2005 USA INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Interview with Jen Toomey
Reported by Parker Morse

Jen Toomey. (Photo by Alison Wade/New York Road Runners)

After winning an 800/1,500 double at the 2004 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, the rest of Jen Toomey's 2004 was less successful. An injury hampered her attempts to make the U.S. Olympic team; though she finished second in the 1,500m at the Trials, she was unable to run a qualifying time and claim a spot on the team. After six months of recovery, Toomey reemerged to defend her 1,500m title at last month's USA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

On starting the drive to the World Championships in Helsinki:
Well, my coach is a little crazy, and he's thinking about doing both [the 1,500 and 800]. He wants to do something special, and I want to do something special, so I'm not taking that off the books. Right now we're a bit more focused on the 1,500, but we definitely are thinking about the 800.

On her expectations for the indoor 1,500:
I really thought it would go out, but I thought someone else would take it out. That's what I kept thinking in my head, so I was really surprised to be in the front. But it's good practice for me. Once you're there, you're like, 'Oh well, better deal with it.' You learn to expect the unexpected in these races. You might prepare for 5,000 different scenarios, and you'll get the 5,001st, the one you didn't expect.

On getting a win after several months off:
It's really great. I didn't have any expectations, so to come out after all I've been through, to come and win on my own turf, it bodes well for me. I'm really happy about that.

On considering this a fitness test after rehabbing injuries:
Yeah. As of two weeks ago, we weren't going to race at all. But my coach was pretty careful, and he said, 'If the next couple workouts go well, let's give it a try.' If I'm dead last, that's great, if I come in first, that's great. It's a beginning. It's a great first race for me.

On opening her season with a national championship race:
I said to my coach, 'I can't believe you're making me do this.' He gave me the choice, last week. He said, 'Okay, this is your last chance, you can do it or not do it.' And I said, 'Okay, I guess I'll do it.' But no matter what happens, you can always learn from it. It's been since August. It would've been too long between races. It's good to get out and shake things up a little bit.

On her injuries:
First I hurt my knee, then I pulled my adductor when I was compensating too much for my knee. It's just one after another. But everything's healthy now.

On the lack of doping buzz at the track in 2005:
We're focusing on performance, for part of it, but for someone like me, who's a clean athlete, you kind of like [the doping news] out there, because you have suspicions. You're thinking, 'I knew she did that! I'm glad she got caught!' Last year I got tested something like 17 times. I don't mind that, but you hear people complaining about it. This is what the sport needs. Test me as much as you want, as long as you're catching people.

I guess it's nice that if you have a good performance, you're not going to be blamed for using drugs. You want that testing out there.

On her goals for the summer:
This was a good start. Any time you can go out and win a national championship at the start of the season, that's a pretty good sign. [My coach] has time goals; I would say them, but I don't want to jinx myself. Only he, my husband, and I know what they are. All the season is pretty much mapped out. The workout schedule is all mapped out; he's had that planned for a long time now. He's an engineer, so he's very thorough. He may change it every week, but he's still got it all mapped out.

On how the race played out:
I was a little nervous leading from the front. But I think I could handle a lot harder pace. It was a very comfortable pace for me. I know I'll have to run a little more recklessly from the front, but I was a little too nervous to do that today. It's something for me to work on.

(Interview conducted February 26, 2005, and posted March 10, 2005.)