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Current Public News
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| No Noel: Without the Anticipated High Winds, Terry Shea Improved his Olympic Trials Marathon Time to 2:23:44 |
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| 11/3/2007 |
The specter of Hurricane Noel was looming and runners were anticipating strong winds throughout the 2008 Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon in New York City on Saturday, November 3, 2007. "The race started slow," noted the B.A.A.'s Terry Shea, who had opening miles of 5:37 and 5:35 and was not that far behind the leaders. "It was not surprising because they had forecast strong winds. It is also not uncommon for the pack to stay together early in a championship race." Indeed, Shea had planned a strategic race for himself and had predicted that those who would do well would be the runners who were patient and did not attack the course early on.
Once they entered the park, however, expectations changed. While the early miles were slow, they had felt difficult: "Those 5:35s felt like 5:20s," said Shea, "but once we entered [Central] Park, it was sheltered...In terms of energy output and aerobically, the faster splits seemed to come more easily." Shea ran the next several miles with a net of about 5:22 on the uphill miles and 5:07 to 5:12 on the downhills. Even those hills that had seemed so challenging just three weeks ago when he came down for a workout on the course were now manageable. The preparation had helped: "I am glad that I came down three weeks ago - the hills felt bigger then."
As the race began to spread out, he faced a choice: slow a little and run with the pack behind him or step it up a bit and stay with the pack ahead. Shea chose the latter, running a little faster than he had planned. He reached the half-way point in 1:09:55, his fastest split ever in a marathon, and he was still feeling good.
It wasn't until about mile 16 that he began to sense trouble. Shea has been battling a hamstring injury over the last three weeks and with 10 miles to go, he began to feel it. He managed to hold pace and hit the 20 mile mark on track for a 2:20 performance, but he knew when the twinges started getting stronger, that it would just be a matter of time before the hamstring forced him to slow down. Just before mile 23, the hamstring locked-up completely and he was forced to stop and stretch "for about 10 seconds". Even with the stop, he ran a six-minute mile. He managed to get through the last 5k, finishing in 2:23:44. While his 61st place showing was 20 places back from his 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials finish of 41st place, his time on the hilly New York course was almost a minute faster than the 2:24:32 that he ran in Birmingham in 2004.
Commenting on the discrepancy between his faster time and his finish further back in the field, Shea echoed the sentiments of many who believe that it is an indicator of how far the U.S.A. has come in distance running over the last 3-1/2 years. "In my pre-race predictions, I said that I thought that very few people would be able to PR on this course, but I was wrong: more guys PR-ed than I thought." Shea sees this, along with the fact that the field as a whole ran faster than in 2004 at Birmingham, as a promising sign for American distance running. He pointed to his good friend Brian Sell, who led the 2004 Olympic Trials before fading to a 12th place finish, as an example: "Carly had yelled to me on the last loop that Sell had moved into third. When I crossed the line, I saw him being interviewed and knew then that he had held on. Having him make the team is so special to guys like me. He is from my area in Pennsylvania and he is someone that I admire. I look at someone like Nate Jenkins from New England who finished seventh and he could be the Brian Sell of the next Olympics."
He also is encouraged by the spectators in New York City. "It was a great day. There was so much fan support on the course. I think that it will be the same way at Boston in April with knowledgeable fans and a city that appreciates distance running." Shea will be among those fans as he cheers on girlfriend Carly Graytock, who also competes for the B.A.A. and will be running in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Women's Marathon on Sunday, April 20th.
For now, however, Shea will be enjoying a well-deserved break before mixing some track races in with some road races. As he noted in his pre-race interview: "I want to have fun with a variety of things and take advantage of no upcoming marathon. This means more frequent racing and my training will incorporate more fast speedwork than usual. I would love to PR on the track at both 5,000m and 10,000 at some point next winter and spring. It would be quite satisfying being able to say I PR’d at those distances at the age of 34."
Also competing at the Olympic Trials was Ed Baker who had qualified along with Shea at Austin (2:21:35) while still competing for the B.A.A.. Baker left the Boston area last year to study at Stanford and will receive his M.B.A. this spring. He has had a tough last month of training as he has had to juggle his studies with work on his own start-up company - a Facebook -type of web service for companies. Still, the former Harvard standout finished in 77th place with a time of 2:26:37.
For news and results regarding the Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon, visit: 2008 USA Olympic Trials Men's Marathon
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