think you have to do the right things to complement this and make it work. Even if the kids don’t run competitively in college, I want them to leave high school wanting to keep the sport a part of their lifestyle. If they’re run into the ground it’s going to effect them both physically and mentally, meaning that they’re going to have a bad impression in their heads and possibly be turned off by the sport. I want this sport to live on.

Ask Rebecca: Questions with Angelina

Earlier this year I  sat down with Angelina Ramos for an interview. Here are some of the questions from that session.

Angelina Ramos: Due to a wrist and arm break in March 2008, you were injured and couldn’t train for let alone race a 5,000 until the New England Championships at Bentley College—the last day, hours before the qualifying deadline. Your pr in the 5k was from 2 years before (16:01), you’d missed Cardinal, and you weren’t even on the 5k list for Trials. How did you handle the pressure of it being your first race of the season and the only chance to qualify for trials, after just having missed the qualifying mark in 2000 and again in 2004 in the 10k? What went through your head before and during the race?

Rebecca: I definitely felt pressure to get a qualifier with this being my 3rd time around. But it was mixed with a stronger determination than the other years. I knew I was done with watching the trials on TV. I think after 2 rounds of that you get a pretty clear picture in your head of what you don’t want. Aside from my broken wrist I had been healthy for quite a while and knew this was supposed to be my time no matter what. I knew deep down that it was all a test to see how bad I wanted it. Moments after breaking my wrist so many things raced through my head, running, my painting hand, how I’d pay for this? But, I’ve always had a glimmer of optimism even in the worst of times, which I believe always saves me.

Angelina: You ran 15:55 that race, placing you 25th on the qualifying list and they take 24—how long was it between when you finished your race and when you found out someone had scratched and that you’d definitely be competing in the semi-finals?

Rebecca: It was close, but I figured at least one person would scratch. The only problem was not knowing when that would happen. It could be minutes, hours, days to a week before finding out. I was lucky enough that someone scratched just 2 days after I ran the 15:55 at New Englands and then I was able to relax in that area.

Angelina: Do you always race the same (run from the back), go out aggressive, or does it depend whether you’re racing cross vs road vs track…where are you most confident? Did you race different going into those 5k’s knowing that you’d been injured…were you tentative or hesitant at all about covering moves, going out aggressive from the start?

Rebecca: I think it depends on what race it is and what my goals are for that particular race. Going into the 5k at the trials my coach and I had discussed a number of different scenarios and what to do for each. For the semi-final, I was in the 2nd heat, so I was keeping an eye on the TV in the warm-up room to see how the 1st heat ran. Moments before stepping on the track I found out what kind of time I needed to run to get into the final. But, the main objective was always to place in the top 6 and automatically advance, so I kept that as my focus. I may have gone into the trials thinking that I was fresher than the other women, with just one race under my belt, and to be honest I did feel fresh. I felt great actually. Being at the Olympic Trials after failing to get there for 10 years and overcoming so many set backs was the one of the best feelings I’d ever had. So, there was a lot going through my head, but when the gun went off I was able to focus on the job I had to do.

Angelina: There are so many runners out there who don’t qualify for an NCAA meet on the track in their four years of eligibility and who then believe that they aren’t good enough to continue the sport post-collegiately, that they aren’t biomechanically fit or talented enough in the sport to get to “that Olympic level”, OR they don’t really have any direction with regards to how to continue the sport post-collegiately. Who or what kind of helped you find some direction to training/coaching after you were done running for UMass cross country/track, and helped feed the perspective that you could get to that next level?

Rebecca: My sophomore and junior years in college I qualified for the NCAA cross championships. I just missed making All American by 5 places my sophomore year, I tripped and fell about half way through and lost quite a bit there. I’m pretty good at falling down I suppose. So, making it to those races definitely told me something about what I could possibly do. I missed qualifying for the 1500 outdoors by one or two places and then I started to get injured on a regular basis. The injuries most definitely held me back, but I never once lost sight of my dreams of being successful in the sport. I knew early on, in elementary school, that I wanted to pursue running at the highest level. However, I do vividly remember my last collegiate track meet, ECACs, I finished my race and it all hit me that I didn’t know what I’d do next, I remember crying and thinking that it could be over. I knew I wasn’t going to get any kind of a shoe contract because I hadn’t even made All-American, and I had no idea what opportunities there were post collegiately. Luckily, a former teammate and training partner of mine at UMass contacted me about joining the club Reebok Boston. She joined after graduating and had amazing results. I knew that was where I wanted to be. I met up with my soon to be coach Bob Sevene after graduation and joined his club. He had coached Olympians, and even medalists, so I was definitely pumped to have the opportunity to be coached by him.

Angelina: You were constantly injured in college between heel tendonitis and hip injuries… and you weren’t really ever running healthy until 2005/2006… a lot of high school of collegiately runners who have constant injuries tend to get frustrated and quit the sport early on…what got you through all those years/races of pain? Do you have advice for such athletes, such as who to seek out medically, what to look for, what to try?

Rebecca: I believe what got me continuing on was a combination of optimism, positive thinking, and a vivid picture in my head of what my ultimate goals were. I most definitely asked myself quite often why I put myself through so much misery, but my answer was always the same. I raced and trained for almost 10 years with pain. I’d take chunks of time off, cross-train, come back and run for a month or so before another injury appeared. I became an elite water runner. I often told people that if they had it in the Olympics I’d win a gold medal. I even got a wet suit so that I could go in Walden Pond as late as October. I look back on all of that and am pretty impressed that I stuck it out.

I searched for medical treatment, while in college, and for 7 years after that. I had seen so many Doctors and specialist that you would think I would give up, but I didn’t. I knew that if I could just get fixed that it would all be worth the time and misery. I’ve always been a firm believer that everything in life happens for a reason and for some reason. I moved to State College, PA for graduate school at Penn State. I wasn’t too thrilled to be moving so far from home but if I hadn’t have done so I would not have found the person that fixed me. It was tough

Angelina: What do you have to do everyday/week to maintain your health… wear a heel lift in the longer leg…any other rehab exercises that you have to continually do? Walking drills? Pool exercises?

Rebecca: I get massage work done once a week, adjustments to my hips or back whenever needed, I have specific strength work for stabilizing my hips, ice baths after really hard workouts or races. I do need to wear a lift in my left shoe, but it’s only 1/8th of an inch. I do elliptical work for added cardio.

Angelina: Is it easier or harder to have a coach you have such close emotional ties with-being that he’s also your boyfriend?

Rebecca: It’s actually been the best thing for my running. He knows how I’m feeling just about every minute of the day which helps him design specific workouts.

Angelina: How similar is the philosophy in which you coach your high school athletes and the manner in which you train yourself?

Rebecca: It’s actually quite similar. When I first started coaching I mimicked what a lot of what I did in high school. Then I started experimenting by incorporating a lot of what I do in my own training just scaled down for the high school level. I’ve found the most success with this. My high school coach always kept our mileage quite low, saying that he wanted us to have fresh legs for college. I agree with this even if they don’t compete in college. Much of my aim is to make running a life long thing, so I feel that if a kid is pounded with miles and continues to get hurt and worn out, it’s very possible they’ll be turned off to running. I also strongly believe that building up mileage needs to be done in the most gradual way.

Angelina: Brag about the athletes you coach…what’s up next for them…what do you expect for the season…what are you excited for… who are you proud of…go.

Rebecca: I am always bragging about my girls at State High especially to my old high school coach. They’re an excellent group and I’m so proud to be their coach. They’ve dominated their district for 7 years in a row and then placed 8th at the 2008 PIAA State Cross Country meet which I’m so pleased with. We even had our little freshman, Nora Adams, take All-State this year. We have pretty much the same team coming back next year, so we definitely have our eyes on top 5. In track we have pretty much the same crew running distance as cross which really helps me learn about the needs of each athlete. We certainly have some standouts including our sophomore sensation, Chloe Schmidt, who last year ran a 4:59 mile, 2:12 800, 57 400, and a 26.0 200. She certainly sets the bar high and has just scratched the surface with what she’s capable of, it’s very exciting.

Angelina: Running with ipods- ye or neigh?

Rebecca: Personally I don’t like to run with one unless it’s a 2 or 3 mile shake-out run or if I’m on a treadmill or elliptical. I think it’s very important to be able to listen to your breathing, your steps, and your surroundings, especially safety wise. I also don’t want to become relyant on having one. I used to always listen to my back in the day walkman in college on all of my warm-ups before races. I then realized I was getting too pumped up listening to these hype up songs when I really just needed to relax and be in the moment. It also makes the transition from warm-up to pre-race routines smoother. This is just my own opinion and I fully respect anyone elses preferences. I do love my ipod for doing core and strength work, and maybe a celebratory cool-down run after a particularly good race.

Ask Rebecca: Early Beginnings

When did you start running competitively? What got you interested in the sport?

Rebecca: My earliest memories of the sport are from watching the Boston Marathon on TV as young as 4 or 5. I grew up in Massachusetts so “Marathon Monday” is a huge deal. All of the local networks have amazing coverage of it and the city is just about shut down for it. It’s on Patriot’s Day so we never had school, making it even more of an event. But, I can remember being glued to the TV and thinking about how amazing it would be to run it and be a contender for the win. I also remember watching the Olympic Track and Field coverage at a young age. I was equally fascinated with both the sprints and long distances. I envisioned myself there one day, I didn’t know which event, but I was there.

I grew up on a small “hobby farm”. We had a descent sized pasture where I would often just run around to see just how fast I could go, I started this probably at around age 4 or 5. On our farm we had sheep and goats, I was actually a 4-H girl and showed my sheep in fairs in the summer time. Anyway, one of my favorite things to do was run in the pasture with my goat Brownie, I guess you could say she was my first training partner. I was also raised on goat milk as an infant. I tell people this and they always joke and say I must be part goat. I actually can’t stand goat milk or cheese now.

In addition to my running in the pasture, I absolutely reveled at any opportunity to run at school, whether it be in gym class for the shuttle run, tag at recess, or soccer practices. However, at this young age, I realized I wasn’t too successful at the longer distances, so I narrowed it down to the shorter sprints. I especially loved the co-ed races. I can remember beating most of the boys and loving it, probably the first indicator of my competitive side.

We didn’t have a track program in middle school, so I pretty much counted the days until high school where I could finally let loose. I played soccer throughout middle school. I thought it was ok, I didn’t love it, but I just did it because I felt I was descent at it. I tried out for the high school team and was cut. I didn’t seem to care because my heart just wasn’t in it. One of my friends ended up talking me into joining cross-country which scared me a bit because it was a longer distance. I knew I’d run track in the spring, but I figured I’d be a sprinter. I do remember deciding to join just because it was running and I loved the sport, I wanted to give it a chance. I was horrible at first. I was dead last in my first xc meet, I even walked in a few places where no one could see me. I was pathetic. One thing I did pick up on was my rate of improvement, and I think this is what kept me going. Each day I noticed that it got a little easier and I moved up in position in every meet. By the end of the season I was second for the team and ran at the state meet.

We didn’t have indoor track at our school but we did have a ski team so I joined that because I had a little bit of a background with skiing. I focused on cross country skiing rather than the downhill stuff. I was horrible in the races but just endured it.

So, spring came around and I was so excited to be a sprinter. The track coach, Mr.Cali, also our xc coach, automatically pegged me as a distance runner because of my success in the fall. I wasn’t liking it. He even laughed at me when I begged him to put me in the 200 at our first meet. We made a deal, I run the 200 only if I also run the 1600. The 1600 was sheer torture for me but I just got it over with so I could focus on the 200. I had never been more excited as I got ready for the 200. In my first ever 200 I ran 27.0, beating all the upperclassmen. The time almost broke our school record. I surprised my coach and was then an official sprinter for the next 2 years of spring track. I even had a permanent spot on the 4 x 100 and competed at the state meet in this and the open 200. My last 200 was at a summer track meet called the Bay State Games, going into my junior year. I ran a 25.9 and my coach told me it was time to hang up the towel with the sprints and move up in distance. I was open to the idea since I was seeing results in cross. So, spring season of my junior year I started by running on the 4 x 400 and then the open 400. I ran 59. in my first open 400 and broke the school record. It was fun. Then I ran my first 800 and absolutely hated it. I ran a 2:29 and experienced a new kind of pain. My coach told me I just needed to learn how to run it. Each time I ran it I learned a little more and improved. By the end of the season I found myself at the state meet in the 800. I won with a 2:16 and instantly things changed in my life. Doors opened up as far as college and I looked at running in a different way. The next fall I looked at some different schools that were recruiting me and signed early with U-Mass Amherst. That spring of my senior year of high school I lowered my 800 to 2:14 by winning the New England Champs. So, that’s how it all began and you can see how I’ve gradually moved up in distance over the years.

Ask Rebecca: Moving on up?

FredTerp writes, “Do you plan on running longer distances like Half-M or Marathon?”

Rebecca: Good question. I’ve actually been moving up very gradually throughout the years. Moving up to the 10k was a big step for me, but two years ago I attempted the US 20k championships. I hadn’t really been training for it but my coach and I just thought I’d give it a shot and use it more for training purposes to prepare for the US 10k Championships the next month. I went out a little too aggressively, not part of the plan, pr-ing at the 10k mark and then really cramping up at around the 9 mile mark. I was solidly in 4th, but rigged up so much so that I dropped out. It was disappointing but I learned a lot from it.

Last month I raced in the US 15k championships at the Gate River Run in Jacksonville. I was prepared for it and was very excited going into it. I ended up placinig 8th in a very loaded field of women, 6 Olympians.

This coming fall I might take another crack at the 20k championships and there might just be a marathon in the picture after that.

Ask Rebecca: Running+Art=Great Combination

Well we are starting another new feature on Running Rebecca, Ask Rebecca. Feel free to submit questions to comments (at) runningrebecca (dot) com or leave them in the comment section below and I will get them in the queue for Rebecca.

How does your running and artwork complement each other?

Rebecca: “I think being an artist as well as a runner is a great combination. Learning how to be patient is crucial in both areas. I’m a perfectionist with my artwork and tend to take a while with a lot of my pieces. But, when I step back and look at the final product I really appreciate that I took my time and did it right. I think this applies to running in that you need to take your time and be patient in order to see good things happen.

Painting of Blake Russell

“As far as composition goes I love incorporating the whole running theme into my artwork. The fluidity of a running body is such a challenge to capture on a 2-dimensional scale. I enjoy trying to capture that along with the whole spirit of the sport. I’ve been commissioned to do a few different things such as a portrait work and even t-shirt designs for road races. I always make sure the client knows that I need time to complete the job but it’ll be worth the wait. I shoot for a hyper realistic style that can be down right maddening, but I appreciate when a little of my own style sneaks in there. This hyper realistic style is very tight and requires a very steady hand unlike the fluidity of say the expressionistic or impressionistic style. I’ve had so many professors try and teach me to be more loose and painterly. It’s not easy and I see this in my running as well. It can be a challenge for me to loosen up a little and just let things flow.”

What other sports did you play as a child?

Rebecca: “I played soccer throughout middle school, and skiing just for fun while growing up. Also, I was on the ski team in high school.”