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Lead Stories: Sunday, October 12, 2008

Interview with professional steeplechaser Ann Gaffigan (Part II)

Posted June 5th, 2007 at 10:15 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Special Features, Interviews

ann gaffigan steeplechaser runner track and field HerActiveLife.com (HAL), a new member of The Final Sprint Network, published the second installment of a two part interview with professional steeplechaser, Ann Gaffigan. In Part I, Ann discusses how she got into the steeple, who inspires her, her training, and her most recent and widely read blog entry from her site, steeplechics.com. In Part II, Ann offers some incredibly insightful remarks about eating disorders and body image, how she handles disappointment, her Olympic goals, and her personal life philosophy.

Ann graduated from the University of Nebraska in 2004, and quickly made her mark in the professional ranks by setting a then American record of 9:39 in the 3,000 m steeplechase at the 2004 US Olympic Trials. She followed that performance in 2005 by finishing 5th in the USA championships. Before becoming a professional runner, Ann was an Illinois state champion, an NCAA All-American, a Big 12 champion, and Nebraska’s female student-athlete of the year in 2004. Under the direction of Nebraska coach Jay Dirksen, and with her sight firmly set on the 2008 Olympic Trials, she trains upwards of 100 miles per week. The Beijing Olympics marks the official inauguration of the women’s steeplechase as an Olympic event.

In addition to her running accolades, Ann is a computer programmer/web systems developer with a degree in Computer Science, and she is webmaster for the popular site, steeplechics.com.

PART II

HAL: The Final Sprint published an article about NCAA runners and eating disorders. How much of a problem do you think eating disorders and body image are in the NCAA, or in elite running in general? Where do you draw the line as an athlete between healthy and unhealthy?

AG: I think it’s a major problem because it’s very under the radar and a lot of athletes may have an issue, but not to the point where they need to be hospitalized. So it’s very hard to tell; someone might seem very healthy, you might see her eat healthy meals, and she continues to run well so you think she must be fine. You usually only think someone has a problem if she is collapsing or if she needs to be taken to the hospital. But it’s hard to see when someone has a problem if she is doing a good job of hiding it, and if she is eating enough to still get by.

Read the rest at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com

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Interview with professional steeplechaser Ann Gaffigan (Part I)

Posted June 4th, 2007 at 12:11 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Special Features, Interviews

ann gaffigan steeplechaser runner track and field HerActiveLife.com (HAL), a new member of The Final Sprint Network, published the first installment of a two part interview with professional steeplechaser, Ann Gaffigan. In Part I, Ann discusses how she got into the steeple, who inspires her, her training, and her most recent and widely read blog entry from her site, steeplechics.com. In Part II, Ann offers some incredibly insightful remarks about eating disorders and body image, how she handles disappointment, her Olympic goals, and her personal life philosophy.

In addition to her running accolades, Ann is a computer programmer/web systems developer with a degree in Computer Science, and she is webmaster for the popular site, steeplechics.com.

Her Active Life (HAL): Before getting into your upcoming season and your goals for 2008, I am sure a lot of people wonder about this, and I am sure you get asked this question a lot, but how did you gravitate toward running the steeple – which is arguably one of the toughest races on the track?

Ann Gaffigan (AG): When I arrived at Nebraska my coach, Jay Dirksen, articulated that I was an all around athlete and he thought that I could do really well in it, and I said “okay.” It was pretty rocky at first.

HAL: Do you consider yourself a steeple pioneer?

AG: I’ll consider myself that if I make the 2008 Olympic games. There are a lot of women steeplers that deserve recognition, but they are very under the radar, like Lisa Nye, Elizabeth Jackson, and Karen Harvey. Those women were really the pioneers.

Read the rest at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com

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How to get the most out of your late race push …

Posted April 29th, 2007 at 9:00 AM by Jim Fortner

Section: Running & Training, Training Tips

Jim Fortner is a weekly, guest contributor to TheFinalSprint.com. Make sure to also check out his own personal running and advice site: “Jim2’s Running Page”.

end of race kick_edited-1 [After recently discussing a reader’s questions regarding their problems during a late race push], I thought I would offer a few things that I do to help maintain or increase pace in those late stages of a race when your legs and cardio-respiratory system are crying for relief.

There are certain things you can do in training to help prepare you for this challenge, such as increasing the pace toward the end of a long run when you are tired. And making sure that your speedwork is paced so that the last couple of intervals or hill repeats are the fastest, as well as the hardest. But, once you are in a race, it’s too late to deal with training. You’ve got to make the most you can of the preparation that you have.

If you have run the first part of the race much too fast and are in severe oxygen debt with a lot of lactic acid built up in your legs toward the end, you probably blew it and won’t be able to maintain pace. You will just have to accept a slower finish and learn from the experience. If you have run a smartly paced race, or even more conservatively than necessary in the first part, you have a good opportunity to really “go for it” at the end.
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