Pre-Race
Interview with Ari Lambie
By Alison Wade and Becky Orfinger
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Ari
Lambie tours the Balboa Park course the day before the race.
(Photo by Alison Wade/NYRR)
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Fast-Women.com:
We heard that you aren't feeling too well today. What's wrong?
Ari Lambie: I
think it's a stomach bug, probably something that's been going around
back home -- a 24-hour thing. So, hopefully by tonight I'll be able
to get some fluids and food in.
When
did you start feeling sick?
About
1:00 a.m. last night.
So
you were feeling fine up until last night?
Yeah,
I felt great. I had a big dinner, and when I went to bed I felt pretty
full, but I didn't really think anything of it. And then I woke up and
started vomiting.
Well,
hopefully you'll be okay. Sometimes the adrenaline can pull you through
in a race. Besides this, how did your season go in general? Were you
surprised about how well you did?
I was
thrilled with my season. At the beginning, I wanted to qualify for Foot
Locker, and I thought that was kind of a high goal. And then I just
kept getting stronger and stronger and surprising myself. I think my
coach had confidence in me all along. Each week kind of pushed me further
and I learned that I really did have more strength than I thought.
What
were some of the indicators that you were running better than ever?
The first
meet I realized it was probably the Brown Invitational (she won the
5k race in 17:15). That was a huge breakthrough for me. I thought I
could win, but I wasn't confident that I would. And then not only to
win, but to break the record
it really motivated me.
Did
you know when you ran there that Laura Cummings had already broken the
record, earlier that day?
No, I
didn't know that. And I thought that my time was slower than hers when
I finished. It was a nice surprise.
Is
it true that your school doesn't allow your team to travel to a lot
invitationals?
Yeah,
I think it's a budget issue. There isn't really a limit, but we can
only do one or two.
So
that's why we didn't see you at Great American or some of the other
high profile meets?
Right.
But I think I'm going to Millrose this year to do the mile.
Do
you already have your winter season planned out?
I'm going
to focus on the 1,000m. I'll run the mile at Millrose and some 800s,
but mainly focus on the 1,000.
Is
there a chance we will see you at winter cross country nationals?
I don't
even know what that is. [After hearing an explanation:] I might look
into that.
What
about outdoor goals? Do you know what kind of times you'd like to hit
yet?
I don't
really know what I can do in the mile, so I'm going to focus on that
event. First I want to break 4:50 [for the mile], but I think I can
go well under that -- maybe 4:45.
In
Massachusetts, Natasha Roetter was the dominant runner last year. Then
she graduated, and there was this big opening, and you stepped right
up and filled it. Was that a conscious decision?
Not at
all. I've admired Natasha for years. I never thought I'd be at her level.
I'm just really excited to be in company with her times.
Do
you have any idea what caused the breakthrough this year? Was it something
about your training?
No, I
think I'm just still growing and I trained really hard this summer.
I lost a little weight, started eating a little healthier
I don't
know if that made all the difference, but it was little things like
that. I just started taking it more seriously.
What
kind of training did you do over the summer?
About
30-35 miles a week, no workouts. I'd run with my dad a lot -- we'd push
the pace. He used to do road races and did a couple of marathons, but
now he just runs. We'd do something like a 35 minute five-mile run and
push each other.
Is
your dad the reason you started running?
I was
a soccer player, and he took me to some fun summer track meets. At that
point, I had no idea what track was. My dad just said, 'Run around in
circles.' I did that, and I had fun, and I decided to go out for track
in seventh grade.
Your
school [Bromfield High School] has a pretty good tradition.
Yeah, we're
pretty small, but we do considerably well.
Have
you ever met [Bromfield graduate] Lynn Jennings?
I did meet her once when she came to do a talk at our school about her
life and her running career. I got her autograph then. And she actually
called me this week. I didn't get to talk to her because I wasn't there,
but it was a real surprise to me.
Changing
the subject entirely, how did your college search go? Was it hard to
decide?
I'm relieved
that it's over. It was very hard. I don't know what I want to do with
my life, so I was looking at all different programs. The last three
I looked at were so different. But I just went with the one that felt
right when I was out there. And [Stanford] has an incredible reputation,
both academically and athletically.
Are
you worried at all about what people say about Stanford, about them
having too much talent and the threat of running each other into the
ground in practice?
I'm worried
about the training. I think I have enough control over myself and my
body that I won't let myself get run into the ground.
(Interview
conducted and posted December 13, 2002)