Nickname: Fierce Pierce! (self proclaimed nickname). Growing up my mom called me Anna Banana Pickle
Most Notable Performance: hasn't happened yet.
*Since you are competitive at so many different distances, tell us which is the hardest and which one is the easiest—and why!
The 1500 is the hardest, hands down. It's grueling after the first lap and I feel like death when I finish, so much lactate! The 800 has been the easiest for me so far, but I think that mean I might not be running to my potential.
*The first time I heard your name, you were a steeple chaser. Now you’ve decided it really isn’t necessary to run that many laps and jump over barriers in the process. Is there any specific reason for the change?
I wanted to be the best in the world, and running sub-9 minutes in the steeple was looking like a pretty tall order for me. I found I'm much better at shorter distances when Terrence Mahon began coaching me in 2009- plus I love sprinting so it's a perfect fit.
*You are recently married. Congrats! Has that changed anything besides your last name?
Not really, Jon and I joke about it being the same as its always been. Changing my name was hard to get used to, but it feels good to have a symbol of our commitment to each other with me everywhere I go. *I’ve seen you run 150’s at practice and can vouch for the fact that you possess some serious speed. Should Sanya Richards and the rest of the gals keep an eye out for you in the future? (and seriously, what do you think you could run in a 400)
Ohhhhhh, baby. I would love to run a 400! We planned on doing one this indoor, but I didn't really feel ready to rip one yet, and I don't want to run it until I am ready to post a good time. I think I could run 52, and maybe with some more sprint speed conditioning, 51. Last summer I ran 2x300 in 38 and felt great so I think thats a good indicator of my potential.
*Is there ever trash talking on the line in a distance event?
HA! Not really. Often we are racing women from other countries who may not speak english, so it's more about body language, staring tactics and trying to psyche others out by cutting them off mid-stride or something.
*You’re known as the girl with the fabulous, funky hair. What serves as your inspiration? (And why is it so normal right now???)
It usually stems from some salon experiment gone wrong, so I never know how it's exactly going to look. I really like matching, so it's fun to match a streak of my hair to my current Nike uniform. It's so normal right now because I toned it down for our wedding and am giving my hair a break from all the bleaching. I don't want it to fall out!*What event(s) in track and field do you feel trains the hardest? Be honest…we know you guys think sprinters are kind of wimpy with their 10 min interval breaks, huh?
I think multis train incredibly hard, but thats probably the obvious answer. I sometimes take 10 minute breaks, so I feel like I can't judge sprinters too much :)
*As you go on your runs around Doha, do you feel any extra stares from the locals because of your running attire?
A little, but we are only doing our runs at the Aspire campus, so we don't stand out that much. Also, no ones throwing rocks or hissing at us, so I don't feel that uncomfortable.
*(Blog Reader Question) What is your favorite activity/hobby that is completely unrelated to running?
I love cooking/baking; also, giving unsolicited advice is pretty high up there on my list of favorite things to do.
Anna's Schedule at World's: 800 meters
Prelim: March 12th. 10:30am
Semi : March 13th. 10:30am
Final: March 14th. 5:15pm
10 comments:
How about interviewing some international athletes? If you can find them, that is. For example your competition, interviewing the russian long jumpers could be interesting.
Hi Brianna,
Anna is one of two Ivy Leaguers competing in Doha. Here's to some love and support to Samyr Laine, the Harvard-educated Haitian triple jumper
Anna's comment about giving unsolicited advice is hilarious. Another good interview.
Depending on the country, it'd probably be difficult to interview international athletes because of the language barrier, and it may be kinda awkward since Brianna may not know them.
I guess some international athletes that would be cool to hear from would be Jessica Ennis, Dayron Robles etc...
Brianna is also there as a competitor first obviously. She can't interview everyone, lol.
I like the unsolicited advice comment.
I hope you have time to get some field event people on the schedule. Most throwers are friendly, time permitting perhaps a discus thrower; not necessarily an American. Small group interview with a mix of international jumpers about technique could be interesting.
Yay!! Love it =] She's so cool! I cheered for her during the olympics. Also I would love to see her do every event just because it would be neat! Watch Out!
p.s. I didn't know she tried to match her hair to outfits.. [Legit]
Keila Costa would be a great interview (my opinion), and you don't have to ask her one question about track.
Anna was another good one. You are on a roll.
Hmmmmmm? (scratching head, squinted eyes with skepticism)
I think this is more than impromptu interviews.
Fess up...
No, I am not planning on going around the whole village to different countries asking if I can interview people I don't know. Maybe in the future...or maybe if someone paid me.
But hopefully you enjoy the interviews I HAVE done. :)
p.s. there are no discus throwers indoors.
How about interviewing some of the eastern European athletes and then the Asians? Maybe you could go over to their part of the village tomorrow? Sounds like a great idea. Can't wait.
"Hi there, i'm Brianna and i am planning on beating you this weekend. Now how about an interview for my blog?" I think that would be the perfect way to introduce yourself and get an interview with some foreign long jumpers ;-)
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