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.

On The Run with Artie

http://www.runningrebecca.com/audio/onTheRunArtieEpisode1.mp3%20

Borrowing from an idea I heard on Runnerville, where Toni Reavis interviewed popular figures of the sport for his radio show Runner’s Digest while he ran with them, I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and interview Artie as we ran together last night on the Tracks course. I figured why not record some of the things we discussed for the Web site to keep the fans informed. It’s still a work in progress, but I think a good first step for the new segment. Last night’s run included Artie, Paavo, Bailee, Raven, and myself. Hope you enjoy it.

And if you have any questions you want me to ask Rebecca and/or Artie for the next interview segment just put them in the comment area to this post or e-mail them to comments (at) runningrebecca (dot) com

Thanks.

Footage from the Gate River Run 15k

Flotrack’s race footage of the men’s and women’s US 15k Championship.

US 15k Results

Full Results

MEN - top 10

  	Name 	Affiliation 	City 	State 	Time
1. 	Anthony Famiglietti 	Saucony 	Knoxville 	TN 	43:36
2. 	Tim Nelson 	Nike 	Portland 	OR 	43:37
3. 	Fasil Bizuneh 	New Balance 	Flagstaff 	AZ 	43:52
4. 	Daniel Browne 	unattached 	Beaverton 	OR 	43:56
5. 	Jorge Torres 	Reebok 	Boulder 	CO 	44:05
6. 	Ian Dobson 	adidas 	Mammoth Lakes  	CA 	44:06
7. 	Brett Gotcher 	McMillan Elite 	Flagstaff 	AZ 	44:09
8. 	Jason Lehmkuhle 	Saucony 	Minneapolis 	MN 	44:09
9. 	Andrew Carlson 	Brooks 	Flagstaff 	AZ 	44:11
10. 	James Carney 	New Balance 	Boulder 	CO 	44:13

WOMEN - top 10

1. 	Amy Begley 	Nike 	Portland 	OR 	49:51
2. 	Katie McGregor 	Reebok 	Saint Louis Park 	MN 	49:57
3. 	Emily Brown 	New Balance 	Minneapolis 	MN 	50:03
4. 	Elva Dryer 	Strands 	Gunnison 	CO 	50:40
5. 	Melissa White 	Hansons-Brooks 	Rochester Hills 	MI 	50:45
6. 	Colleen DeReuck 	Nike 	Boulder 	CO 	50:49
7. 	Kate O' Neill 	Strands 	Palo Alto 	CA 	50:53
8. 	Rebecca Donaghue 	New Balance 	State College 	PA 	51:05
9. 	Sally Meyerhoff 	unattached 	Tempe 	AZ 	51:08
10. 	Lindsey Anderson 	Nike 	South Ogden 	UT 	51:38

Flotrack’s Gate River Run Course Preview

Mark from Flotrack gives us a tour of the streets of Jacksonville which will host the Gate River Run and serve as the US 15k Championships.

15k Coverage and Preview

The US 15k Championships are this weekend in Jacksonville, FL in combination with the Gate River Run. The field is loaded and features 8 Olympians. Rebecca has been gearing up for this race under Artie’s tutelage and is ready to rock and roll. I will try to provide coverage of the race, but I am still working out the details on what exactly I will be posting while the race is happening. The goal is to provide updates to Twitter and flash results on the Running Rebecca Web site. And as of today, Rebecca and James Carney are tied in the Equalizer Poll.

Preview and Coverage

USATF Preview

Flotrack

Runnerspace

Getting geared up for Gate

It’s less than a week now until I race my first 15k at the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, Florida. It’ll be the longest race I’ll have ever run and I’m actually not dreading that. Like I said in my last post, I’m discovering a new  found confidence with longer distances. Last year I attempted to run the 20k at New Haven. I wasn’t prepared for it and dropped out just before 9 miles. I know that some people  including myself were a little surprised to see me at such a long race. That was over a year ago and things are a little different.

One year ago today, I slipped on ice and shattered my right wrist while walking our dog Paavo. Aside from the thousands of dollars in medical bills, the accident really changed me for the better. I didn’t come to this amazing realization about what running meant to me because I’ve always known what it means to me and I’ve always known what I want out of it. I think what it did was make me realize that I am in fact tough. I have a vivid image in my head of my mangled wrist and hand and of course the external fixator drilled into my bones that I chose to have instead of a cast in order to train. The pins and screws have been removed. I bring them with me to all of my races  just as a reminder of what I went through. I’m still a little shocked by it. I do think that the accident has brought out a new confidence that has helped quite a bit in my running.

My weekly mileage isn’t exactly all that much higher than last year, but the volume in specific workouts has definitely gone up and I’m recovering from it much better than before. We’ve also incorporated a lot more maintenance work into the program and I’m more on top of all of those little things that make the difference. So, I guess you could say I just feel ready to go.

3k Nats Recap

Last weekend I competed in the USATF Indoor Championships in the 3k. This meet has been held in Boston, MA for the past several years, which is always nice. I usually travel a few days in advance for this one and spend time with my family. It’s also my birthday week so it’s a nice treat to be home relaxing as I prepare for the race.

Going into the race I was the 4th seed with the 9:07 I ran at the PSU meet. I felt  pretty confident that I could run another big PR, hoping to break 9:00, and place at least in the top 3. I was recovered from my bought of the flu, workouts were again better than ever, and I felt strong.

Unfortunately a couple things went wrong with the race. I’ve been gearing up for this race as well as the 15k Championships which is this coming weekend. My workouts for both have been great, but for some reason my thoughts and focus seemed to be leaning more in the direction of the 15k. I think for a long time I’ve always struggled with the idea of tackling the longer distances in workouts and races. I think I’ve always pegged myself into the shorter/mid distance category. In high school I started out as a 100/200 runner and only just moved up to the  mile in college. So, increasing distance has been a very gradual progression both physically and mentally. Over the past few months I conquered some longer workouts and surprised both myself and my coach. I felt great doing them and really started to see myself doing well in the 15k. I saw myself doing well in the 3k too, but my thoughts seemed to be directed more toward the 15k. I hope to learn from this mistake and not get distracted by other races.

The 3k ended up being pretty loaded with competition, which is perfect. I figured it would go out pretty hard since it’s not a World Champs year for indoor and people were going to go after the title and setting prs. I was right, it went out very fast right from the gun. I thought my start was quick but it wasn’t quick enough. I ended up getting boxed in, pushed around, and going very wide a few times to get around, all things you should expect in any race. The lead group of about 4 or 5 women were at about 4:40-4:45 mile pace and I was at 4:49, figuring they’d come back. I’ve definitely learned that in a National Championship race you shouldn’t count on that happening. I think I’m finally realizing that I’m at a point where I need to start taking risks, and know that it’ll be ok. Unfortunately with 1k to go I realized that I had blown it. I just maintained my form, knew it would be a nice PR, and kicked it in with about 400 to go. A friend of ours, Terry Shea, was near the finish line and got my final 200 split as a 33. A 33 without anyone challenging me  and feeling too good finishing made me so upset. I played it way too safe. I’m happy to have run a 9:01.08, but know that I have yet to prove my potential. I won’t forget this feeling, which will definitely aide me in future races. I’d love to jump into a 5k right now and set a nice pr. Unfortunately that’ll have to wait until sometime in the spring. I think it’s great to get excited for upcoming races but for the future I’d like to stay focused on whichever race is next in line, which right now is the 15k.

15k Equalizer Poll

March 14 is the USATF 15k Championships. The race is held in Jacksonville, FL in conjunction with the Gate River Run. At the event, they have a race within a race, called the “Equalizer”, where the top 25 professional women are given a 5 minute head start on the rest of the field. The first male or female to cross the finish line wins the “Equalizer.” Since James Carney and Rebecca are good friends and will both be racing in Jacksonville, I wondered who everyone thought would win the “Equalizer” between the two of them.