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© 2008 Silver Lumsdaine and Pacific Association. All rights reserved.
2008 Pacific Association/USATF Olympic Hopeful
Interview with Alysia Johnson
By Silver Lumsdaine
PA/USATF Communications Intern
Alysia Johnson has a flair for the dramatic. The 22-year-old 800-meter specialist will graduate from University of California, Berkeley in June with a Theater and Performance Studies degree. In the track and field world, however, she’s already made it to the main stage, where track fans are already familiar with her fine performances. As one of the top half-mile specialists in the U.S., Johnson is a good bet to hit Broadway on the track, Beijing style, this summer.
As a prep at Canyon High School (Canyon Country, Calif.), Johnson won the girls two lapper at the 2004 CIF State Track and Field Championships with a (then) personal record of 2 minutes, 8.97 seconds. Now, in her senior year at Cal, Johnson is a multiple NCAA Division I All-American in the 800m, and the indoor and outdoor 800m record holder for Cal.
In 2007, Johnson (coached by longtime Cal coach, Tony Sandoval) powered to an impressive series of wins. She won indoor NCAA nationals, outdoor NCAA nationals (1:59.29, the third fastest in collegiate history), and the 2007 USA Outdoor Championships (1:59.47). Johnson earned Team USA roster slots for both the Pan American Games and IAAF World Outdoor Championships. Although she was ill at Pan Ams,, she placed sixth (2:02.57). At the Worlds in Osaka, she was fourth in her heat (2:02.11).
At the Pac-10 Outdoor Championships on May 17th, Johnson won her second straight 800-meter title in 2:00.57, breaking her own meet record of 2:01.74, set in 2007. Johnson's 2:00.57 placed her at the top of U.S. seasonal charts for 800m in 2008.
Johnson’s first name is pronounced: Alicia (uh-LEE-SEE-uh). She prefers that is pronounced that way. As she relates, “My teammates call me A.J. They know it burns my ears when my name is said wrong. Any newcomers just call me A.J. until they can figure it out.” (laughs)
Pacific Association/USATF’s Silver Lumsdaine caught up with Johnson and posed a few questions about her campaign in an important Olympic year.
Pacific Association/USATF: You just won Pac-10s (in the 800m). Can you tell me about your race?
Alysia Johnson: I’d come off a lot of base training. We’re taking this year a lot slower, adjusting from getting lots of base to working on a bit more sprints. Going into Pac-10s, I felt great. I felt like I had great pop. I was ready to feel comfortable about racing and just get out there. The season has just really started for me. I took it out at about 59-low for the first 400. I came around the 600 around 1:30, and I knew I had so much gas left. I wanted to take the last 200 meters the way that I’m used to running, and just explode. I ended up barreling down the home stretch. I didn’t see the clock. I was just running because I felt great. I came through the finish at 2:00.57, and it was a time I was super excited about.
PA/USATF: That must have been a great relief after the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational (where Johnson placed third in 2:05.00). Did the race at the Cardinal Invite affect your confidence?
A.J.: No, definitely not. My coach and I sat down and planned out this year. My ultimate goal is the Olympic Games. I had a great season last year, but by the time I got to World Championships, I was kind of toast. We (Johnson and Coach Sandoval) sat down and talked. This year, as far as training goes, we want to let the speed kind of come, and stay longer in base training, which is the cycle we happened to be on during Payton Jordan. We were on more of a distance-based cycle and hadn’t done much speed turnover work. So, I felt fine endurance-wise, but my turnover really wasn’t there. I knew that, with another week or two, things were going to pan out well for me.
I came into Payton Jordan super-confident, just ready to race and get out there because I hadn’t raced an outdoor 800 in a while. I got in a situation after 400 meters, a little boxed in. I got clipped or something and ended up shooting into the infield. My first instinct was to just jump back in, and when I did, I ended up being in this box, which was terrible. I had no way of getting out of it. With 200 meters to go, I’m sitting there, jostling. By the time I found open space and started to go, the leaders were secure in the one and two spots, and I had to settle for third. It didn’t really affect my confidence. It just made me hungrier.
PA/USATF: In international competition, there’s a lot of jostling, a lot of strategy. How do you deal with that?
I was a little rusty on my racing at Payton Jordan. I don’t mind getting hit around a little bit while racing. It fires me up. The Payton Jordan meet reminded me that I need to assert myself and not let anyone dictate how my race is going to go. I was reminded that every race isn’t going to be perfect. It was a great learning experience.
PA/USATF: At the end of 2007, were you faced with the decision to go pro? If you were, why did you decide to stay at Cal for the 2008 season?
A.J.: I was definitely faced with the decision to go pro, but I put that to rest. I wanted to finish my fourth year of eligibility at Cal. It has meant a lot to me to wear my Cal uniform all four years of eligibility. Another year to grow was very important to me as a collegiate runner.
PA/USATF: Tell me about your game plan leading up the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials? You’re planning NCAA West Regionals, NCAAs, and then the Trials?
A.J.: That’s exactly what’s going on. Yes.
PA/USATF: Tell me about your buildup for the Trials.
A.J.: As far as goals and what I’m doing right now? It’s a little secret, you know. You’ll just have to see the results at the Trials! (laughs)
PA/USATF: How about broad strokes about what your workout week is like?
A.J.: Our workout week is…work hard, run fast! (laughs again) We’re doing some threshold stuff, some speed work, and some endurance runs. My long runs can be anywhere from 60 minutes during the season to as long as 90 minutes out of season. I like longer runs sometimes. They give me a chance to think, and, on a nice day, it just feels great to have my legs going. Sometimes, I won’t even realize I’ve been running for 90 minutes, and I’ll go, ‘Oh! Okay, I’ll stop running now.’ (chuckles)
PA/USATF: Isn’t that kind of unusual for a half-miler?
A.J.: I really love running. My freshman year when I came in, my coach was introducing everybody, and he was making jokes like, ‘And we have the half-milers over here who are going to be running cross-country with us, but they’re kind of babies. They don’t really like doing longer runs.’ In the back of my head, I’m laughing, like, ‘Okay, he hasn’t met me yet.’ I said, ‘I’m Alysia. I’m a freshman. I run the 800, and I love long runs!’ And they were like, ‘Okay!’
PA/USATF: What’s your favorite workout?
A.J.: Probably some type of repeat 200s. There’s a little circuit I like to do…and…I’m not going to tell you. (coyly, then laughs)
PA/USATF: Hopefully, I’ll be able to pry a little more out of you after the Trials.
A.J.: Exactly!
PA/USATF: How did you first decide to be a runner?
A.J.: I grew up with a community full of boys. Four aunts and uncles living nearby all had boys, so I grew up super competitive. Even though they’re all my cousins (I have one brother), they’re essentially my brothers. I definitely was the little sister that was like one of the guys. My older cousin ran. We’d go to track meets, watch him run, run alongside him on the track, and cheer him on. My brother and my older cousins started to get involved, too, and I was like, ‘Well, who am I going to play with when all you guys are at practice?’ So, I joined the track team with them so that way they couldn’t leave me behind.
PA/USATF: How old were you?
A.J.: I was actually five when I started (running). It wasn’t anything hardcore. It was all our decision. Our parents definitely didn’t push us. Practice was like ‘duck, duck, goose.’ It was like a big day care (center), but we got to race on Saturdays once or twice a month. (laughs)
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