RM: After winning the Bayshore Marathon last year, what goals did you have for this year's race?NU: My goal for this year's race was to run under 2:20:00 to get my Olympic Trials A qualifier.
RM: How was your training for this years race compared to last years race? Did you do anything different to become better prepared for the race the 3rd time around?NU: My training was pretty much the same as last year, with the exception that I ran a lot more miles over the winter. This was mostly due to taking time off for a series of minor injuries last year. Most weeks I hit about 90-100 miles in one run per day.
RM: At what point did you feel the win was going to be out of reach and what did you do to keep yourself from completely falling apart at that point?NU: At about mile 10, I was well off the pace I wanted to hit and my legs felt like they had no energy, so I was pretty sure one of the other guys was going to end up catching me. I eased up a little on the pace to try to recover a little and make sure I wouldn't blow up late in the race. Then, just after the turn around point, I saw how close Nick Allen right behind me, and I knew he was going to end up catching me. He ended up flying by me a couple miles later going probably 20-25 seconds per mile faster than I was.
RM: What will you do to recover from this race physically? How much time off or to you start running again? Do you do anything to speed recovery?NU: I've found that I recover best if I don't take time off after running a marathon; I just try to take it easy on my training runs for the next few days. The day after Bayshore, I jogged 4 miles, and my legs felt okay, so I ran The Great Race half marathon on Monday. Then, I took it really easy the rest of the week before running the Sunburst half marathon.
RM: What races do you have planned for the rest of the summer/fall?NU: I plan on doing a lot of smaller local races this summer leading up to the Olympic marathon trials in November.
RM: Why should people run the Bayshore Marathon?NU: I really like the Bayshore Marathon, because it has a fast course and always seems to have good weather. Also, the entry cap prevents a lot of the problems people have at bigger races (course too crowded, not enough parking, etc.).
