Lindsey Drake Went Through Pain To Endure Pain Of Running
5/24/2013 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY HEADQUARTERS
SPOKANE, Wash. - A year ago Lindsey Drake was on crutches, nursing a troublesome femur injury that sidelined her the entire outdoor track season.
Saturday at 6:05 p.m. PDT she'll be on the track in the women's 5000 meter semifinals of the NCAA West Preliminary Track and Field Meet in Austin, Texas.
She was in the stands Thursday watching teammates Brent Felnagle in the men's 1500 meters and Emily Thomas in the women's 10,000 meters as their bids to advance fell short.
The native of San Diego, Calif., is excited to be in Austin after missing out on the trip a year ago.
"I'm excited because I've never been here. Last year when Emily made it and I was hurt she said in her interview she can't wait until next year with more teammates coming. I felt this is something I really wanted to do and I'm just so excited to be here. My wish, so far, has come true," Drake said.
Drake qualified in the 5000 meters with a school record 16:22.53 set at the Oregon Relays at famed Hayward Stadium on the University of Oregon campus. She has that same track in focus as a top-12 finish Saturday puts her back in Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Championship.
While the experience is definitely something she has looked forward too, she's trying to keep things as low key and in perspective as possible.
"I don't want to play it up to much. I'm going to go into this trying not to think about time or about the race. I think I have speed I haven't used yet. I'm going in with a blank slate and feel I'm as good as anyone else. I want to go to nationals, but I have to approach it like any other race," Drake said.
And, like all of the other races in her career, there is a strategy.
"I don't want to lose the pack because it's hard to come back. I want to go with the pack and not go with leaders. I want to stay in the top 10 for first few laps and feel out the race as usual. Every race is different. This is a championship race. It can go two ways. It's either speed or strategy. I'll see what the other racers do and try to respond."
Drake said having Thomas along has already been a great help.
"It's great to have her here. We went on a run when we first got here and talked to her about it. Having her here and knowing what to expect, where to go to check in, is a huge help. Before the race is worse than the race itself. What you do before the race, how you line up 10 minutes before you race is a big deal. It's the little things before the race that help, too."
Drake has been in Austin since Tuesday along with Felnagle, Drake and coaches Pat Tyson and Patty Ley. Felnagle and Thomas got to perform right away, but Drake has had five days to await her turn to get on the track. She said the long wait, if anything, might help her.
"It's different for everyone. There are positives and negatives - get done quicker or wait longer. I'm grateful to watch them and wait a little longer," Drake said.
"We'll go watch another movie. We've already seen about three," Ley said of Drake killing time. "We won't let her hang out at the track the next couple of days. We'll make certain she is well rested. She's done a good job of handling the situation."
While she decided to run the 5K this weekend, she also qualified in the middle of the 1500 meters race. But she believes the 5K is more suited to her strengths.
"I've been training for the 5K all year; all of my workouts have been 5K workouts. I've got the speed for the 1500 but the tactics are different. You go out slower in the 1500 and then kick like hell on last lap and run about a 60-second flat lap to get to nationals. It's something I've tried to practice but I don't think I'm quite there," she said of the strategy in the shorter of the two races.
Drake said it's hard to choose which race is her favorite.
"I like both races, but they are very different. The 5K is a little more painful because it lasts longer," she said.
But the pain of not being able to compete last spring far outweighs the pain of 16 minutes on the track this Saturday. She's hopeful the pain will endure all the way to Eugene in two weeks.
