Queens University of Charlotte’s Tanya Zeferjahn recently runner-up in the 5k at  DII National Indoor Championships. She gained some elite experience earlier this year at USA Indoor Championships. This spring she looks forward to defending her 10k outdoor title with a possible 5k double. DII weekend review caught up with her a few days after DII Indoor Championships.


DII Weekend Review:  You were recently second in the indoor 5k, what were some of the thoughts running through your head during the race?

 

Tanya Zeferjahn:  I kept thinking about the 3k I ran at US Indoors a couple weeks prior and how I hit a wall at the end of that race.  I didn’t want that to happen again, so I was afraid to push the pace.  I knew the race would come down to Neely and me regardless of the pace, so I wanted to be able to kick at the end.  When we had a mile to go, I was trying to see how long I could hold off on the kick, which ultimately hurt me.  If I had started sooner, say with 1200m to go, I think I would have had a better chance at winning, but kicking with only 400 to go gave Neely the upper hand.

 

DIIWR: How did you react to the Altitude? Was there anything special you did to train for that?

 

TZ: I don’t think the altitude had any effect on me during this race because the pace was so slow.  I felt fine during the entire race, but kept thinking about how USAs felt.  To prepare for NCAA Indoor Nationals, my team came to Santa Fe a week prior to the race to get used to running at altitude as much as we could.  We figured we would go higher (7000 ft) so that we could ‘come down’ for the race at 5000 ft.  Running USAs was also part of my training for this race because my coach wanted me to know how it felt to race at altitude and see how it affects me.

 

DIIWR: You ran USATF indoor championships, what was that experience like? What did you learn from that experience?

 

TZ:  Running USAs was a great learning experience.  Not only did I get a chance to race at altitude prior to NCAAs, but I got to race against the best women in the country and experience a real Championship race.  Most of the races I run are for qualifying times so they are evenly paced, but this race was completely different.  It was a sit-and-kick race, so it started out pretty even and not too fast, but with about 800m to go the pace dropped dramatically, from 38 to 32 seconds per lap.  When I tried to go with them, the lactic build-up in my legs hit me so hard, I think I finished with a 43 second lap.  I was trying to use the sit-and-kick race tactic for NCAAs (but at a much slower pace to avoid the lactic build-up) and it worked to the effect that I was able to finish strong, but just not strong enough.  Ultimately, I learned why the other women in that race have paid contracts and this only gives me something to work towards.

 

DIIWR: Having raced 5ks the whole winter, are you looking forward to racing the 10k?

TZ: I am looking forward to racing the 10k, but I’m still not done with the 5k.  I would like to do a 10k/5k double at Nationals, but my main focus will be the 10k.  I’m looking to run a nice PR this spring and make the DII Top Ten list for the 10k.

 

DIIWR: How does your training change switching from outdoors to indoors?

TZ: My training will increase in volume as I transition to the 10k, but not by much.  My coach and I have talked about the 10k being my ultimate goal all along, so my training has always been focused towards the longer distance.  I’m already running about 80 mpw, so my mileage won’t go up much, but the volume of my interval and tempo workouts will.

 

DIIWR: What is a typical week of training like?

TZ: A typical week of training includes an interval workout on Tuesday, which is usually 400s, 800s, or mile repeats.  The pace will be at race pace or faster, depending on the volume of the workout.  Fridays will be a tempo or predator (cut-down) run where I try to finish at 10k race pace.  Sundays are a long run at a moderate pace, but with a few quicker miles thrown in towards the end.

 

DIIWR: Is there one key workout that you do that lets you know you are in shape?

TZ: There’s no one key workout that lets me know I’m in shape, but I feel the most confidence in my fitness coming away from 10-12x800 at 5k goal pace w/2min rest or 6x1mile at 10k goal pace or faster w/3min rest.  If I can run these paces and feel comfortable doing it, then I know I’m ready to run fast.

 

DIIWR: You are a graduate student at Queens, what brought you there? What was undergraduate career like?

TZ: I came to Queens to finish my eligibility.  I did my undergrad at California State University, San Bernardino where I ran on the cross country team and earned All-American honors in cross in 2004.  Outside of the 2004 season I was a decent runner and always made the All-Region Team, but I was nothing great and only had a 5k cross country PR of 18:28.  I completed 12 quarters at CSUSB before graduating in 2006, but with no track team I still had 3 quarters/2 semesters of eligibility to compete in another sport.  I continued to run recreationally after graduating, but got back into running competitively when I met my boyfriend, Sean Brosnan, who convinced me to get on the track to get my times down so I could go back to school and finish my eligibility.  My friend and now teammate, Mike Crouch, was transferring to Queens and Sean was also moving out to Charlotte in the fall of 2008.  I just came along for the cross-country drive from California to North Carolina and within 3 days, I had decided to attend Queens as a graduate student in the spring of 2009 and finish my eligibility under Scott Simmons.  I only had a PR of 17:24 and I wasn’t even running at the time because of a nagging plantar fascia in jury, but Coach Simmons took me on for the potential he saw in me.  I never really looked anywhere else because I knew the chances of me getting any kind of scholarship anywhere else or even a coach wanting to work with an older athlete who was already injured and who only had 2 semesters of eligibility left were pretty slim.

 

DIIWR: How do you balance grad school with running?

TZ:  Being in the graduate program, all of my classes are at night.  Since I’m currently unemployed, I actually have a lot of time to focus on my training.  I’m able to fit both of my runs in plus any strength work I do all before my 6 pm classes and I’m at the library every night after class to work on my homework.  I guess it’s not the most exciting life, but it allows me to focus on what’s important to me.

 

DIIWR: This is your last season of track, what do you hope to accomplish?

TZ: I hope to defend my National Title in the 10k and would still like to add a 5k National Title to it.  I’m also looking to run some fast times and qualify for the US Outdoor National meet in the 10k, as well as make the DII 10k Top Ten Performance list, if not get the DII record.

 

DIIWR: What are your plans after grad school?

TZ: After school I would like to continue running and train for the Olympic Trials.  I think I can excel in the longer distances and would like to move up and train for the marathon in 2012 and 2016.

 

DIIWR: What has been a piece of advice that has stuck with you?

TZ:  Never take anything for granted.