As Shannon Rowbury easily separated herself from the rest of the field in the women's 3,000 meters, the scene surprised many watching the US Indoor Track & Field Championships last night at the Reggie Lewis Center.
Who was this freckled, pony-tailed leader who pressed on while the other runners faded in the final laps? Where had she come from? After winning her first national title with a time of 8 minutes 55.19 seconds, even Rowbury admitted the result came as something of a surprise.
"I've been feeling in workouts that I had some kick, and it's always a nice feeling to have that in your back pocket," said Rowbury. "In the race, even when I went, I was like, 'I guess this is the time.' I made my move and just kept trying to go with it. I thought someone would cover it, then I heard from the announcer that I had a 15-meter lead with 200 to go, and I was like, 'That's pretty cool.' I just kept going and didn't look back."
At the end of the first day of competition in which the men's and women's distance finals took center stage, Rowbury's performance was followed by strong showings from women's 1,500 winner Christin Wurth-Thomas (4:14.21) and men's 3,000 champion Matt Tegenkamp (8:02.52). But while Wurth-Thomas won at last weekend's Tyson Invitational and placed second at two previous nationals and Tegenkamp entered the meet as the American 2-mile record-holder and 2007 outdoor 3,000 champion, Rowbury had not raced in 11 months.
Sidelined by a stress fracture in her hip, Rowbury could not even run for four months, though she kept fit with other forms of exercise. At the beginning of August, she began gradually building up for this season and fixing her mechanics. She didn't begin true track workouts until January.
"My coach and I just wanted to see how this race went and not make any plans [for afterward]," said Rowbury. "I knew I had a shot at winning, but at the same time I knew the women in the field with me were excellent and it wasn't going to be easy. I was surprised I was able to have that big of a kick at the end."
In the women's 1,500, a strong finish gave Wurth-Thomas her first national title. But she left the meet anxious to test herself against an international field at the world championships in Valencia, Spain, March 7-9. Like Rowbury, Wurth-Thomas was pleased with her performance at nationals, considering her training is geared toward this summer's Olympic trials.
"I have a long way to go," said Wurth-Thomas. "We're in a big strength phase right now. A lot of miles are in the tank. To be able to run indoors as well as this went, I'm happy, but there's more out there. I'm going to go after the Russians [in Valencia] and try to get the [outdoor] 'A' [standard]. I think I'm ready for it. My mile converted to around a 4:08 [in the 1,500] and that felt easy for me. So, we're thinking a 4:07 is not out of the picture. We're going to go for it."
Wurth-Thomas also has made something of a comeback after some tough times last seasons, including a bout with mononucleosis. She has complete confidence in Lance Harter, her coach of 9 1/2 years. Wurth-Thomas credited Harter for coming up with a successful race plan that had her sit back for 2 1/2 laps, then "go for it" with 1,000 left.
"He's got me ready to go right now," said Wurth-Thomas. "I'm in a base phase and the surprise is that I'm running times I've never run before, and workouts have been going phenomenal. This year is the first year that we were going in with a lot of confidence."
It seems the only thing missing for Wurth-Thomas is a steady training partner. She is looking for one. But judging from her performance yesterday, Wurth-Thomas looks perfectly comfortable out in front alone.
Shira Springer can be reached at springer@globe.com.
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