RunMichigan: What experience did you gain from this year's Olympic Trials Marathon race?

Shay: From the Olympic Marathon Trials I gained the knowledge of the limitation to how hard I can train and how much I can push myself leading up to an important race. Like a child continuously testing the patients of his parents by proceeding to push their buttons, I challenged the physical limitation of my body, and lacked the patients needed to rest properly,
exerting myself too much in the final weeks leading up to the race. I have grown since and have learned to triumph over impatient behavior and trust that my training as been sufficient.

RunMichigan: Is there any lingering effects from your hamstring injury in January/February?

Shay: Not much. From time to time I'll feel a twinge in the hamstring. This is an indicator that I need to pay special attention to my efforts and possibly cut a workout or run short and receive therapy on the cause of the problem.

RunMichigan: Congratulations on your 2004 USA Half-Marathon championship, how did it feel to win for a 2nd year in a row? And did the race goes as planned?

Shay: Thank you. Some say victory is sweeter the second time around, but I enjoyed my win last year at the Half Marathon Championships more. Last year I did not pull away for the win until the last mile of the race and finished very strong. This year, I pulled away by mile five and ran by myself for the remainder of the race. However, there was more pressure on me to win, being the returning champion. The race did go as planned. I wanted to set the pace from the beginning and find out who was willing to match my efforts. The pace was good for the first 5k and I believed a faster time than last year was possible. I accelerated the pace at mile four to mile five and dropped the two remaining competitors. Once I was running solo, I
focused more on the mental aspect of keeping the pace up, eventually turning the race into a more "tempo run" like feel. No race ever goes exactly as planned because you cannot control the actions of your competitors. At any time during he race you deviate from your initial strategy and react to the behavior of your competitors. I was hoping to have someone to
run with through at least eight to nine miles, or possibly till the end to make for a great race, but I had no control over the competition.

RunMichigan: What has helped with your success this spring at the USA 10 Mile Championships (3rd), USA 25K Championships (2nd) and USA Half Marathon Championships 1st?

Shay: Altering my mental approach to training after the Olympic Marathon Trials benefited me the most during my spring racing. I had such an emotional let down after the Trials. I knew I could not place so much pressure on myself in my future training. I had to allow my progress to come naturally and not attempt to force a workout that just was not going to happen on a particular day. I also modified my training away from marathon racing to more 10k racing. Basically, I cut back my weekly mileage and concentrated more on shorter interval and tempo runs with high intensity. I found it rather refreshing to get away from logging week after week of high mileage, and returning to the track, experiencing invigorating speed sessions.

RunMichigan: Did you enjoy being in Michigan to run the USA 25K Championships at the 5/3 River Bank Run? How does it feel to come back to your home state to participate in a race like the 5/3 River Bank Run?

Shay: I always enjoy being in Michigan (even if its during those harsh winter months). The 5/3 Bank River Run is a very respectable, challenging, and aesthetic course to hold the U.S. 25k National Championships. Grand Rapids is a beautiful, clean city with many things to
do. I've had a great experience each time racing there.

The 5/3 Bank River Run is one of the only opportunities I have to race in my home state and I honestly cherish being able to do so. It provides the chance for those who watched and supported me while in high school to see me run at the elite level. I would really enjoy being the next Michigander to win the U.S. 25k national title.

RunMichigan: Where are you currently training at and how is it helping you prepare for the Track and Field Olympic Trials?

Shay: I am currently training in Mammoth Lakes, California. The small town is located in the High Sierra Mountains, about two and a half hours south of Reno,Nevada. Training here is helping me prepare for the10k Olympic Trails in many ways. The high altitude is beneficial for endurance training. Mammoth Lakes has an altitude of 7,500ft. Also, my Running USA teammates are training here. I've been able to train with American men's 10k record holder Meb Keflezighi for the past 2 months. Meb is a fantastic mentor and terrific training partner. He acts as a knowledgeable sound board for many personal and athletic conversations. I also train with American women's 10k and Marathon record holder Deena Kastor. She posses a very positive attitude and energy which helps with the mental aspect of the sport. Finally, here in Mammoth Lakes, I am able to work on a day to day basis with my coach, Joe Vigil. Although I receive all my workouts throughout the year from him, I'm not always training under his direct supervision. It makes a substantial difference to have a coach work with you on a daily basis; to give constructive criticism, to inspire and motivate, to give biomechanic advice, and maybe most importantly, to tell you when to back off. A coach who really knows the athlete will be able to determine by facial expression, running form, and attitude during a workout, when the athlete is pushing too much, when over-training may be in the midst.    

RunMichigan: Who have you been training with this spring and early summer?

Shay: As mentioned, I have been training with Running USA teammates Meb Keflezighi, Deena Kastor, and Matt Downin. Recently, my youngest brother Stephan has come to train with our group. This is an opportunity I wish I had at his age and wanted to provide it to him. I believe we need to get young runners training with and learning from the elite runners in order to improve U.S. distance running for the future.   

RunMichigan: Since you ran at the 2000 Olympic Track &Field Trials, what do you remember about that race and how will that help with this years 10000 meter race at the Trials?

Shay: At the 2000 Olympic Track and Field Trials I was really just happy to be there and experience it. This time around I honestly believe I can make the team and run the time standard, given fair weather conditions. In 2000 it was warm in Sacramento during the 10k. I assume it will be similar. Taking that into account,I have been driving down the mountain, from Mammoth Lakes to do interval session in warmer weather, about 90 degrees, on a dirt track at a high school, once aweek.   

RunMichigan: Have you run any races since the USA Half-Marathon Championships, how did you do and what was the goal for these races?

Shay: I have not raced since the USA Half Marathon Championships. I wanted a solid month to focus on 10k specific training.   

RunMichigan: What are you doing over the next week to prepare for the Track & Field Trials?

Shay: Over the next week I will be cutting back my mileage from 105 mpw down to about 85 or less. I will be running shorter intervals of mostly 1,000m and 400m repeats at high intensity, much faster than race pace. I will also pay close attention to how I am recovering from each run and interval session and receive proper massage therapy and chiropractic healthcare. Maintaining a proper diet is also crucial inoptimizing recovery.   

RunMichigan: Have you read any good books recently? Have you had a chance to read the "Perfec tMile", if you did any comments about the book?

Shay: I have not read the "Perfect Mile", but I have read Roger Bannister's "The Four-Minute Mile". Over all I thought it was well written, with very insightful rhetoric to the art of racing, training, and running in general. Bannister impressed me with his ability to put on paper the very thoughts, feelings, ambitions, and desires, every runner experiences at one time or another. I've read several books in the past month including former General Electric CEO Jack Welsh's book "Straight From the Gut", Tim Russert's(moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press") book "Big Russ and Me", Peggy Noonan's story of Ronald Reagan "When Character Was King", and I am currently re-reading philologist Friedrich Nietzsche's book " The Birth ofTragedy". Just a few days after reading Peggy Noonan's book on Ronald Reagan, he had past away. I highly recommend the book to anyone who wants to get an idea of what a truly great man, and President, Reagan was. Regardless of political affiliation or partisanship one can read this book and observe what true character is and how it was exemplified through one man.  

RunMichigan: What has been the most difficult workout you have done to get prepared for the 10000?

Shay: I do not think there has been one workout in my preparation for the trials that has been the most difficult. The entire training processes is rigorous and difficult. The only thing that made one workout more difficult that others was how I recovered from the previous workout. I could have done 6 x 2,000m one day and felt great, running faster than my goal times with ease. Then, two days later I could have an acceleration workout (distances ranging from 100m to200m) and feel awful, and struggle to hit the goal times, if I did not recovery properly. Now, some would think that doing 12,000m of interval to be more difficult than 1500m of accelerations, but failure to recovery would prove otherwise. One of my goals in training for the 10k Olympic Trials has been to recover properly to ensure that every workout feels easy and relaxed. This does not mean that I've made the workouts easier, rather I've learned how to recover more efficiently through proper diet and preventative health care measures such as massage therapy and chiropractic care. But one workout that has usually felt a little more difficult than others has been my 6 mile tempo runs every Saturday. Tempo runs seem to reflect my fitness level well, so I always put more emphasis on my performance during these runs.