FW: So how did the race progress? What were you at 5K?
KG: Starting out, the plan was to just hang on to the Americans. Alberto had talked with Terrence Mahon, who said Jen [Rhines] was going for the standard, and that Katie McGregor was going to work with her to try to get the standard. So I was sticking with them. We were 15:31 at halfway, so then we slowed some the second half—I was 15:46 the second half.

FW: When was your disastrous first 10K?
KG: In 2003, at Mt. SAC. It was my first race in two years. It was so bad—I’m not kidding, I literally walked twice during the race because I had such bad booty lock. It pretty much scared me away from the event, even though Mark [Wetmore] and Alberto both would say how the 10K was going to be my best event.

FW: In this one, when did it really start to get uncomfortable?
KG: I thought it was going to be the last 10 laps, but actually it was the opposite—with 10 laps to go, I was confident. I was thinking, “Okay, I can do this, I can do this.” It was more the first and second miles that were bad. I was so nervous, and we ran some 73[-second laps], and I was thinking, “I’m in over my head.” Alberto would yell to me, “It’s going to slow down! Stay in there!” After two and a half miles, the pace seemed to settle down, and then I just told myself, “Stay in contact, stay in contact, stay in contact.”

It was hard, but it wasn’t as hard physically as it was mentally. Before the race, the thought of a 10K on the track was overwhelming. You have to have so much patience. Mentally, it’s hard to look up and see 17 laps to go, 12 laps to go.

FW: Does how well it went change things?
KG: I still have my goals for the rest of the year, mainly to run 15:00 for 5K. But yeah, since the race we’ve been talking a lot. I think I can run faster if I’m more aggressive early in the race and if I do more 10K-type workouts. And maybe now I’ll do the 10K at nationals next year. But I’m not going to neglect the other races—you need to run a good 1500 to be able to run a good 5K, and you need to be able to run a good 5K to run a good 10K. So I want to keep working on all my races, and get my 5K down to where maybe I could go after that American record in the 10K.

FW: When people write about how well Adam has been doing since moving to Oregon, they usually also mention that you were struggling in Colorado. What exactly were the problems you were having?
KG: Oh boy, okay. My senior year of college, I had a knee injury. I had a stress fracture in my kneecap and also tendonitis. That summer, I went with Adam around Europe, and then when we got back we got married, and I had surgery on my knee. I had a quarter of the patellar tendon in my knee taken out. That was 2001. That set me back a lot. My right leg became so weak that then I got a stress fracture in my right femur while crosstraining on the elliptical machine, of all things. I was really devastated. I did absolutely nothing for three months except sit around and gain weight. Then I had two more femoral stress fractures, in January of 2004 and July of that year. When we moved out here that November, I was dealing with compartment syndrome in my right calf. Oh, I also had that in both legs in 1998. I had surgery for it in 2005. Last year was pretty bad—I set a 5K PR, but I had no base.

FW: That sounds like fun. Have you and Adam ever discussed the hypothetical situation where you’re in Colorado and one of you is really struggling but the other is thriving, and whether you would have moved to Oregon in such a scenario?
KG: Not really, because there was never a time when both of us were doing well at the same time. We were both injured so much. It was hard for both of us, but it also drew us closer—the fact that he knows how hard it is to see everyone running well and wanting to get back out there, that means a lot. It’s been a benefit to each other that we’ve both been through the same sort of stuff.

FW: After you moved and switched coaches, how long was it before you started doing things differently?
KG: Immediately. On the therapy side, massage and [active release therapy] each week, written into the schedule. That has been a major part of the turnaround—a standing appointment every Tuesday night, being evaluated and adjusted.

Another thing, right away, the drills and exercises. When we got here, [sprint coach] Dan Pfaff was here, and we were initially working with him every day learning the drills and exercises.

And the workouts were totally different, like 10 times 1K, right away. I was thinking, “I am not going to make it.” I was definitely overwhelmed at first, so it was good for me to see Adam turn things around so quickly—we moved here in November, and by February, he was already second at cross country nationals.

In Colorado, we were pretty much done for the day by noon. Here, the training in one way or the other lasts all day. I was thinking, “What did I get myself into?” but I’ve adjusted.

FW: Now when you were in Colorado, you obviously knew that some people did stuff like spending a lot of time on things like drills.
KG: Right.

FW: So what did you think about them then—that they were a waste of time? That maybe they help, maybe they don’t? That yeah, sure, we can all do more, but....?
KG: I didn’t know that much about it. With Mark, we had this program that included doing drills, but it really lasted only a month or so in the winter. It just wasn’t really that important. When we got here, all of a sudden it seemed like hours and hours of drills. I couldn’t believe all these drills even existed or what their benefit was. When we moved here we were given eight sheets of paper on drills. I was like, “I’m never going to learn all this stuff.”

FW: Can you describe some of what you do?
KG: A lot of it is built into our workouts. Say it’s a track workout day. I’ll do 15 minutes of drills before the workout, do the workout, then 15 minutes after. There are some things we’re supposed to do on our own, maybe 10 to 30 minutes’ worth. I’m not going to lie—I slack on that sometimes. It really varies a lot. Like this time of year, it’s more oriented toward a lot of stretching, but in a base stage, it’s more strength stuff. Some days everything I’m supposed to do takes maybe half an hour, but there are some days where it might add up to a couple of hours. When we were first learning everything, it took much longer. Now Adam and I have more picked what we feel we should do that’s most important for each of us—it’s a more personalized routine.

FW: You said how it was encouraging to see Adam’s performances turn around pretty quickly after you moved. When did you realize, “Hey, I’m feeling good more often than not”?
KG: Last year, I had surgery for the compartment syndrome on April 1. The doctor who did the surgery also worked on Mary Decker Slaney, and he told me that she was running again within a week. So of course I said, “I have to do that, too.” I had been crosstraining really hard, so I was pretty fit, and I remember that I ran a mile on the treadmill a week after the surgery.

As soon as my calf was healed, Alberto threw me right into it. Within three weeks of my surgery, he said, “Put on your uniform—you’re racing.” I was pretty nervous about that, but it was good for me, because I had sort of developed racing anxiety over the years—I was injured so much that I raced so seldom.

So that first race back, a 5K, I ran 16:20something. Before nationals last year and heading over to Europe, my workouts were good. Alberto said, “You can PR.” I went to Heusden, and I did PR. After that, I was 100 percent dedicated to the program here.

FW: Who do you have to train with since you’ve moved?
KG: I do a lot of my running by myself. Caitlin Chock has been here, but she’s been up and down. We ran some together last year, but it wasn’t consistently. This year, Alberto has had this guy come around, and he’s been great on those really hard workouts when you’re really trying to push it, like mile repeats or time trials.

On workout days, I usually warm up and cool down with the guys, and then we’re all doing our workouts at the same time and encouraging each other, so it feels like I’m in a group.

FW: Now you’re back home from Europe. Is this like a little intense training block, and then you’ll go back over there?
KG: Right, we’re here for three and a half weeks. Last week was easy, after my 10K. This week, I’m getting back into it—today was a 5-mile tempo run, and Saturday, quarters, but kind of slow. Then next week, much harder. My goal is to run 15:00 for 5K. That’ll be, I hope, at Berlin on September 3. I’ll try to get in a 1500 or 3K before that, and then run the World Cup two weeks after Berlin.

FW: And what about Adam?
KG: His big thing once we go back is the 10K in Brussels on August 25. He’s planning on it, unless his body feels too tired.

FW: And then what? You take a break?
KG: Yes, take a break, visit family. Last year, I felt a little burnt out by this point, but not this year, because it’s been going so well. For awhile there, I was thinking I wanted to do some road races once we got back from Europe. But when I step back, I realize this is the longest time I’ve been able to run in years. I’ve been able to train consistently since March—for me, that’s huge. Next year is a big year—I want to make that team for world cross and the World Championships—and so I know that after this season is over, the best thing I can do is rest.

Interview conducted August 3, 2006, and posted August 8, 2006.