Altitude Project: I'm online with Mike Sayenko from Bellevue, WA. At age 23, he was one of the youngest competitors in the 2007 Olympic Marathon Trails in NYC, finishing 29th in a time of 2:18:35 in only his second marathon! Mike can you tell us a little bit about that race?
Mike Sayenko: You know it was a total God thing, the preperation leading to the race was less than ideal as I was battling a knee injury. So as far as race day I just wanted to glorify God no matter how I finished whether first or last. The race ended up going out really slow and just grinding it out the second half as I picked off people each lap. I ended up pretty much even splits 69:12/ 69:23 which is probably the right way to run on that course. Of course I lost about 5-8 spots the last mile, because my quads were sinking into the pavement due to all the hills. And like I said I was happy just to finish.
AP: I know you were battling injury during your time at the ALTITUDE Project last summer and that you never really got back to 100%. How did that affect your preparation, physically and emotionally?
MS: You know emotionally it was frusturating at first. But, I responded very differently than I would have 3-4 years ago. I had a sense of peace about the situation at hand. Knowing that whatever happend it would not be the end of the world. And that God would work the situation out for good. It really helped to have ALTITUDE Project help take my focus off running. Everyone really encouraged me and was looking out for my well being. There was tough times of cross training, which isn't my favorite but if you have to do it. I couldn't think of a better place than Mammoth Lakes in the summer.Physically, I had to get alot stronger in the core, and knee joints. I focused on getting better on the little things, such as core. I knew that I couldn't run as much, meaning I would have to make my runs really count and sacrifice some speed sessions for longer sessions. It was really hard physically because I like to prepare the best I know possible and the knee injury just prevented me from doing that.
AP: It has to be exciting to know that you ran so well despite less-than-perfect training. When's your next marathon and what do you think we can expect to see from you?
MS: I'm planning on running the Austin International Marathon Challange on Feb 16th. There will be 5 international teams there and I will be representing USA. They are going to score the race cross country style. 2 men and 2 women on each team. I'm not sure what to expect for time wise since its a fairly hilly course but, I hope to contend for the win. After that I will most likely run one next fall.
AP: That sounds like fun! Any plans beyond that? MS: The focus now even as I run the marathon is on the track. I want to bring down all my track times this year and really focus on speed. This will start off at the UW Indoor meet this weekend as I focus to bring down my 3k time. I will be shooting for the Olympic Trials 10k in early July. AP: Do you have any final shout-outs you want to make to your altitude buddies?
MS: umm yeah shout out to Juggernaut for letting me be his championship friend.
AP: Thanks Mike -- right back at you!
