Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

[RMc]

Pure focus
Middle-distance runner Nicole Teter shuffles aside a painful past to concentrate on her sport
By John Schumacher -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, June 1, 2004


http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/st ... 3312c.html

[Speed]

Re: Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

When somebody like Teter talks about "too little mileage" in training I'd like to know what the mileage is!

[Since 1956]

Re: Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

RMc, Thanks for the article...this answers my question I posed on another thread. Her 1:58.83 ollked good...but she does seem susceptible to injury.

[ycn]

Re: Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

She looked pretty darned good from what I saw tonight, although there was no excuse for them to say it was the top time in the world this year when two better times had been run in time to know the difference.

I saw a smile on Nicole's face right after she crossed the line that leads me to believe that she feels affirmed that her training is working the way it should. I expect an even better time from her at the trials, and maybe on that the world will take notice of.

I'm starting to feel like we at least have a shot of having our best Olympics since Mexico City in the events above the 800. We have several more athletes performing at unexpectedly high levels than I imagined we would have at this point.

Sometimes these things go in cycles. We've been so abysmal in the distance events since the 80 boycott that we have to start doing better sometime.

(And please, for those who might try - don't use a couple of individual results to refute my statement. Winning 2% of the Olympic medals over that time in the distance events when we have 5% of the worlds population won't cut it with me, a person living in the most technologically advanced (overall) country in the world. Our wealth and advancement should translate into more medals overall, not fewer.)

[Walt Murphy]

Re: Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

>She looked pretty darned good from what I saw tonight, although there was no
>excuse for them to say it was the top time in the world this year when two
>better times had been run in time to know the difference.

I rely heavily on Mirko Jalava's great site (http://www.tilastopaja.net/) for up-to-date information, and he still had Benhassi's 1:59.95 as the 2004 best the last time I checked before finalizing my notes (he still doesn't have Ceplak's
1:58.80/May 29 or Mutola's 1:58.49/May 31 in his top 20 list, although he does list Mutola as the 2004 leader on his front page). This is certainly not a knock on Mirko, since I would be lost without his service.

As for Hengelo, which took place the same day as the U.S. Open, Garry Hill passed along the information on Alan Webb, which I believe Larry Rawson mentioned on the show(I don't always hear what goes out on the air), but I never heard about Mutola's mark, which I'm sure took place before Teter's race.

[Mr. Plod]

She won't even make the Olympic semi-finals...

1:58.83 for 800M.

Mutola runs this in her sleep. Even Kelly Holmes has run faster, and she's basically a 1500 runner.

[ycn]

Re: She won't even make the Olympic semi-finals...

>1:58.83 for 800M.

Mutola runs this in her sleep. Even Kelly Holmes has run
>faster, and she's basically a 1500 runner.

In 2001, when Holmes almost exclusively ran the 800, she didn't surpass Teter's 1:58.83 time until August 17.

Maybe you think Teter's time means next to nothing, but I definitely disagree. I'm not saying she's going to win Olympic gold, but I certainly think she now has to believe that she has a shot at being competitive in an Olympic final. She's taken that next step, so I wouldn't be so sure of her upside this year.

[Powell]

Re: Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

Winning 2% of the Olympic medals
>over that time in the distance events when we have 5% of the worlds population
>won't cut it with me, a person living in the most technologically advanced
>(overall) country in the world. Our wealth and advancement should translate
>into more medals overall, not fewer.)

But the point is that distance running is a non-technological sport. To be competitive you just have to put in the necessary work - any fancy gadgets won't help you much... Which may be the key to explaining why the Americans are not highly competitive globally. Youngsters in the US may prefer to get into sports where the their country's technological prowess does give them an advantage.

[ycn]

Re: Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

I don't feel the least bit qualified to argue the technical aspects of running, but I do at least suspect that in events such as the 800, the technical side at least should be a significant factor in overall success.

You would think that the long jump wouldn't be that "technical" an event, yet the U.S. has won the men's gold in 20 of 23 games in which they have competed.

[UKrules]

Re: Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

..the article is very interesting....i'll lay dollars to doughnuts that she is running and training in pain a lot of the time and will have to be very very careful not to break down...the navicular fracture that she suffered is relatively unusual in runners and almost never heals completely because of low blood-supply problems...her interview probably confirms that and that she's running with pain all the time..good luck to her

[az2004]

Re: Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

with graf retiring, there's one less 800 finalist to deal with...

mutola is a monster and it' delusional to expect nicole to deal with her...

still, it'd be nice to see teter and/or toomey reach an olympic final...

that's the goal, then see what happens on race day.

holmes is a vet, let's see her in august, a real tough competitor...

but teter and toomey have yet to reach their bests...I give them decent chances to get out of the rounds...

[Conway]

Re: Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

Will probably take in the 1:56 range to medal in Athens .. Being at 1:58 now gives Teter a shot to get there .. That's all we can ask of a female middle distance runner - to be in the hunt ... I wish her luck ...

[Bob Duncan]

Re: Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

>..the article is very interesting....i'll lay dollars to doughnuts that she is
>running and training in pain a lot of the time and will have to be very very
>careful not to break down...the navicular fracture that she suffered is
>relatively unusual in runners and almost never heals completely because of low
>blood-supply problems...her interview probably confirms that and that she's
>running with pain all the time..good luck to her

She had a terribly pained expression on her face prior to the race. Perhaps it was just her mental preparation for the race. I know that navicular problems in horses are career ending (or worse), so hopefully she can be treated properly (with surgery) at the end of the season.

[basehead617]

Re: Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

She had a terribly
>pained expression on her face prior to the race. Perhaps it was just her
>mental preparation for the race.


I saw this too.. they had a shot of her for 15-20 seconds before the race, and i swore she was about to burst out crying, she looked like someone who had just been beaten up.. it did NOT look good at all.. i thought she was going to just run off the track or something. i guess it was maybe a misleading expression.. she did great and seemed fine afterwards.

[runninfool]

Re: Nicole Teeter in Sacto Bee

She did seem more pained and worried than other races -- she even seemed to make a face at the TV camera, which was lingering on her, right before it cut away to the "on your mark" command. Also she seemed a little leaner, more cut, which is saying a lot, since she always had a fantastically athletic-looking body. Maybe it was just the light or the TV angles.

I visited Suzy Favor Hamilton's website today to catch up on her pre-Trials strategy -- been wondering whether waiting to Prefontaine for first outdoor race is the best strategy, certainly it's different than Teter going out and racing earlier in the season. Toomey also seems to be biding her time. Will be interesting to see if they come out ready or race-shy --