Ali Williams has had a great year on the roads, most recently running 15:51 on Thanksgiving Day at the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot. Ali’s success made her an easy pick for our “The Runner Box” Colorado Runner of the Month award. In the below Q&A, Williams tells us about her move to Golden and her plans for 2016.
Ali, you’ve raced a bunch this fall! I can think of the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot, the Rock ‘n’ Philadelphia Half Marathon, the USATF 12k championships, and the USATF 10k championships. What am I missing? What race stands out as most memorable from this stretch?
Yes, I had a blast running a lot of races this fall! I also ran Cow Harbor, the USATF 10 Mile Championships and the USATF 20K Championships. Even at 33 years old, I still feel like I have a lot to learn in this sport. Every one of these races was a learning opportunity and I think I came out of this fall a better runner. If I had to pick one race that stands out, it would probably be the USATF 10 Mile Championships because that’s where my confidence and training really came together and started a string of really good races for me [CRM note: Ali was fifth in 53:28]. They are all really memorable for me though and I had a really great time running all of them. The fall definitely renewed my love for the sport after a tough break at US track nationals.
How do you pick your races, was any one race this fall a goal or peak race, or was it all just about getting speed ahead of the Olympic marathon trials?
I sit down with my coach at the beginning of a season and we look at a schedule of races and map out a plan. We choose races based on what fits in best with the plan, but that is always subject to change. There are a lot of factors on how a race fits into a plan, fast course, strength race, competition, distance, etc. Prize money is also a pretty big consideration since this is my job right now.
You moved from Manitou Springs to Golden. How has this helped or hurt your training? Where do you like to run best in Golden, and where do you miss running in Manitou?
We actually lived in Colorado Springs before moving up to Golden. We lived in the Springs area for nearly a decade before moving up to Golden. My husband and I really enjoyed the Springs and we had a lot of great friends there. The outdoor space in the Springs is pretty amazing and I really liked training there. I recently switched coaches/training groups to Mike Aish and the group is based in Golden. It just made more sense for us to be in the Denver area, but it was a hard decision to make.
We absolutely love Golden so far and have settled in nicely. The places I love to run in Golden are – the canal path for easy runs, North Table Mountain for hard, hilly efforts and the river path is gorgeous. As far as the Springs goes – Stratton Open Space was my favorite place for easy runs, Cheyenne Canon was great for long runs, Red Rocks and Garden of the Gods are out of this world beautiful and the Santa Fe trail was great for workouts. I think both places are great for training. You really can’t go wrong training anywhere along the front range in Colorado. I think the type of training that I am doing right now under my current coach is a good fit for me personally, so the move has helped my training.
Looking ahead to the Olympic trials, what kind of training volume will you put in over the next few months? With your recent half PR, a sub-2:30 goal seems reasonable?
I’m actually not going to run the marathon trials. I am going to focus solely on the track trials in 2016. This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make in running. Before this fall, it was a much easier decision because I hadn’t really had a lot of success on the roads. I’ve always been much better on the track than on the roads. After I PR’d in Philly in the 1/2 I really started to question my decision [CRM note: Ali was third in 1:10.31]. It’s about trying to give yourself the best possible shot to make the Olympic team and that still is probably on track for me. It’s hard because there isn’t a clear right or wrong decision and the path to the trials is going to look different for everyone out there.
What’s your favorite thing in the Runner Box?
I love the fall theme of the box! The gingerbread mini chocolate bar is my favorite thing in the box. I am really looking forward to trying the pumpkin fig granola as well. There are a lot of great snacks as well as practical recovery items in the box, which is always a plus when you are on the go as much as runners are.
“Leave the research to us, and we’ll leave the training to you,” says Runner Box. The Runner Box is a subscription-based service that delivers a “box” of runner-friendly goodies to you every other month, items like gels, bars, and other accessories hand-picked to add to your running. Many items are new to the market, and new items are expected with each box. A great service for yourself, the boxes also make great gifts and are often themed around holidays.
Follow Ali on Twitter @alirunnerco.
Previous “The Runner Box” Colorado Runners of the Month:
October – Neely Gracey
September – Timmy Parr
August – Andy Wacker
July – Lanie Szuch
June – Joe Gray
May – Brittni Hutton
April – Andy Rinne
March – Justin Ricks
February – Laura Thweatt