Congrats on the Eugene Marathon, can you tell us about the race, did you have much competition?
Thanks! Just about every marathon this year has a ton of competition as women come out of the woodwork to try to get their trials time. There was a large pack of women all trying to break the sub 2:46 barrier so this was one of the few races where I had a big pack of women to run with for about 17 miles. I ran this race very conservatively as I didn’t know where my fitness was and it had been so long since I was in a marathon. The first 15 miles felt like a jog in the park and I knew that I would probably get my time as long as I kept taking in calories. Around mile 15 we started putting in some fast miles to get more time in the bank, and try to lose a few girls. At mile 18 it was only one other woman and I. We stayed together until about 22 when she pulled away a bit. I dug deep and managed to catch her around mile 24. With two miles to go I had plenty of time to run under the trials time so I tried to enjoy it. Finishing on the track in Running Town USA was an amazing feeling. If you see the interview, you’ll notice I probably spent 20 seconds whooping it up with the crowd before I crossed the line!
Where have you been the last few years? Looking at your race results history there wasn’t a ton of racing between 2008-2010, but you’ve gotten back into it in 2011.
You know, my running has always been very balanced with a pretty stressful working career. My mindset is “running paid for my college degree so I need to put it to use”. In 2008 I took the CEO position of a statewide company that had a lot of work to be done! From day one on the job my life turned into 60 -70 hour work weeks, even acquiring an existing organization into us. While training for the 2008 trials, I was a Senior Director for a National company and I can’t tell you how difficult it was to balance that type of career with competitive running. I knew that I needed to focus my attention on my job and my family or else I’d suck at it all! I actually thought I might be done with competitive running after the 2008 trials, but my sponsor Saucony and some good running friends reminded me that I should make it 3 trials in a row and go for 2012. The competitive itch came back. My times have definitely gotten slower as my work career has grown, but I’m in complete acceptance with that (so is my mortgage).
You qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials for the third time, the longevity is impressive, what do you attribute it to?
Believe it or not, I qualified in 2000 as well but I qualified too close to trials so I couldn’t run! Plus I was like 23 and marathoning wasn’t cool in my mind yet…
I attribute my long career to balance, lack of obsessiveness (sometimes I need a bit more), a love of cross training, and a husband who works in Sports Medicine!! Seriously though, I grew up a heptathlete, skier, and soccer player. The mindset in those sports is that rest and recovery is just as important as hard workouts. I really do listen to my body and when it’s hurting or it needs rest, I take it. It’s more important to me that I can walk when I’m 70 than getting in a certain number of miles per week.
I also take long breaks from running. If you ask my coach and training partners, they will tell you that I take breaks from running all the time. I have done three Ironmans so I’ll take a long break from running to do something else. That helps me with motivation and longevity. I have no doubt I’d be a better runner if I focused solely on running, but that would not be fulfilling for me.
You’re 34 years old; will you attempt to qualify for a fourth Olympic Trials?
No I don’t think so. I think it’s important to move on to new challenges in life. There are those women who do this for their full time job and they are the best. That’s not me and early on in my adult running career knew it wouldn’t be me. I never wanted to focus everything on running, and always respected there would be a time I’d be happy to walk away from the competitive times and just run for fun.
I want to focus on other life adventures that aren’t easy to do when you are trying to run fast marathons! I loved being back on my ski’s, rock climbing, and mountaineering. If my husband and I have non-furry kids, I want to focus on them and their sports.
Currently 62 men have qualified for the Olympic Trials while 126 women have qualified. Should the women’s time be lowered from sub – 2:46? If so, what time do you think would be adequate?
Yeah I do think the time should be lowered. I was always a proponent of lowering it to sub 2:44 or even 2:43. I like the idea of an A and B standard as it gives those of us who don’t run full time a chance, but I still think 2:46 is too high. As the natural progression in sports goes, women are getting faster and faster. At the 2004 trials, there were around 60 of us running. At the 2008 trials it was more like 140 or so.
You were sponsored by Saucony, are you still? Who are you being coached by?
Saucony has solidly stood by me for years and yes they are still sponsoring me. I have nothing to say but amazingly positive things about Saucony. They treat their athlete’s great. They are appreciative of my professional career and have even donated items to my company for silent auctions! Darren DeReuck coaches me. I train mostly with his wife Colleen and a few other elite women he coaches. Once in awhile I jump into his big group workouts. Darren and Colleen are good friends of mine. I trust Darren’s training, and he trusts that I need to tweak things to fit my lifestyle as well as what works for me. He is open to what works for Katie and always meets me halfway with any changes I want to make to my training. I have a great time running with my teammates and his athletes. It’s a very fun and friendly group.
You’ve got a good looking golden retriever named Tollie, the best dogs in the world. Is Tollie a runner?
I love that you asked about Tollie! Tollie had elbow dysplasia as a pup and we had both his elbows scoped so he runs but we don’t take him on long stuff with us. He does my warm up with me during weekdays and then I drop him off at home. He is more of a swimmer and is overly exuberant. He is actually sitting next to me at work right now waiting for a walk! You would never be able to tell he had elbow issues when he was young because he runs around like a madman. His form is a bit sucky though.
You received a full-ride scholarship to Villanova for the long jump, triple jump, and heptathlon. How did you get into running?
My dad was a marathon runner so after being completely burned out on running after college, I declared that I would never run again to my dad. He suggested some long runs together and I sort of fell back in love with running. In high school I use to hide behind the pole vault pits so I wouldn’t have to do the 2 lap warm up so the fact that I run marathons now is ironic. My dad and my ‘Nova coaches always told me I’d be a distance runner but it just seemed boring to me. Running with my dad after college as I was becoming an adult gave running back to me. In college I sort of felt “owned” and running was for everyone else, not for me. Once I was done with college, and I could run when, where, and for how long I wanted, it made me love running again. My first marathon was a sign that I could do well in the sport so I kept going. Boy what I wouldn’t give to try to go over some hurdles or triple jump into a pit now…I’d probably pull every muscle in my body.
Having a full time job, when do you get your runs in? I read that you plan on doing some triathlons this summer, which ones will you be doing? Do you do much specific triathlon training?
I have to get my runs in early in the morning. Two days a week I block my work schedule out until a bit later in the morning just so I can get my speed work in with my coach. Second runs are usually out of the question because I have many late night meetings or events to attend. Once I’m at work, I can’t seem to get away even for a quick trip to the gym to lift. I now focus on quality versus quantity.
I am doing the 5280 triathlon series this summer. I love triathlon, but again don’t have the time to put into great training so I just have fun with it. I have done three Ironmans and only trained for one. Let’s just say you can’t fake an Ironman! My husband and my brother are triathletes so I jump into races with them (note I’m not fast enough to race with them). I love the bike, love the run, and hate the swim! I have actually decided not to practice the swim this summer, but rather survive. I’ll spend more time on the bike. I actually held my Pro-Duathlon card when I lived in Tucson so I really enjoy the bike. I need to put some muscle on though as marathoning slims you down.
What races do you have planned for the rest of the year? Will you run another marathon before Houston?
No more marathons until Houston. I now enjoy the shorter distances more since I can manage the training with my life. I will do some local road racing throughout the summer and then in October start training for trials. I haven’t figured out which fall races I’ll do but there will be a handful of half marathons and 15K type distances. I really enjoy the local Boulder/Denver summer racing season. My PR’s are long gone in the short distances but it will be fun to get out there and hurt.
Without Limits
The following errors occurred with your submission