Running Times, Online

Gomez Grabs 4th

Today at the US Olympic Trials for the Women’s Marathon RT Blog contributor Zoila Gomez ran a spectacularly strong and gutsy race and was rewarded with a 4th place finish. The top three finishers earn berths on the Olympic team, but the 4th place finisher is first alternate. If something should happen to Kastor, Boulet or Russell, Zoila will be the one to take her place.

Zoila started out running with the large chase pack. Magdalena Boulet was running slightly quicker for each mile and had built up a sizeable lead very early on in the race. The chase pack consisted of all the expected names and faces: Kate O’Neill, Elva Dryer, Deena Kastor, Mary Akor and Zoila. Around mile 15 Deena struck out from the front of the chase pack to chase Boulet on her own. Her move caused the pack to string out and Zoila seemed to be falling towards the back of the large pack.

She kept her cool though, and worked her way back up as slowly, others started to drop back or drop out altogether. O’Neill & Dryer were two notable DNFs. By the start of the last loop, around mile 20, Zoila was well within sight of Blake Russell in third place and seemed to have a shot at catching her. But it was not to be. Russell was too strong at the end this time.

Rounding onto Boylston for the final 400 meters though, another runner had caught up to Gomez: Tera Moody, a complete unknown coming into the race and sporting the bib (and therefore, seed number) 152, Moody was having the run of her life as well. Around the bend, onto the sunny section of Boylston as they entered Back Bay, the two were neck and neck, trading the lead on every stride. Zoila managed to cross the line one slim second in front of Moody to claim 4th in 2:33:53, a PR by over 1.5 minutes.

Alyanak 7th

Speaking of unknowns, we here at RT Blogs obviously know about Ann Alyanak, but she wasn’t getting a lot of press otherwise. That could change now though, if her runner-up performance at the US Women’s Marathon Championships here in Boston last year wasn’t good enough, Ann’s performance today was certainly notable. Knocking another 4 minutes off of her PR, Ann finished less than a minute back from Zoila in 7th place with a time of 2:34:46.

Emily LeVan did not come close to equaling her qualifying time, but she was thrilled with her race none-the-less. Her light training schedule this winter, and heavy cancer-treatment schedule for her daughter meant that her expectations for herself were not nearly as high as they have been in the past. She finished in 67th place in 2:45:45.

But in the past three months, the general public has come through and greatly surpassed all of Emily’s expectations for it. As of last Friday, Emily’s Two Trials project has raised over $64,000 for a Maine’s Children’s Cancer Center. Her total goal for the project was $52,400, and over the weekend, NBC aired a segment about Emily & Maddie on the nightly news. She expected to receive even more donations from that publicity.

Last, But Not Least

Finally we have Jackie Dikos, with perhaps the most valiant effort of our four bloggers. In her last post she mentioned the tendonitis she had been dealing with. In the lead-up to a big race, runners must, by necessity, talk down the seriousness of an injury lest she feel defeated before she gets to the line. Jackie was unusually forward about the gravity of her situation, but she toed the line this morning with determination — she was at least going to get the finisher’s medal.

As the race developed, she slowly started losing the pack she had been running with. One could see from the sidelines that her stride was short and awkward and the pain, both physical and mental, was obvious on her face. Throughout the field, runners were dropping out, from top contenders to the heartbreaking woman whose arm cramped and she ran with it frozen to her side for 10 miles in last place before finally dropping.

On the official results, Jackie is the last runner listed with a time: she finished last. But. She finished. And for that, in such a situation, with tens of thousands looking on and no where to hide, for Jackie I have the greatest respect.

Well, we are less than 2 weeks away from the marathon trials. Sometimes it is hard for me to believe the race is this close when I think back to February and March when it felt like the race would never get here. It is exciting that we are down to the final days. All the work is pretty much done and all that is left is to freshen the legs and rest up. It is a good feeling to know that soon I will get to use all the fitness I have gained from all the training I have put in over the last few months.

The women on the University of Dayton cross country team are helping me count down the days to the race. Last Friday I received a letter from one of the girls but was told I was not to open it until Sunday, which was 14 days before the race. The letter had a very creative poem and was very inspirational. I read the letter before I ran my workout that day and it definitely gave me a boost as I ran that day. The next morning I had another letter on my desk from a different runner. This one had a great quote and followed the inspirational/supportive theme. At this point I figured out that we have 14 runners on the team and I started receiving letters with 14 days to go so I assumed I would be getting more. Sure enough another letter was delivered with 13 days to go. I really cannot put into words how these letters have made me feel. They have just been great and I feel so blessed to know that I have so much support from the women on the team. They are definitely some of my biggest supporters and I will be thinking about them as I am out there running on April 20. I am excited and looking forward to keep counting down the days with the help of my team. I know I will be inspired and motivated by each of them. Thank you girls! 12 days to go…

There are only a few weeks before the marathon; do you feel you’re prepared?
I do feel very prepared. My training has gone really well up to this point and now it is just about having confidence in my training and knowing that I have done everything I can to prepare. Ed, my husband and coach, has done a great job with the preparations and I would not have done anything differently up this point.

Talk about last year’s marathon. Is there anything you will do differently this time around?
Last year’s marathon was a little different in that it was a smaller elite women’s field than what we will have this year and we ran the actual Boston Marathon course. We had some crazy weather to contend with last year as well. This year we will be running on a multi-loop course through Boston and Cambridge which is relatively flat. Since we are running a loop course we will know where we are relative to all the competition most of the time which will be different from last year. Last year I did not always know what place I was in and this year I will make sure I know my position throughout the race.

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Before I start this blog I have to give a shout out to my runners at the University of Dayton where I coach. One of the women on the team, who stays very up to date on all the running websites, came across my last blog and told the whole team about it. So they asked if I was ever going to mention them and I told them I definitely would. Go Flyers!

This past Sunday the Miami Valley Track Club, a local track club here in the Dayton area, was supposed to have a 10 mile race. The race is on a bike path and because of the recent snow and ice here it had to be postponed since the path was not yet clear. Ed, my husband and coach, still wanted me to get in a good 20 miles with a hard 10 at the end so he decided to set up an alternative 10 mile race for that Sunday and sent the word around the Dayton running community. Ed is a pretty precise person and likes things to be accurate so he walked with a measuring wheel the 5 miles out that we were going to use for the 5 mile out and back course. I was nice enough to pick him up and not make him walk 5 miles back. He marked every mile and kilometer on the course and made sure the miles were 1609.344 meters and not 1600. He did his best to estimate the .344. To me this was beyond the call of duty I ask for in a coach but Ed always goes above and beyond and I really appreciate all his work and support. I would not be where I am without him.

The alternative 10 mile race ended up being a success. We had a decent turnout of area runners and our one friend who owns a race timing company put out signs and cones for all the mile markers, turns, and the turnaround. We even had a table set up for an aid station out on the course. It definitely had a true race course feel. I was fortunate to have some men come out and run with me and help me through the workout. Even some of our neighbors who are runners themselves just came out to cheer. We ended up with great weather too. It was a little windy but at least it was warm. I actually had to break out shorts!

Seeing how well our alternative race went it makes me really appreciate all the support of the running community here in the Dayton area. It is just awesome how people come together to help others and we have a fun time in the process. I know I have received a ton of support, encouragement, and help in my preparation for the trials. It has been tremendous and I am very thankful and blessed. Thank you Ed, Jeff C., Kenn, Jake, Dave, Jeff K., Dr. Prikkel, Jody, and all the others for helping me prepare for the trials!

When I started to think about what I was going to write for this first blog, I really had no idea. So after pondering some ideas I settled on the weather since here in Ohio we are in the last fews weeks of winter. Spring is supposed to be coming soon but you wouldn’t know it based on our last couple of weeks. Though I really shouldn’t complain because I know many other parts of the US have had it much worse than we have. Our winter actually hasn’t been all that horrible and I have only been forced to do a few hard workouts on the treadmill. But these last few weeks of winter can be the worst because you have just had enough. So I thought I would share some of the mental tricks I use to get through the last few weeks of winter and make them more bearable.

1. Hot and steamy oatmeal. After cold morning runs like today’s I really enjoy a big bowl of steaming oatmeal and a hot cup of coffee. Knowing this is waiting on me when I finish has helped get me through many cold mornings. I am enjoying this now because hot oatmeal just isn’t as good after a run in warm weather.

2. High tech winter running gear. I know my Brooks winter gear has kept me dry and toasty in the cold weather. Right now I like to think I am getting the most out of my winter apparel because soon it will get packed away for the next winter. So if it stays cold for a little while longer just think of all the extra use you are getting out of your winter running clothes and smile as you pull on those tights and pullovers.

3. Easy nutrition practice on the treadmill. If you are forced to put in a couple more runs on the treadmills this winter, you can use it to practice your nutrition intake. Though I am not a real big fan of the treadmill it is nice to have water bottles right in front of you and you don’t have to take the extra time to stash water bottles along your route or run small loops. All you need to do is grab the bottles which are right beside you at anytime you want.

For those if you in cold weather areas, hopefully these tips will help you keep a positive mindset and enjoy these last few weeks on winter. Spring really is on the way and hopefully will be here sooner rather than later.

Stay warm!