Sep 8, 2008
Rebecca Walter - Post Crim Views- 3229

Rebecca is a recent U of M grad. While competing for the U of M, Rebecca was a long distance standout. She recently tried her hand in the Crim 10 miler and ended up as the 2nd Michigan finisher in a time of 58:19, or about 5:50 pace. Read on to find out about her thoughts on the Crim and how other things have been going for her.

RM: What are your thoughts on your race at Crim? What were your goals heading into the race?

RW: The Crim was a great opportunity to test out my base-level fitness. I am currently running 80mi/wk base mileage so that I can start to handle some high-level training. My goal for this race was to run under an hour and have some fun. I love XC and road races- they are probably more my bread-and-butter than track ever was, but its been awhile since I’ve gotten off the track.

RM: How does having such a competitive field ahead of you, effect your race plans and strategy?

RW: My goal was to just run a nice even pace throughout and I wasn’t going to worry about any competition until the last few miles of the race. I actually haven’t worn a watch for any of my runs this summer, so this was a nice chance to see where I stand for right now. Once I am truly training, I will be more aware of the field around me. On that day, I was just trying to run hard for myself.

RM: What are your goals for this training block? Are you going to start getting more away from cross country and track and focus on the roads?

RW: I am so excited to finally be in a state of consistent training. I have never had consistency of more than a season or 2 because I kept getting dinged up, often with minor issues, but it definitely affected my overall training. Therefore I am content to be stronger and more fluid (I’ve been doing a lot of drills and core, etc). I love racing and will do road races as I see conducive, but I am patient when it comes to entering US champ- type races which will be my goal in the near future.

RM: How has your training been going so far? How much have you been running weekly? Any special workouts or favorite workouts you have done this training segment?

RW: Not wearing a watch has been vital in my rise to 80mi/week because some runs are so much slower than I would have ever run in college (I was typically 65mi/wk), but I have finally learned to recover. I love fartleks and long L-T runs, and those are easy to do off of feel, no time needed. HILLS have by far been my weak point so I have been doing a lot of them, and now it’s not such a hated piece of training for me. They are so essential.

RM: What are your running/racing plans for the spring/summer?

RW: I am taking things a couple months at a time. Coaching at IU is my priority right now, so if I find races that benefit my training and don’t distract me from my job, I will look into those. US Cross might be something I will consider, but other than that I am hesitant to make any early plans. I am in a good routine, and that is enough for the time-being.

RM: How do you like coaching at Indiana? Did you see yourself as a college coach while running at Michigan, let alone being a coach at another Big 10 school? Is this a possible long term career choice, if not, what would you like to do long term?

RW: I love coaching, its become a passion. I take pride in what we’ve accomplished, but we have yet to even scratch the surface for what we are going to do over the next several years. I never really thought I’d coach but now I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. As far as coaching another Big10 school, I have maintained a great relationship with the coaches at Michigan. I respect them even that much more, now that I seen what they’ve done from a coach’s perspective. Coach McGuire and Coach Henry have instilled the fundamentals in me while I ran for them, but they also understand my drive for success. So, they know IU is making headway, and they are soon to have some undeniable competition. I would love to coach long-term because I invest myself in the process, but patience is key to see the results. I know it will get better and better, and I plan to be a part of that as long as I can. The atmosphere with the staff, and that school itself, is incredible, and to be able to put so much time into my personal running career- I couldn’t ask for a better situation.