Going the distance with Anna Pierce

Anna Pierce (nee Willard) is probably best known for being one of the premier steeplechasers in America, having won the event at the 2007 NCAA Championships and the 2008 Olympic Trials, where she set an American record. But following a 10th-place finish at the Beijing Olympics, Pierce changed coaches, joining Terrence Mahon's group in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., and last season established herself as one of the premier flat-race middle-distance runners in the world, posting career-bests of 1:58.80 in the 800m and 3:59.38 in the 1500m.

We recently caught up with Pierce, who is preparing to make her season debut in the 1000m at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, and she discussed at length her recent training, her evolution into a middle-distance star, the disappointment of her sixth-place finish in the 1500m at the World Championships in Berlin, and her lofty goals for 2010.

How's it going?

It's going pretty well. We're down in San Diego right now. Mammoth is a mess right now with so much snow. We got socked two weeks ago with like 10 feet of snow. It's brutal, so we came down here which is really, really nice.

Has the training been going well?

Yeah, things have been pretty good. I had a couple bumps in the road along the way, but nothing too crazy, just normal winter sickness and things like that. But things are going really well right now. This past week, I feel like I really turned a corner with my fitness so I'm pretty happy with the way things are progressing.

I know last year around this time, you were struggling to get adjust to altitude training after you moved to Mammoth Lakes. How would you compare your fitness this year as opposed to this same time last year?

Well I definitely think I've adjusted well to altitude. Just the type of person that I am, I'm probably never going to be a phenomenal altitude runner. But for now, I'm just doing the best with what I have. I'm definitely in a little better shape this year than I was last year. I have a new training partner, Morgan Uceny, this year and she immediately started kicking my butt as soon as she got to altitude. So it was like, ‘Yup, still struggling a bit,' but I definitely feel way better than I did last year, especially coming down from altitude now. I can run a lot better and quicker in the first couple of days, where as last year I felt like I had to transition a lot which means going up and down from altitude. I think I'm definitely stronger this year, which is good. I should be able to run a really good 3K this year too, which is something I'm excited about.

Given that this is a non-Worlds, non-Olympic outdoor season, what's the game plan for you this year?

We're going to be kind of experimental, which is fun. I even said to Terrence (Mahon) maybe we can even run a competitive 400m at some point this year and maybe work on block starts and stuff like that. I think it would be really fun to see how fast I could go. At the same point, when we can kind of do whatever we want its fun and a little scary too. I really get excited for big championships like World Championships, so I can have something to be the focus of my training. This year is kind of disjointed, I guess, not having something like that to focus on. For indoors right now, at least, I have Worlds to focus on so I'm going to try to qualify for that and do my best.

I was just going to ask you if you had intentions on competing in Doha?

Yeah, for sure. My focus is on the 800m for indoors.

How has your evolution from being more of steeplechaser to now carving a niche as one of the world's top miler/half-milers progressed?

I guess I sort of fell into the steeplechase because I wasn't having that much success in other events and athleticism just led me into steeplechase. But then as soon as I switched coaches this past year and moved to Mammoth, it became apparent as soon as we started doing training that I'm not as strong as a lot of the other 3K, 5K runners yet I'm much quicker. So I guess it has just been a natural progression. I'm doing more middle-distance training now. In a couple key workouts we had in December 2008, I ran a couple 600m time trials up at altitude and they actually went really well. Terrence actually said to me, ‘I think you're more of an 800-meter runner than even a 1500m.' Once I started to wrap my head around that I almost don't remember what it is like to run the steeplechase anymore, which is sort of funny. But I like it a lot. It makes me happy to hear you say that you think of me more as a 1500m, 800m runner. I like that.

Since it appears that you have changed your focus now, are you dropping the steeplechase or might we see you running one again in the future?

No, I don't think we're done with it. We'll probably leave it open. I feel like if I could run 9:22 based on how aerobically unfit I was, I know there is still a lot of untapped potential there. I would like to run, perhaps, a flat 3K this summer and see what I can get down to. If I feel like I can run in the 8:30s and if I actually do, then possibly I would run another steeple because that would indicate a much better performance. I don't want to run another steeplechase until I feel I can run one of the top times in the world. To me, it's not that enticing to go run a little under 9:20. It's like, what's the point? I want to be in contention with the top women in the world. I feel like I'm already getting there in the 800m and the 1500m.

What would be an enticing steeplechase time for you?

In the 9:10 ballpark, at least. Maybe that could happen for me, but I don't quite see that yet.

Looking at this indoor season, you said the focus is on the 800m. Is that because the aim is to run predominantly 800s during the outdoor season or is it to work on your speed for the 1500m?

Honestly, I think I wanted to just choose a path for indoors since it is such an abbreviated season. Last year, I just chose the 1500m and mile and did mostly that. I don't have a lot of time to do different events indoors. I'm focusing on the 800m mainly because the USA Indoor Championships are in Albuquerque and I do a lot better at the 800m distance at altitude. We're going to stick with the 800m whereas in the 1500m I think I would have more trouble running at 4500 feet. I'm just sticking with what I'm good at.

Come outdoor season, does the plan change or will you continue to run more 800s this year?

I will definitely run more 800s this year than I ran last year, for sure. I ran four last year and I could see myself running a few more. But I think I'll end up splitting my time between the 800m and the 1500m.

Is there a target time you would like to hit in the 800m before the end of the season?

I think for indoors, my goals are more performance-based. I just kind of want to pick up where I left off last year, continuing to compete. Last year the 800m was less about a time and more about competition. I just wanted to win all of the races that I ran, and I was happy with how the year went and everything, but obviously I feel like I could have run a little quicker than I did, had I been in a really fast race or something like that. So I'd say this year if I really wanted to focus more on time, I would like to run closer to 1:55, which sounds kind of crazy when I say it out loud. But I think the potential is there, for sure, if I get a little stronger. That third 200 is where I have to shave off a lot of time. I've got the final 200 down. It's a matter of putting it all together. I think that's what I'm aiming for this year.

Have you had to make any adjustments in your training to go along with this new focus?

Not really. We did a lot of 800m training last year. If anything, Terrence and I sat down this fall and I'm telling him all of these plans I have to run a 400m and he says to me, ‘Anna, listen. We've got the speed down. That's where you're strongest. Of course, continue to run that as much as you can, but what we really need to work on is your strength.' We've been working longer tempo runs, up to six miles, and trying to really nail down those middle paces like 3K. Terrence believes that if I build my aerobic fitness, it's really going to benefit my 3K, my 1500m and even my 800m. The speed is there. It's a matter of holding that speed for a lot longer period of time.

What does it mean for your training to now have a healthy Morgan Uceny in the group day in and day out?

It's awesome. Having her on has been such a breath of fresh air. Last year, I had to do most of the stuff by myself. Jenn (Rhines) was joking with me the other day about how I had to always invent ways to work my workout into somebody else's workout. It was like, ‘Jenn, what are you running? A 1200? Ok, I'm running a 400m so I'll start 10 seconds behind you and I'll catch you.' I really thrive in a group setting so I enjoy being around other people. Having Morgan has been fantastic. She's really good at altitude and surprisingly really good at the longer stuff. I was surprised because she hasn't done that many tempos or longer intervals, but she's been really good at that stuff. I can see her growing into a pretty amazing 1500-meter runner, maybe even the 3K even though she's not really interested in it right now. We complement each other in training really well.

You were supposed to run the mile at the Millrose Games. What happened?

I didn't feel like I was ready yet. I'm sure I was strong enough, but I got a little sick before. It was one of those things where I didn't want to pull the plug on it, but Terrence was like, ‘I don't want you showing up there at 80 percent and getting beat.' I think that, for my ego, would have been pretty hard. At least now, going into this weekend, I know I'm healthy, I had a good workout this week already and I'm feeling back on track. If something happens, at least I know it's more of a reality check than about me being sick. I felt like it wasn't quite worth it to go to New York not being 100 percent. In retrospect, it was probably a good decision because this past week things have gotten a lot better.

Now in Boston, you will be running the 1000m, correct?

Yeah. I'm excited about it.

Do you have a time goal in mind for a race at this distance?

I was talking with Terrence about this recently, but I think it is important, for me at least, just to focus on racing. I'm not really one of those types of personalities that wants to go out and just hammer from the gun in a time-trial kind of race. For me, focusing on the win and picking up where I left off last year is probably the most important thing. Often, when I do that, a good time comes along. Like when I broke four minutes. That day, I wasn't saying to myself, ‘This is the day that I break four minutes.' I was like, ‘Who cares. Just go out and race.' And that's what happened.

From a tactical standpoint, do you feel like there are still a lot of things that you need to work on to improve in your 800m race?

Oh, for sure. I made so many mistakes last year and, honestly, got lucky because it was a little bit of a softer year for the 800m. There is a lot that I need to work on. Sometimes I went out too slow. Sometimes I went out and got in a good position then spaced out in the middle race before realizing, ‘Oh crap, I'm in sixth place,' then start sprinting. Budgeting my energy and focusing for the full 800 meters are some things that I need to work on. It's actually getting better in training but it's actually making it happen in races that counts.

A little while ago you said 1:55 would be your goal and that it sounds crazy when you talk about it. At what point did you picture yourself being that caliber of a runner and do you think that believing you're that type of runner is tantamount to you becoming that type of runner?

A lot of it is Terrence. I definitely can be a little crazy at times in terms of what I imagine myself doing. I may not be as realistic with my goals as Terrence. He does a good job of taking what I want to do and applying it to my training. He will say, ‘Ok Anna, you are realistically in this type of shape now, but I think by the end of the summer you can be running 3:56. ' He charts everything out and is really scientific about it which really helps connect what I want to do with what I'm actually going to do so it's not just a theory in my head. I have him always telling me what he thinks I'm capable of and where he thinks I am right now. That really helps a lot of the time so it's not just me making up times in my head. He keeps me grounded. Based on what I did last year and knowing where I messed up and what we're going to fix this year, I can kind of tell where I'm going now. I can be more realistic about it, and 1:55 probably sounds crazy to some people, but to me and Terrence and to our group, I think it's actually pretty tangible.

Some runners that go through a change in coaches, whether it's from college to the pros or from one pro coach to another, struggle to adapt to the new system. Your transition to Terrence has been almost seamless. What do you attribute that to?

I'm usually a pretty up-front person. I'm usually direct and to the point. With Terrence it has been pretty good because he's very similar to me in that sense. Our communication has always been pretty straight on. We came at each other straight. If I'm having doubts about something, I tell him. That cleared up a lot of trust issues right from the get go. I'd say around February of last year I really started believing in the system and trusting it a lot. Whenever something comes up, I just tell him and he does a good job of telling me why we are doing things. Once I hear it once, I don't have to hear it twice. It's been really good. Even with personal stuff in my life, I can always talk to Terrence about it. He's not just an athletic coach, he's also a bit of a life coach. That sounds pretty lame, but he is a great person.

When you look at this year as a whole, how important is it you to have a lot of success to set the table for the 2011 World Championship year?

I think it's definitely crucial. I really want to run some fast times this year. Without having a World Championships or Olympic Games this year, I think running fast times sort of sets you up for next year. Even though that's not my type of competition style, I still want to be able to excel on the time side. Maybe I'll work a little more on pushing the race myself, a scenario that I'm not as comfortable with, try to work on new tactics, try front running, perhaps, just so I can have more weapons in my arsenal going into a big championship year.

How will you approach the Diamond League this year?

I need to educate myself a little bit more about how to compete for the Diamond League jackpots. I'm not exactly 100 percent sure how that would work, especially since I want to split my time between the 800m and the 1500m. I don't know if I would even be in contention for a jackpot. I would probably have to choose one of them if I wanted to do that. So I don't know if that will be something that I will be focusing on or not. I definitely do like running those big races, though. All of the Golden Leagues that I ran last year were my most memorable races. I love those big crowds and big stadiums. Paris was awesome. Those are the type of races I want to run this year so I will probably be running in a lot of Diamond Leagues.

When you look back on Berlin, can you assess your performance there and anything you would have done differently that might have changed the outcome?

I was extremely disappointed with my race in Berlin. I think it took a long time for me to even think about it at all in a positive light. At this point, I have to move along because you have to learn from things and realize that it's not the only World Championships race that I'll be in. It's just a stepping-stone. I don't know if there is anything I could have done differently. I went into the (1500m) final with a very specific race plan that I executed. The only difference was that I didn't really have that last gear that I usually have and that I've come to rely on. I didn't feel 100 percent that day. I can mull it over a hundred times in my head but we'll never really know the reason why. I think there are a lot of reasons why you don't feel well on a particular day. Maybe I didn't get enough therapy going into Worlds and then ended up getting too much while I was there. Maybe I didn't get enough electrolytes. It could be anything. It was kind of hard for me to work through that because I was really disappointed. Even though the rest of my season was pretty fantastic, that was my focus for the whole year. But it's definitely fueled me this year to realize not everything is in your control and all you can do is prepare the best that you can for a race. I know it will come when I'm ready. I have faith in my training.

Some athletes would take a disappointment like that and carry it into the offseason and use that to fuel all of their training. Did you do that, or are you the type that needs to drop it and move on?

It's not that I would drop it, because I need to learn from it. In other seasons, if I suffered a big loss it would really fuel me. For instance, in 2007 when I lost to Jenny Barringer right at the line in the steeplechase at USAs, for that whole next year all I thought about was the Olympic Trials and telling myself, ‘All right, I'm going to win this.' That was the big focus for that year. I know sometimes that can fuel me. But with all of the races we're going to be doing in 2010, it doesn't really make sense for me to just focus on one race or one competitor because then you are putting too much emotional energy into one thing. I know I need to spread my energies out this year.