Monday, March 17, 2014

Interviews with DDF girls 1600m. and 3200m. winners

First interview is with girls 1600m. winner, Kendall Derry of Bella Vista HS.  She won in a new meet record of 5:06.04.

1)  What was your plan going into your 1600m. and 800m. races?
My plan going into the 1600 was to be patient and wait for the right opportunity to try to pull ahead. In this case it happened to be the last lap, which I saved just enough energy to make it a speed race at the end. For the 800, the race dictated the pace. I used the first lap to get where I need to be to be competitive in the 2nd lap. My plan for the year is to prepare myself for the bigger races at the end of the season.

2)  Can you take us a bit through your own races and how they unfolded for you?
Both of my races I didn't really know who or what I was going up against. I just ran my race and paced myself off of the other people in my race.

3)  What is your current weekly mileage?  Length of long run?  What workouts have you done recently? Doing anything different this year compared to other seasons?  
My current weekly mileage is 30-35 miles a week. My long run is usually around 9 miles. Some of the workouts we've done recently are progression long runs and speed workouts, the most recent one being a 4 by (600,100 jog, 300, 400 rest). The only thing we're really doing different this year from last year is more strength training.

4)  Can you tell us a little bit about your coach and how he has helped you through your running career?
Coach Melanie Cleland and Coach Mike Gottardi really know what they're doing. They ran throughout college and they understand how to train us so that we peak at the end of our season, when the most important races come up. They teach me strategy as well as encourage me.

5)  What is your next big race for you?
My next big race is the Stanford Invitational. I'm looking forward to running in it with my teammates.

6)  How long have you and your twin sister been involved in running?  
Kaitlin and I ran track in 5th grade and 7th grade, but we didn't really start running seriously until we joined the Buffalo Babes Running Club in 8th grade.

The 2nd interview is with Brooke Starn of Monte Vista.  She won the girls 3200m. in 11:01.16 defeating a group of some of the top 3200m. runners in NCS.


1)  What was your plan going into your 3200m. race?
My plan was to run the first mile around 5:25 with relatively even splits and try to keep the second mile right around there or slightly faster. I had already run 10:54 at Dan Gabor and was aiming for closer to 10:50.

2)  Can you take us a bit through your own race and how it unfolded for you? 
The first mile was on pace, but the fourth lap started to slip. The next few laps were a few seconds off pace still, so I realized that 10:50 wasn't going to happen that day so I just tried to run to win.

3)  What is your current weekly mileage?  Length of long run?  What workouts have you done recently? Doing anything different this year compared to other seasons?  
Depending on the week I am usually between 5:30 and 6:30 hours with my long run being 1:20-1:30. Recently I've  done many different tempo workouts and have been using league meets as my faster workout of the week. My overall volume this year and in the off season is higher than it has been in previous seasons.

4)  Can you tell us a little bit about your coach and how he has helped you through your running career?
We've had some coaching changes this year, including Coach Davis becoming our head coach instead of just being in charge of the distance team. In spite of that, Coach Davis always makes time to talk to me specifically about my plan,  workouts, goals, and is always willing to take the time to make sure I have a full understanding of why we are doing certain workouts or plans. I love learning about the science behind our sport so this approach really helps me.

5)  What is your next big race for you?
My next big race is Stanford Invite.

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