Introducing: Anna Pierce
She is one of those girls that make you notice her. And it’s not just because of her funky hairstyles. This girl has talent – and loads of it! She can step to the line at just about any distance and be competitive. I admire that about her. She can run just about as fast as me, but I can’t run anywhere near as long as her. Advantage: Anna.
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
Prelim: March 12th. 10:30am
Semi : March 13th. 10:30am
Final: March 14th. 5:15pm
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
Prelim: March 12th. 10:30am
Semi : March 13th. 10:30am
Final: March 14th. 5:15pm
