Track & Field | 05/24/2018

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With the NCAA West Preliminary this weekend, GoVandals.com will be talking with all three Vandals before they make their way to Sacramento.  Last up is Andrea Condie.
 
Condie joined the Vandals three seasons ago, making her way back to the States after living in Qatar.  She emerged as one of the leaders of the distance group last year, and set herself apart in the 5k and 10k during this outdoor season.  Condie qualified for the 5k at the NCAA West Preliminaries, with competition set for Saturday evening.
 
Andrea Condie ranks in the top-5 in the Big Sky Conference in both the 5k and the 10k this season.  She's also 12^th in the 1500.  She qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary in the 5k, and missed out by one spot, and one second, in the 10k.  By all accounts and measures, Andrea Condie has earned her place among the best in the conference and the nation.
 
But when the small-statured Condie showed up in Moscow nearly three years ago, she wasn't so sure.
 
"When I came here I definitely didn't have the times that the other girls on this team had.  I wasn't even close to the times that a lot of collegiate runners were running, and that was scary," said Condie.  "I didn't know if I could get there."
 
She could.  And she did.
 
"I knew then that she could do it," said Travis Floeck, assistant coach for distance/cross country.  "Before I even knew her well, when I was writing her an email outlining all the reasons she should come here, when she's half way across the world, I knew she could do it.  And I really believed in her.  I've always believed in Andie Condie."
 
Flashback to the Big Sky Outdoor Championships, in Moscow two weeks ago.  Condie wrapped up her last final of the year in the afternoon, then made her way to the Dan O'Brien Track to get herself ready for the 10k.  It didn't go as well as she would have hoped, with Condie finishing eighth.  And despite the disappointing finish, she had to get right back out and run the 5k the next day.
 
"After disappointing races you can go one of two ways: you can let the disappointment get to you and just really mentally beat yourself up to the point where you can't race well the next day, or you just say 'OK that happened, it's done' and move on and think of the next race as a new race," Condie said.  "I just didn't want to feel the disappointment that I felt after the 10k again.  I had the whole next day to relax and focus on racing.  That was a big plus."
 
It worked.  Condie got herself right, with the help of Floeck, and took the silver in the 5k on Friday.
 
"When we sat down to talk that night about the 5k the next day it was finally our opportunity to get in the right mental spot," Floeck recalled.  "It was really nice that her finals were over with.  We just really tried to put it into perspective.  'Just do your best and don't get caught up in what the outcome might be.'"
 
The mental side of the sport has long been a focus of Condie and Floeck.  And while some shy away from it, these two have embraced the challenges.
 
"We used to take the approach of 'oh, it's just another race.'  The reality is that it's not," Floeck said.  "It is a race, but there are heightened expectations, heightened senses, so there is a little bit more on the line.  Trying to recognize it for what it is has really helped and just identifying that there is going to be a little fear there, and there is going to be a little anxiety, and that's ok.  It's ok to be afraid that it might not go well.  But it might go well."
 
"A lot of it was mental, and just building that confidence over a couple of seasons and just watching myself improve," said Condie.  "Obviously you get a lot of confidence when you run fast.  And a lot of it was learning to trust Travis as well, that's another big part of it.
 
"I think going into the 5k at conference, I didn't think of myself as someone that was just going to run the 5k.  I wanted to be up there, I wanted to be one of the best in the 5k that day.  And just changing my mindset to believing that I could do it instead of just thinking 'maybe I can do it.'"
 
Now, the NCAA West Preliminary awaits.  On the line will be one of the best in the nation, ready to compete with everything she's got.
 
That's Andrea Condie.
 
"She's stepping on the line with these amazing athletes, the best in the country," said Floeck.  "And it's getting her to realize that she's one of them.  She's here for a reason."
 
"I think just being in every race and thinking of myself as a competitor and not just somebody that was lucky to be here," Condie said.  "But as someone that belonged there, and belonged on that line, was something that was important."
 
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