Mar/Apr 2012 - Level Renner

Blake Russell The Elites
in the heat and humidity of Beijing. “China and the Olympics
make me think of a lot of things: exotic food, families
of four on Mopeds, and sweet children everywhere greeting
us with Welcome to Beijing,” Blake said. With the extreme
conditions expected from the Chinese summer, an
acclimation period of up to a month was needed to let the
body adjust: “The first three weeks in camp were a waiting
game and actually proved to be quite boring; everything
we did was monitored by the police and they did not want
you leaving the grounds. We were able to sneak out for a
few short runs, but if you needed to do a road workout,
they would shut down a major highway for up to two hours.
We had police escorts to the track and other outings as
well.” Blake went on to run a solid 27 th place in a time of
2:33:13 and was the only member of the United States team
to finish. “The day of the race was actually quite humid,
but not all that hot,” said Russell, “My coach and I really
thought more people would have starting dropping off.”
Since her Beijing experience, Blake and her husband John
have welcomed a baby son named Quinn to their family.
“Having Quinn has been wonderful for me as a person and
for life, but I have to admit a lot tougher than I imagined for
competitive running,” she continues, “The pregnancy was
rough and the comeback was rougher. I could not run
much after six months and started back running five weeks
after he was born. I nursed for a year, so in hindsight,
it really set me back.” As can be expected, having a
newborn child and continuing to train is not the easiest
experience, and Blake admits to a lot of sleepless
nights and a feeling of constant exhaustion: “I was just
not recovering from runs or workouts and Quinn did
not sleep for more than three hours for a period of
eight months. I guess all new moms are tired, but I
have very little down time, and have to juggle childcare
for Quinn while running, although he will come
along to the track, loves running, and will time me
with Sev. Just the other day, he said he was going to pace
me and feels very comfortable at the track.” No doubt, if
Quinn decides to be a runner, he’ll have some very good
role models to follow.
With Blake competing in the Olympics and focusing most
of her attention towards the marathon the last few years,
she has some auspicious goals on the track and is looking
forward to a break from the rigors of the marathon. “I have
to say,” she says, “It feels like a relief not to be doing marathon
training anymore. I had three stints in a row and was
just worn out and stale. I am looking forward to getting
back onto the track and trying to get into PR shape. We are
doing much less mileage to try and get some leg speed
back. It is something I have been lacking since the pregnancy.”
With Blake’s work ethic and intelligent approach
to training, it is hard to count her out and she must be
looked at as a force for the upcoming Olympic Track Trials.
Kevin Gray is a senior staff writer for Level Renner and a running geek.
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