This week's marathon will see her lining up against some of the world's best in one of the most elite women-only marathons held. Among the starters is Naoko Takahashi, 2000 Olympic Marathon Champion and former world record holder at 2:19 (a world record which stood for just one week!). But Nyla says she will be "just focussed on my own performance" in her first truly international race in some years.
Prior to her departure for Japan, Nyla took some time out from her busy job as Youth Education Officer for NZ Police based at Manurewa to answer a few questions about what she's been doing these past 5 years, the reasons for her return to form and what her expectations are for her marathon on Sunday and into the future.
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How long is it since your last marathon?
My last marathon was Rotorua in 2001, but my last 'serious' marathon was the World Champs in 1995. I gave up on them then and concentrated on track after a dismal showing at Gothenberg - 2.50.48 on a course which was later found to be 400m short!
How many marathons have you run altogether?
11 - Tokyo will be No 12.
Recent marathons include:
What are the highlights of your running career?
Setting my NZ records for 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m and gaining selection in the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon for the Atlanta Olympics.
You took quite a bit of time out of competitive running - when was that and why did you take time out?
I injured my achilles tendon prior to the Atlanta Olympics. That required surgery, and in hindsight I probably rushed my rehabilitation. I raced a sub 16 min 5000m within 12 weeks of my surgery, and following that I had a series of injuries and niggles including a stress fracture and neuroma - which required further surgery - and I lost heart. Financially it was also a struggle, so I decided it was time to 'move on' and get a life outside of running. I joined the NZ Police in May 2000 after a long period of time spent working on my ability to 'jump', do press-ups; and develop enough upper body to cope with the demands of the job - this also entailed gaining 12kg!
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What enabled you to return to form?
Whilst I was at Police College, I joined Wellington Harriers and spent a fun low-key winter participating over cross-country, whilst running around 30 - 40 minutes a day. I managed to stay injury-free and really started to enjoy my running.
On graduation, I was posted to Auckland. I endeavoured to try and train, but the demands of policing and shiftwork took their toll, and my race results were mediocre at best. I approached Pete Pfitzinger for guidance in July of 2001. The turning point was last September/October when I was hit by the flu virus and spent 6 weeks bedridden. I realised that something had to give. When I started running again last November, I was struggling to do 20 minutes on alternate days!
I was fortunate at that time to be successful in applying for a position as a Youth Education Officer within the Police. This has allowed me to generally work Monday - Friday between normal office hours and obviously given me more consistency in terms of my ability to train, and also my recovery. I have also had tremendous support from my husband Grant who has always believed in my ability, even when I have lost hope.
Why have you chosen the Tokyo Marathon over say Auckland, Chicago or New York?
Since it's a long time since I have raced a marathon, I wanted to run an event where I knew it would be well organised, yet also low key from the point of view of media coverage in New Zealand. Tokyo is not a huge distance to travel, and the time difference is not significant. I also ran as a pacemaker there in 1998 and was impressed with the course and organisation. I've always enjoyed running and racing in Japan and the Japanese are extremely supportive of running.
You ran the Auckland Half Marathon as a tempo run and still clocked an impressive 1:15 - you must be feeling pretty confident that you're in shape for a really good marathon. Do you have a time goal in mind?
This marathon is really just a 're-introduction' to the event. Obviously my training has gone really well over the winter (despite a foot problem which forced me to miss the entire cross country season). I would like to run close to my personal best, but I am not intending to go 'all out'. I want this one to be a great experience - my dream is still to represent NZ in the marathon at Athens in 2004 and my intention would be to run two more quality marathons in 2003 with the aim of running a qualifying time at that stage.
Any other goal in mind for this week's marathon?
Tokyo is one of the selection races for the World Championships in 2003. There will be an extremely competitive field, including Naoko Takahashi (former world record holder at 2.19). Obviously I'll be focused on my own performance, but it will also be interesting to see how competitive I can be. I don't feel that I've ever really 'raced' a marathon as such, but I do feel confident that under Pete's guidance, I am starting to return to form and I am looking to run some significantly improved performances in the future.
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Postscript: unofficial results - Nyla finished 13th in 2:41, in cold conditions (8-10 degrees).
Cool Running 10.11.02.
