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NYC HALF MARATHONMarch 15, 2012Desiree DavilaNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Q. How have you been recovering? DESIREE DAVILA: It's been a process, but it always is. I took two weeks totally off and then two weeks just kind of easy running, getting my legs back.  So this is short turnaround, but it'll be the kind of race where we find out where I'm at based on how I did. Q. I think you're in the middle of a speed segment, though, right, so how weird is it to run a half when you're doing that kind of work? DESIREE DAVILA: It's early enough where I haven't kind of sharpened anything up yet. It's getting in mileage and basic workouts right now. It's not really fine‑tuned towards the speed just yet, so it's good timing to have something like this and then kind of ease down from there. Q. Do you have any other race plans? DESIREE DAVILA: I'm going to do a 10K at Payton Jordan, and then I'll do the BAA 5K. Q. The Olympic Trials? DESIREE DAVILA: No. Q. Are you guys going to head to warmer weather like Tallahassee again or do you just do that in the winter? DESIREE DAVILA: Just the winter. Q. You're going to stay in Michigan? DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah, it should be relatively similar to what London is going to be. Q. What period specifically do you go south before trials? DESIREE DAVILA: The last five weeks. Q. At the trials, was it important to you to try and win the thing, not quite having the kick completely developed? Was it just enough for you to get second or were you kind of disappointed? DESIREE DAVILA: It's pretty mixed. Going in, the goal is, number one, make the team. Two, try and win but don't sacrifice the team for the win. And that's really kind of how it played out with race strategy, doing a lot of work out front and pushing the pace when it got soft and things like that. It's not ideal for trying to win, but it was for making the team. That's just how it fell. Q. Someone else I spoke to who was in the top four said they actually figured it was going to be a four‑person battle with those four people. Is that kind of what you anticipated? DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah. I mean, I guess I expected there to be six or seven people there late just because you plan for way worse than what you actually end up with. But if it turns out six or seven people are there, you're ready for that. But realistically when you start looking at things, yeah, four maybe five people I was thinking. Q. Are you getting any more recognition just on training runs or anything? Are people kind of doing the double take and saying, oh, it's that girl? DESIREE DAVILA: Occasionally. Yeah, I got a high five in the park yesterday. Some girl turned around and was like oh, my gosh, so that was pretty cool. So every now and then, which is good. Q. Becoming an Olympian on January 14th for something that's not until six months later, is there a great sense of relief that comes with that? It's probably not like‑‑ you're obviously going to wait until the series begins, but is it odd to have six months of focusing on something that's that far down the road? DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah, it is. I think it's good because you can regroup and then‑‑ especially with the marathon and trials situation like we have, it's a lot of pressure, and to focus on this one day‑‑ even now just building back up, it's like, okay, that's nice, I got it done, I can relax, and then you've got to get re‑excited. Where I think like track people, you can kind of‑‑ I don't know if it's closer if that's better because you can build right into it or if you're like I made the team, now I can relax. So everyone sort of deals with it differently, for me this was good: Recover, regroup and then get excited. Q. There wouldn't be an advantage‑‑ what do you consider the serious marathon training cycle seriously, a 12‑ to 14‑week thing for you? DESIREE DAVILA: 10, 11. I think actually Houston might have beenI felt like maybe a week, week and a half too long. Q. Back to that recognition thing, obviously you took a step up after Boston. This was another step. Are you comfortable with that? DESIREE DAVILA: It's been a process. You know, every time out is a little bit more and a little bit more. So it's another gradual stepping‑stone that I'm getting used to. Nothing has come all at me at once, so that's kind of nice. But it's a slow process. Q. Your rise has been slow and steady. How have you remained so patient, sort of seeing the long picture? DESIREE DAVILA: That always goes to Kevin and Keith. They have a plan and that mapped it out over years and years. I get really antsy when I don't have it on paper and I can't see that, and they know that about me, so they'll sit down and put out a long‑term plan like all right, this is it, this is what you have to do, and then you just focus on each little segment along the way. Their planning has really been the key. Q. Have you ever been frustrated or had doubts during that process? DESIREE DAVILA: Oh, absolutely, yeah. There's setbacks for everyone, and I've certainly had mine. But when you go back and you look at your plan, it's like, all right, let's regroup and get ready for the next thing and get right back on plan. Q. The group always changes a little bit after a trials, right, some people go, some people come to try out. Are you training with a very different group now than you were? DESIREE DAVILA: The women's side I think is the same. I don't think we've lost anyone. Maybe one new person coming in. I'm not sure exactly when. Q. I have to ask you about the ring. Is there anything official? DESIREE DAVILA: I am engaged, yeah. No date set, but we're getting serious. Q. Is he a runner? DESIREE DAVILA: He is, yeah. Q. Someone we know? DESIREE DAVILA: No. He's a local guy and he can actually do most of the training with me, which is perfect. Q. So you're going to use him as a training partner and a marriage partner? DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah. Q. So he can work on the speed and the distance? DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah, he pretty much does it all. He's getting ready for Boston now. Q. What can he run for the marathon? Can he beat you? DESIREE DAVILA: You know what's funny is when I ran 2:26 and change in Chicago, he ran two seconds behind me, and everyone afterwards was like, oh, he paced you, he paced you. We ran literally 15 meters together. He was ahead of me and I passed him. Q. How did he handle that? DESIREE DAVILA: He was thrilled for me. Q. How did he handle the fact that you beat him at the wire like that? DESIREE DAVILA: He was excited. I mean, I think he was a little disappointed, but he was excited that I had a good day. He couldn't be a more supportive person. Q. Can we mention his name? DESIREE DAVILA: You sure can. It's Ryan Linden. It's a lot easier to say, too, than Davila. Q. So you're going to change your name? DESIREE DAVILA: I think I will, yeah, I'm pretty sure I will. Q. Now, you'll go to Boston not only to support him but also maybe to check out your competition? DESIREE DAVILA:  Yeah, I will be there‑‑ I'm going to run the 5K the day before, be watching him, and yeah, definitely see who's running and how they're running. Q. Your coaches usually set up a simulator course before the marathon, and I know it's going to be unlike the course that's set up for Boston. Is it going to be similar to what you trained on for Chicago? DESIREE DAVILA: Probably, yeah. We'll go out to London and see the course out there and so then we'll come back and set it up based on that. I know there's a ton of turns out there, so we'll probably incorporate a lot of turns and rhythm breakers. Q. It will be your first time going to see the London course? DESIREE DAVILA: I was there last year, didn't really talk about it because I didn't want to talk about it. But I did get on it for a couple days last year in the summer. Q. I think Kara was interviewed recently saying the course‑‑ she doesn't think times are going to be very fast because of what you just said, a lot of technical, turns, rhythm breakers. From your little taste of this last year, do you agree with that? DESIREE DAVILA: I think that the athletes competing are just so good that the times will be fast just because you're going to have to run fast. But I don't think it's the quickest course out there. It might not be a record course, but it'll still be quick just because of the quality of the field. Q. It seems like‑‑ I think we can anticipate it's going to be a very different race than 2008 where basically for the half first nothing happened. If there is a blazing first half, what do you think of that? DESIREE DAVILA: I hope there is to be honest. I'll settle in where I feel I'm ready fitness wise, and I hope to go out really hard and then take off if we don't screw it up. That's ideal for me. Maybe it'll be the perfect pace and maybe I'll be fit enough that I can just tuck in and go with it. It depends. Q. It's interesting with the men's pace and racing that despite all the crazy speed in the beginning, if someone had run an evenly‑paced 2:09 they would have got a bronze medal. DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah, you watch third and fourth over the last two miles, incredible fades. That's the difference between qualifying and watching on the sideline. Q. How ambitious is your cross‑training and drills? We see some of these like Shannon Rowbury and Shalane Flanagan seem to do‑‑ concentrate an awful lot on becoming flexible and that sort of thing, doing hurdle drills. Are you much for that kind of stuff? DESIREE DAVILA: I'm not personally. Our coach is kind of‑‑ a lot of people coming out of college have their system. They know what works, and they stick to that, and they're all for letting them do that. I didn't really have that coming out of college. I just didn't focus on it enough, and I'm kind of hesitant to start something up without the right guidance. I don't think it's as important for a marathoner versus a 1500 or a shorter distance person. Something I should incorporate more of, but with the right guidance. Q. For injury prevention do you use a lot of massage and physical therapy? DESIREE DAVILA: A moderate amount. I'm not over the top. I think honestly the biggest key for me staying injury free has been being on top of the little things. If I have any little aches and pains, I'm the first person to wuss out and be, shutting it down for the day, going to the chiro or whoever and get it taken care of and sacrifice a day or two instead of having a month long injury. Q. There are neurotic runners who freak out if every day doesn't work out the way it's supposed to, but it sounds like you're not one of them. DESIREE DAVILA: I try not to be. Q. Do you use a heart monitor? DESIREE DAVILA: No. Q. You're old school then? DESIREE DAVILA: I guess. Just kind of go by feel. I have like the Garmin GPS for pace and stuff like that, but I don't look at it while I'm running, it's just information that you can kind of look back on later. Q. So for this race on Sunday, what really are your expectations? DESIREE DAVILA: It's been a short training period, two weeks off, two weeks easy, so yeah, I have about a month to build up to this. Workouts are finally coming around, so it's going to tell me where I'm at. I think the field is good enough where I can get sucked in and maybe be a little bit ahead of where I thought. But it's just going to be an indicator race. Hopefully I'll be ahead of schedule. If not, I'll go back and know I need to get to work, so either way I'm going to go home with some fire. Q. Do you have a time goal in mind? DESIREE DAVILA: I don't. I think it'll depend on how the field goes out, and we'll see. Q. I know you mentioned that you would rather have a hard race to start off, the field to start off really fast. Would you push the pace if it was‑‑ DESIREE DAVILA: Here? I don't know. I'm not sure, especially the way this course runs. I mean, it's slow through the park and it's kind of‑‑ it starts winding down towards the later part. So I don't think I would here. I'll just kind of hopefully be more aggressive the second half if it's slow. I'll be okay with that. Q. In retrospect do you think you did too much of the work at the trials? DESIREE DAVILA: No. I think I had to do it. If I hadn't gone to the front and tried to break a person like Amy, I don't think that anyone else was going to. So then you go into the last month or two with four people instead of three, and so‑‑ for me it was easier to do that than take a chance. Even silly things early on like if you have a group of 40 behind you that you're just all stumbling on each other, why risk getting tripped up or something like that. It just seemed like the smarter thing to do. Q. I'm curious, you're obviously a petite person. Was your growth pattern, did you grow and kind of get to where you are quickly, or were you really tiny and then grew later? DESIREE DAVILA: I don't recall. It just kind of came to be. No, I think I was always pretty small. I just always remember being a smaller person when I was like 16, but I think I had a tiny growth spurt that was very unimpressive. Q. Do you think that being small has anything to do with your toughness? DESIREE DAVILA: I think it made me, I guess, have that work ethic that I do because as a soccer player, if you're the small person, you have to be quicker, you have to have more endurance on the field or else you're just going to get destroyed. I had to practice extra hours because I couldn't kick the ball as hard because I was smaller, all those little things like that. I was very aware of that when I'm getting thrown around on the soccer field. So yeah, I think it definitely contributed to a little bit of my mentality now. Q. What position did you play? DESIREE DAVILA: I played all over, but mostly midfield. Q. Midfield destroyer, huh? DESIREE DAVILA: Not quite, but I was the person that had to take the foul in the penalty box. It was tough. Q. Any similar challenges once you made the switch to running? DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah, I mean, I guess‑‑ it's kind of like the underdog position, like people see this little small person, okay, we'll put the big girl on her and she'll just dominate, so you have to work extra hard there, but I feel like I've always had the underdog role in running, as well, so it's just natural to be like I have to work harder or figure out ways to practice extra if you can. I think that's been the same. Q. I'm going to sound like a Chrysler commercial here, but have you ever associated with sort of the general underdog ethos of the greater Detroit area? DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah, I think that's a story that it kind of just fits being there. We're kind of trying to work our way out of this situation and people are saying, no, you can't do it, you're just another person who's out there, you're never going to be on top. It's easy to relate to that. Q. But you do relate to it, or is it sort of a contrivance? DESIREE DAVILA: It's mixed. I do, but at the same time, like being in Rochester Hills is pretty far removed from Detroit, and when you actually go out there and see the difference, it's like, okay, that's not quite Detroit. Q. Rochester Hills is a nicer suburb, right? DESIREE DAVILA: It is, yes. Q. Your runs take you through there or elsewhere? DESIREE DAVILA: I mean, the group is based in Rochester Hills, and we're 45 minutes from Detroit and it could be a different world, really. It's dirt roads and a lot of executives live out there from the auto industry where when things went bad their sold their fourth home or something. So it's a little different than what people think. We certainly did get hit but just not in the same way as Detroit‑Detroit. Q. Given your recent success, do you still view yourself as an underdog? DESIREE DAVILA: I do. I think I'll always kind of have that, and partially because I'll always have it is because I'm used to it. Secondly I'm not trying to compare myself to being the top American, now it's how can I be the best in the world. Now I'm not quite there, so that puts me in the underdog role yet again. It's raising expectations and comparing yourself at a different level. I think people who are competitive and always looking forward are always kind of doing that. Q. Will this be your only race before the Olympics? DESIREE DAVILA: I'll do this, the BAA 5K and then Payton Jordan 10K. Q. Have things changed for you in terms of sponsors since the trials? DESIREE DAVILA: Still with Brooks, and I have two additional ones that are kind of being finalized right now. We'll see. Hopefully. Q. Before Boston you said you considered yourself a pure marathoner, and you look at your half marathon PR as not great, not outstanding compared to other runners. What are your thoughts on Sunday? DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah, I do think my half marathon PR is kind of the soft one. I've never gone in and just focused on just a half. I think that could change in terms of PR numbers, but it still won't be‑‑ like I didn't circle this and say this is the highlight race. I think based on my trials training, I think I split through my simulator workout at half marathon PR. It could be there, it will be a matter of how the race plays out. Q. So all of your half marathons prior to and including this have all been marathon focused? DESIREE DAVILA: Right, or like coming back from a marathon where it's not the center of the schedule, it's just kind of the rust buster along the way. Not to downplay it, but‑‑ Q. It's an indicator? DESIREE DAVILA: Exactly. Q. You talked about physical recovery. What about emotional recovery? DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah, I mean, that's probably one of the toughest parts is I've circled the trials on the calendar four years ago, really, and it's been about building up and building up and positioning myself for that race. So it became almost like a sigh of relief to qualify. Excited but more like, okay, I got it done. I should have done that, and it's a sigh of relief, and now that big goal is gone and you start thinking about the Olympics and that's a daunting task. Putting this race, the half marathon, on the schedule is really important just to have a big race to be excited about and pull out of that‑‑ you can get complacent and just go, okay, I don't have to get anything done in this time frame before we start getting ready for the Games. So putting this on the schedule was like a way to just kind of work out of that and be excited about a big race. Q. How many weeks will you start your Olympic marathon preparation? DESIREE DAVILA: I think we're going to shoot for 10, 11, around there. Q. You mentioned you have two weeks of rest and then two weeks easy. That was in the build‑up, and two weeks rest was six weeks ago? DESIREE DAVILA: Gosh, it was right after the trials, so it would have been‑‑ Q. Two weeks? DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah, right after. Q. What's your goal? DESIREE DAVILA: We'll see how the training goes, but I want to give myself a shot to medal, see what kind of medal that is. Who knows. I certainly think I can be fighting for the top three. Q. This is a big thing for Brooks‑Hanson, isn't it, because Brian Sell four years ago, now you. Have you heard from Brian at all apart from dentistry advice? DESIREE DAVILA: I wish he would give me some of that, brushing on the bottoms. He was actually at the trials, which was awesome to see him out there, and he's super happy for me. Basically just don't take anything for granted, be excited about it. I'm sure I'll talk to him more and get more advice, but at that time it was more just enjoy the moment. Q. Do you actually do in the work in the store from time to time like Brian did occasionally? DESIREE DAVILA: I don't. I worked at an outdoor retailer in Michigan for a long time and have slowly been able to back after of that and am now just running. Q. When did that stop? When did you stop doing anything but running? DESIREE DAVILA: Gosh, I think it was after‑‑ it was just before Boston last year was the last time I worked anywhere. Q. What was the store? DESIREE DAVILA: Moosejaw. Q. Is that a chain or just there? DESIREE DAVILA: There's a couple. It's definitely from‑‑ it's a Detroit company, and the owners, original owners, actually started Crowdrise, which does a lot of the marathon stuff now, so it's kind of an interesting connection. Q. Are you going to have a shoe designed for you with your name on it? Are Brooks up to that yet? DESIREE DAVILA: I don't know. We'll see. I haven't heard. Q. He'll go to London, too, obviously? DESIREE DAVILA: He will, yes. His whole family will be there. Q. No pressure, right? DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah, no kidding. Q. How did he propose? DESIREE DAVILA: It was in northern Michigan actually. We went up there to a place that we go pretty frequently, fancy little spot there that's pretty casual. Q. Did he go down on one knee? DESIREE DAVILA: He didn't, no. It was a little bit of a rocky beach, so I forgave him for that. Q. When was that? DESIREE DAVILA: In June of 2011. Q. You guys used to enjoy skiing together. Do you do that still or is that a little too dicey for your career now? DESIREE DAVILA: Yeah, I've gone with him maybe once or twice, and it's just a bad idea. The next day I'll be really sore, and you're just like, this is when accidents happen. Yeah, that's out. I'm very just beginner and most of my skiing is like going for a little bit and then it's like, oh, too fast, fall. That's my brakes. So yeah, it probably is more dangerous than someone who actually knows how to ski well. Q. How did you and Ryan meet? DESIREE DAVILA: Running actually, through the team. He trained with a couple of the guys on the team. Actually I met him before that, and I didn't really like him. But we resolved it. Q. Obviously you resolved it. How did you go from not liking him to‑‑ DESIREE DAVILA: Well, the first time we met he kind of left‑‑ I don't know, I just didn't really like his personality. I think he was having a bad day. We were talking about women's running, and he's a big Michigan State fan, so he was talking about the Michigan State team and blah‑blah‑blah. I had just gotten to the team, so he was kind of trying to figure out what I was all about. I was like, well, I made the nationals a couple times and so on and so forth. But you're from the west region, doesn't everyone out of the west make it, isn't it really easy? I was like, are you kidding me? So I started rattling off these names coming out of the west region. He was like, it's not like it's Michigan State or anything. So we didn't get along very well. But now we joke around about which conference is better, which coaches are better. Q. How come you've decided not to run anything at the trials? I know Kara and Shalane are both talking about running the 10K. Why is that? DESIREE DAVILA: It's pretty standard for us to not race during a marathon training segment. I might do a road 10K this time around, but realistically to be in a race like that, you want to be at your best, and if you're marathon training, you either have a poor performance and go that was a waste of time or you go and run really well and go, oh, shoot, am I in 10K shape and I should be in marathon shape? Either way it's not kind of the result you want. Easier to skip it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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