Falling short of perfect

Perfect weather, perfect course, perfect atmosphere, but a not so perfect race this past Saturday. A perfect and amazing race is what I needed to make the Olympic Marathon team and unfortunately the reality is I may have to be happy with one Olympic team on my resume. Being a two-time Olympian has been something I have a dreamed about and worked toward since Quin was born, but with the way the last few years have gone, I knew it was a long shot.

When the gun went off, I knew I needed a great race, but things just did not unfold the way I thought they would. My plan was to be in the lead pack as long as possible, and hope to still had something left in the last 10 kilometers to give it a valiant effort. The first mile pace was a 6 minutes and 10 second and then the race got going at 5:35 mile pace. For some reason, even though I have been training at a 5:30 mile pace, I felt terrible and was already dropping off the lead pack at 4 miles. I went through the half marathon point just under 1:15 one of my slowest times ever and was completely discouraged that it felt so bad. With 8 miles to go, realizing that I was having a horrible race I decided not to continue.

Had this happened four years ago, I would have been completely devastated. This time, I knew making the team was more of a dream than a reality. I have not felt like myself since Beijing and my racing just has not returned to the level it used to be. Factor in the fact that American women are running better than ever in the marathon, and it’s a hard team to make. Shalane Flanagan’s winning time of 2:25:38 set an Olympic trials record by more than three minutes. Even the fourth place time of 2:27 by Amy Hastings was one of the fastest times ever run by an American. It didn't even get her a spot on the team.

Frankly, I love the marathon, but I’m tired of it. I have trained for three since Quin, and they have all gone poorly for one reason or another. Just like my original reason for moving to the marathon, I am ready to go back to the track for something new. My coach, Bob Sevene, has always said that I am a track athlete running the marathon. I guess we will test that theory soon enough. I have one more shot at making the Olympic team this summer in either the 10, 000 meters or the 5,000 meters. It will be a similar situation with a handful of women vying for three spots in each event. I called my boss at Reebok hours after the race and asked him to send me some spikes.

My coach always says you can’t have a beginning without an end, so with that in mind I am taking advantage of our cruise vacation we embarked on shortly after the race. I brought my running shoes, but so far I have only used them to chase Quin around the upper deck track. I have a feeling Quin might be a track athlete as well, because as soon as he hit the track he just took off and ran for 10 minutes with a big grin on his face. I am glad he enjoys running and I know I will be itching to get back to it by the time the ship docks.

The bar was set high

I have not felt like myself since Beijing and my racing just has not gotten back to the level it used to be.  Factor in the fact that the USA women are running better than ever in the marathon, and it’s a hard team to make. Shalane Flanagan’s winning time of 2:25:38 set an Olympic trials record by over 3 minutes. Even the 4th place time of 2:27 by Amy Hastings was one of the fastest times ever run by and American, and did not garner even her a spot on the team.

Chasing the boy

My coach always says you can’t have a beginning without an end, so with that in mind I am taking advantage of our cruise vacation. I brought my running shoes, but so far I have only used them to chase Quin around the upper deck track. I have a feeling Quin might be a track athlete as well, because as soon as he hit the track he just took off and ran for 10 minutes with a big grin on his face. I am glad he enjoys running and I know I will be itching to get back to it by the time the ship docks.

The future

Frankly, I love the marathon, but I’m tired of it. I have trained for three since Quin, and they have all gone poorly for one reason or another. Just like my original reason for moving to the marathon, I am ready to go back to the track for something new. My coach, Bob Sevene, has always said that I am a track athlete running the marathon. I guess we will test that theory soon enough. I have one more shot at making the Olympic team this summer in either the 10,000 meters or the 5,000 meters. It will be a similar situation with a handful of women vying for three spots in each event. I called my boss at Reebok hours after the race and asked him to send me some spikes.

Blake: Frustrated, ready for a break

Blake, obviously pretty disappointed, texted just after the race:
  "Stopped with eight miles to go. Pretty frustrating to be out of it so early and not feel good. Guess the cruise comes at a good time. I need a nice long break from running."
  Blake and her family are heading off on a cruise, but she has promised to do a complete wrap-up of the Olympic Trials for this week's column.
  Our Houston coverage team reports she broke with the lead pack, had fallen to 15th at the 10-mile mark and was in 17th when she dropped out.
  More pictures, including ones of Blake, and reports from the race at montereyherald.com
  Also, Blake posted on her facebook: "Thanks for all the well wishes and good vibes. Unfortunately, it was an off day and I stopped with a lap to go knowing I was totally out of contention. Bummed, but I'll survive."

The race

Go to montereyherald.com where we did a blow-by-blow of the Olympic marathon trials race with the help of the Big Sur Marathon folks. ... It looks like Blake dropped out during the race, about the 20-mile mark, but we haven't got confirmation yet. - Editor dave

Early reports

The marathon coverage team has filed from tonight's ceremonies. Check out some of the photos. Go to montereyherald.com and click on the Olympic rings. More coming in just a few hours.

A closer look at Houston

Here's another look at the marathon course put together by the Houston Chronicle. Weather.com tells us to expect sunny skies with a high of 41 degrees during the race.

Locals in the field

This week running columnist Mike Dove outlined the local entrants in Saturday's Olympic marathon trails. Read his column here.

Keep in touch Saturday

With the help of our friends, The Herald will be at the 2012 U.S. Olympic marathon trials in a big way. Running columnist Mike Dove will be on course,  close enough to the runners to get splattered with sweat.  Julie Armstrong and Sally Smith of Big Sur International Marathon will  be in the VIP area, moniteering the action on the full screen and getting the buzz from running experts. Dave Kellogg will be home  in Monterey overseeing all our social media feeds, from tweets to Facebook posts. We're anticipating plenty of photos as well.   

Packing

Quin knows Mama has a big race coming up and that he is getting ready to go on an airplane. Last night as Jon was packing some things, Quin decided to pack too. He found a brown paper bag and stuffed it with 2 of Jon's dirty socks, my bikini bottom(for the cruise), some tape, 2 power bars, some gel, a small skate board and lastly a street sweeper. You never know what you'll need, and I like that he's a light packer. He placed it on Jon's bag with instructions not to touch it.

Sev and I depart on Thusday the day before Jon and Quin. Though it will be nice knowing they are there to cheer me on, I don't plan on seeing them until after the race, so I can relax and concentrate on the task at hand. The last time they cheered me on was sitting on a bench in Pacific Grove as I ran by during the Big Sur Half Marathon. Quin asked Dad why he was up so early. This time it will feel really early with the time change, but I imagine adrenaline race day morning will kick in when my alarm goes off at 5am Saturday morning.

Round and round she'll go

This year's Olympic trials will be spectator friendly, the course isn't point-to-point or out and back,but a four-lap duel, much like the 2008 Trials.

Relax and run your ass off

With the With the Olympic Trials coming up Jan. 14, I am happy, healthy and most importantly hungry for a spot on the team. I’m in my taper now, meaning my toughest workouts are behind me. As they say, the money is in the bank, the hay is in the barn.

There is nothing I can do now that will help me in the race except relax and know I have done all I can do. Though I can sense my family and friends are getting nervous, I am usually not too nervous until just before the starting gun goes off.

Prior to the 2008 Olympic Trials, my life was pretty simple: Run, eat, sleep.

Repeat. That’s not a bad thing. All of my efforts were focused on a single goal, having a solid race in the Trials and getting the spot on the Olympic team. Though things had not gone perfectly before the 2008 Marathon Trials — I struggled with injuries — I was still a favorite going into the race. I heard several people ask Bob Sevene, my coach, if I was going to make the team. The answer was always a terse, “Yes.” Once you have your coach’s confidence, it’s hard to be too nervous. So my mantra before 2008 was “Relax. You just need a solid race.”

Fast forward almost four years. Things are very different this time around. I have a sweet, extremely active 21⁄

2 year old boy. He seems to have inherited my stubborn streak and love of running and his father’s work ethic and love of Cheez-Its.

The other day he was in his little pedal car driving around the house when he announced he was going to work like Dadda, but needed some coffee first. I asked him if Mama works, and he emphatically said, “No!”

“Well, what do I do?” I asked.

Quin responded, “You run!”

So true, he has seen me go out the door and log quite a few miles these last few months, but 99 percent of the time it does not feel like work. A lot of my big runs were on the weekends when I have the most time. My friend called me the other day to say her husband saw me flying down the Marina State Park bike path with my coach following me closely on his bike. I said I was running marathon pace, about 5 minutes 30 seconds per mile, and it was one of my last workouts before starting to taper for the big day. Years ago, I used to have people drive by and say, “Do you know there is a strange man following you?” I even had a cop stop Sev one time while I was doing road workout to make sure he was not stalking me. Though I am tempted to say. “I’ve never seen the guy before” just to add some excitement to our day, I have resisted so far. In fact, we have been such a fixture lately, that the cops wave or stop to ask how training is going. Life is certainly different than four years ago, but Sev has been a constant in the chaos.

I imagine if you ask Sev if I have a chance to to make the team this time his response would be, “I don’t know. Let’s just run the damn race.” Not having completed a marathon since Beiijing, I am not considered a favorite this time around. Sev has been coaching for over 40 years and maintains that this is one
of deepest fields in history.

With only three spots for the Olympic Team there will be a handful of great athletes that don’t make the team.

My mantra this time around will be “Relax . . . and run your ass off!”
Olympic Trials coming up Jan. 14, I am happy, healthy and most importantly hungry for a spot on the team.
I'm in my taper now, meaning my toughest workouts are behind me. As they say, the money is in the bank, the hay is in the barn. There is nothing I can do now that will help me in the race except relax and know I have done all I can do. Though I can sense my family and friends are getting nervous, I am usually not too nervous until just before the starting gun goes off.

Prior to the 2008 Olympic Trials, my life was pretty simple: Run, eat, sleep. Repeat. That's not a bad thing. All of my efforts were focused on a single goal, having a solid race in the Trials and getting the spot on the Olympic team. Though things had not gone perfectly before the 2008 Marathon Trials — I struggled with injuries — I was still a favorite going into the race. I heard several people ask Bob Sevene, my coach, if I was going to make the team. The answer was always a terse, “Yes.” Once you have your coach’s confidence, it’s hard to be too nervous. So my mantra before 2008 was “Relax. You just need a solid race.”

Fast forward almost four years. Things are very different this time around. I have a sweet, extremely active 2 year old boy. He seems to have inherited my stubborn streak and love of running and his father's work ethic and love of Cheez-Its. The other day he was in his little pedal car driving around the house when he announced he was going to work like Dadda, but needed some coffee first. I asked him if Mama works, and he emphatically said, “No!” “Well, what do I do?” I asked. Quin responded, “You run!” So true, he has seen me go out the door and log quite a few miles these last few months, but 99 percent of the time it does not feel like work.

A lot of my big runs were on the weekends when I have the most time. My friend called me the other day to say her husband saw me flying down the Marina State Park bike path with my coach following me closely on his bike. I said I was running marathon pace, about 5 minutes 30 seconds per mile, and it was one of my last workouts before starting to taper for the big day. Years ago, I used to have people drive by and say, “Do you know there is a strange man following you?” I even had a cop stop Sev one time while I was doing road workout to make sure he was not stalking me. Though I am tempted to say. “I’ve never seen the guy before” just to add some excitement to our day, I have resisted so far. In fact, we have been such a fixture lately, that the cops wave or stop to ask how training is going. Life is certainly different than four years ago, but Sev has been a constant in the chaos.

I imagine if you ask Sev if I have a chance to to make the team this time his response would be, “I don’t know. Let’s just run the damn race.” Not having completed a marathon since Beiijing, I am not considered a favorite this time around. Sev has been coaching for over 40 years and maintains that this is one of deepest fields in history. With only three spots for the Olympic Team there will be a handful of great athletes that don’t make the team. My mantra this time around will be “Relax . . . and run your ass off!”

Mama, coffee please

Quin seems to have inherited my stubborn streak and love of running and his father's work ethic and love of Cheez-Its. The other day he was in his little pedal car driving around the house when he announced he was going to work like Dadda, but needed some coffee first. I asked him if Mama works, and he emphatically said, “No!” “Well, what do I do?” I asked. Quin responded, “You run!” So true, he has seen me go out the door and log quite a few miles these last few months, but 99 percent of the time it does not feel like work.

Marathon stalker

My friend called me the other day to say her husband saw me flying down the Marina State Park bike path with my coach following me closely on his bike. I said I was running marathon pace, about 5 minutes 30 seconds per mile, and it was one of my last workouts before starting to taper for the big day. Years ago, I used to have people drive by and say, “Do you know there is a strange man following you?” I even had a cop stop Sev one time while I was doing road workout to make sure he was not stalking me. Though I am tempted to say. “I’ve never seen the guy before” just to add some excitement to our day, I have resisted so far. In fact, we have been such a fixture lately, that the cops wave or stop to ask how training is going.

Counting down

Ten days until the Olympic marathong trials in Houston. ... I'm in my taper now, meaning my toughest workouts are behind me. As they say, the money is in the bank, the hay is in the barn. There is nothing I can do now that will help me in the race except relax and know I have done all I can do. Though I can sense my family and friends are getting nervous, I am usually not too nervous until just before the starting gun goes off.