by Don Rich, DyeStat news editor
HOUSTON Jan 16, 2005 -- Nichole Jones likes running, runners and everything about the sport. So when the Houston Marathon/Aramco Half Marathon popped up on the calendar, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. Shop. Anyone who has ever been to a big-time race knows that the expo, a one or two-day affair before the main event, attracts runners like a moth to a million-watt light. So on Saturday, January 15th, the day before the two main races, 15-year-old Nichole and her mom, Trina, made the short trip to the expo.
Nichole says she just went to shop for shoes and to hang around with other runners and soak up the ambience of a big-time race. She had no plans to actually enter the race. "I really didn't train for it."
But the excitement of an event that attracts thousands of runners and a few of the sport's distance elite would prove too much for her to resist. "Everybody kept asking me if I was running. I'd say all the hype got me into it."
So she signed up for the shorter of the two, the half-marathon - a distance almost 10k more than she had ever run, let alone raced. "The farthest I had ever run before that was seven miles, which is a distance I do every other day."
Overnight, with time to think about the task, she just got more excited. "I just figured it would be a new challenge. And, a lot of fun." But challenges seem to be this athlete's fuel.
Jones started her running career slowly.
Nichole first became interested in running after reading a flyer in elementary school. She joined Track Houston, an elite USATF club, and started looking for her niche. "I sure can't sprint, so I went long. And besides, not too many people were doing that."
For her, long meant anything from 800m to 3000m. And the first results weren't that encouraging. Nichole was lapped twice in the 3000 as a Midget (11-12 year olds). It would have been easy to quit. But she kept at it. "Even though it wasn't showing, I thought one day I might be good. And besides, I wasn't doing anything else."
She kept running. And by the summer after 7th grade, good things started happening. "I started lapping the same people who had lapped me. If you stick with it, and really like it, the work will pay off."
The first payoff: state champion as a freshmen.
Nichole kept running with Track Houston during the summers. And by the fall of her freshman year, she was ready for high school competition. The cross country courses were calling. During that first season, she took to the sport, started winning, and kept on running at the front, finishing with her first state championship in the 5A classification, the largest schools in Texas . Her two-mile time ( Texas girls race two miles, but Nichole wishes they'd up that to 5k) of 11:00 was the fastest that day. Since that time, she has posted PRs of 2:13.01 for 800m (USATF Jr Olympics Region 12), 4:36.31 1500m (USATF Jr Olympics Championships), 4:54.17 1600m (Texas 5A-3rd place), 10:11.45 3000m (Rice Bayou Classic), and 10:52.14 3200 (District 15 5A Meet). She also owns a road 5k best of 18:24.
During her sophomore cross country season, Nichole went undefeated through Districts, and entered the state meet as the defending 5A champion, and one of the favorites. But that day, a case of nerves and inexperience left her at 7th, 11 seconds off her course PR. But all in all, she was pleased with the season. "It was the first time in the history of Westfield HS that our girls had made it to Regionals from Districts. That was fun."
There were no nerves as she lined up for her first half marathon.
Nichole says what she likes best about running, in addition to the fun, the competition, and the people who participate, are the crowds. So standing among thousands of runners waiting to race through crowded streets, all she could do was be excited. "That was the biggest crowd, with lots of friendly people. They kind of juiced me up a little. You know, it's early in the morning."
The race started at seven. Nichole awoke at four. Arriving at the line, she knew she didn't want to start behind thousands of people, so she made her way to a spot about 15 meters from the front. "I just went there." Once there, she did her best not to think about the race. "13 miles is a long way, so I just figured I'd start and just run."
Her first challenge wasn't pace, or crowds, but a simple trap that many runners fall into when starting such a long race. "What gets you is if you count down the miles." She started counting at three, but by five, was feeling comfortable, and decided to just enjoy the ride.
She started slow, and was planning a 6:30 pace. But by that fifth mile when she heard her time of 31:30 (6:18 pace), she was actually surprised with how relaxed she felt. "That five mile time is usually what I run in practice when I'm going really fast, but I was feeling fine."
So fine, in fact, that she kept that pace, coming through the ten mile mark in 1:02:35 (6:16 pace).
Her steady rhythm and growing confidence would lead her to move up - way up - over the final eight miles. "I just looked ahead at people and picked up people. They couldn't sustain the pace, so I would just take off." She continued to get motivation from the crowd. "I heard a lot of cheering, people I know from state cross country and track." And she would eventually even pass a few of the boys from her school's cross country team. "They were having fun, but I'm not sure." She eventually finished in 90th place, 15th among 3,630 women, in a time of 1:21:34, which is 6:14 pace.
Training for bigger things.
Between seasons, Nichole is trained by her mother. Generally, she runs seven miles every other day on her own at 6:30 to 6:45 pace (who said she didn't train for the half marathon?). On the other days, she times herself for three or four miles. She says she has benefitted greatly from her school's cross country class, where the focus is on strengths and weaknesses, and from her high school XC/T&F coach, Chuck Seever.
Immediate plans call for a race or two indoors. She'll run the 800m at the Carl Lewis Indoor meet this Saturday, January 22. But outdoor track starts in two weeks, so she'll concentrate on her school's competitions through the spring, and with Track Houston in the summer.
For cross country, she'd obviously like to return to the top of the state championship podium. And this year, for the first time, she will also look to race in the Foot Locker regionals. "Going beyond states is really a good goal for me. I just want to pursue something a bit more challenging."
No best event, so why not race them all?
Nichole knows she's not a sprinter. But above the 800, she sounds unsure of where her most future success may lie. "I'm looking at the 800 and the mile, especially. And I want to do the two mile. I haven't decided. That is one of my better events."
And now she can add the half marathon. If that was an Olympic event, it might fit nicely with her ultimate goal. "I want to break Jesse Owens' record and get five golds in one Olympics."
That's a shopping spree we'd all like to see. |
