O'BRIEN MOVING UP TO A FALL MARATHON AFTER WIN IN MORRISTOWN
When Cathy O'Brien, 31, of Denville crossed the finish line Thursday at the Verizon Wireless Corporate Classic 5K in 18:52 to break the winners ribbon, there were a lot of people cheering for her.
Her father, Mike O'Brien of Denville was out on the course watching. She was trailing in second at two miles, after trading leads with Diane Ross of Flanders. So he didn't learn until later that his daughter, a former Morris County high school standout, had retaken the lead to finish first.
The kids that she coaches at Madison High School in fall cross country and spring track were part of the cheering squad. But the biggest supporters may have been her Running Company club teammates.
"They were cheering for me," said O'Brien, of the squad of five or six women on the team. Those cheers extended to third place finisher Jennifer Curley who is also a Running Company member. Gary Rosenberg of Boonton coaches the squad, giving each woman a training schedule and track work outs.
"We try to meet up to run together but we don't live super close to each other," said O'Brien. "Maybe once a week or every other week or so."
After her stellar high school career at Morris Catholic, that included winning the county championship O'Brien went on to the University of Notre Dame but her competitive collegiate carrier was cut short. She ran for only a year and a half before an injury took her out. That didn't stop O'Brien's competitive drive though and she switched to Water Polo.
"I've always loved swimming and I still coach swimming," said O'Brien. "So I have a competitive swimming back ground. It was a good mix. Not quite as intense as track and cross country in college but it still kept me in action."
Inevitably, being able to swim well and run fast, you might expect a triathlete in the making. Not O'Brien, who claims she is the world's worst cyclist.
"I tried it. I did the Randolph tri (took place on July 15th this year) a few years ago," said O'Brien. "I feel like I can run up the hills faster than I can ride them."
So much for the bike, but O'Brien is a firm believer in cross training. She does one long run per week and one track workout, but only recently hit 40 miles, which is about as high as she wants to go.
This summer she coaches swimming in the morning at the Lakeland Hills YMCA. After that she gets into the pool and swims and spends an hour on the elliptical machine.
"Some people can handle really high mileage but I think my body responds better when I am able to cross train," she said. Some people do two runs a day but I'm better off jumping in the pool. I find it loosens up my muscles more."
O'Brien will race with her teammates at the New York Road Runners Team Championship five mile race in Central Park on August 18. The Central Park hills don't bother her since she can train on hills pretty much right outside her door on the border of Boonton and Denville Township. Injuries are more of a concern for O'Brien.
"Over the past couple of years I've been injured a lot," she said. "I ran the Run for Rachel this year and I was happy with my time (19:04) at that point. Then I started having some ITB problems so I backed off."
"I'm at the point in my life that I would rather recover and train correctly, rather than push it and then have some major injury. That's why I've been racing somewhat sporadically."
O'Brien raced in March in the Morristown St. Paddy's 5K (19:56) and the President's Cup Night Race in June (19:06). Her time of 18:52 at the 5K on Thursday may have been her fastest this year, and she will not race again, after the team championship race, until October when she runs the Chicago Marathon.
"It was twelve weeks out from last Sunday," said O'Brien. "It kind of sneaks up on you quickly."
In September O'Brien will be back teaching full time and coaching cross country. She will continue to coach swimming at the YMCA. It is a busy schedule but she will fit in her training as much as possible to ensure a good performance at only her second marathon attempt.
One thing she can count on: When in Chicago in October, she will be able to recall those supporters who cheered for her win in Morristown during those last difficult marathon miles.
Originally published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey on Sunday, July 22, 2007
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2007
