Shakeia Pinnick’s AAU Adventure
It’s no secret no secret to those who follow girls track and field in Illinois that Waubonsie Valley senior to be Shakeia Pinnick is the busiest T&F athlete in the land of Lincoln. Ever since busting on the scene in 2005, Pinnick has been a staple stateside and on the national scene. While most kids spend their summer vacation lounging around or occasionally training for their respective fall sports, Pinnick is busy touring the country and racking up championship medals. Keia took some time to compile an inside look into her extremely busy schedule and share with the masses. Pinnick recently completed one of the most outstanding accomplishments by an Illinois athlete at the AAU national track and field championships held in Ysplanti, Michigan.
Fri 7/25/08-
11am: we arrive at our hotel for check-in.
3p: we arrive at Eastern Michigan University Track and Field Stadium to pick up my competition packet [and chill with Aurora Flyers teammates].
Sat 7/26-
8a: I arrived trackside for my first day of heptathlon competitions- warm ups first. The first event on the schedule is the 100H. I run 14.83- a slow time but it was second overall. I’m down 80 pts after first event. The high jump is the second event and 44 girls are entered. After three hours of competing and clearing 5-1, I drop to 4th overall. Next is the shot put- easily my worst event. I managed a meager 27-9. I slide even further down to 6th overall with just one event left. The 200m is the final event and it’s a long wait because of the many multi-eventers. I ran 25.31 and it’s one of the fastest offerings. At the end of the first day, I tallied 2830 pts for 3rd place. I will need to step it up tomorrow.
Sun 7/27-
6:30a: track arrival… I’m determined to have a much better day 2. Event #5 is the long jump. My first jump was a foot behind the board. I hit 17-0 but not LJ’ing much this year, I’m having problems hitting board consistently. I got a bit of the board on my next two efforts: 17-11, 17-10. I move up to second place overall. Next up is the javelin. This used to be my worst event but after a concerted effort to improve, I’m doing much better. My first throw was 97-3 but dropped a 70-0 on my next throw. My back was hurting so I passed on my last attempt. Finally, I’m in first place but by a slim two points. The last event of the competition is the 800m. I run 2:14 to secure the victory and a national championship. Final score was 4883.
Mon 7/28-
This would be perhaps the toughest day. With both the 800m prelims and the 400m hurdle prelims, two tough races were scheduled in a short amount of time.
First up 400H prelims. There are eight heats and only the heat winner will advance to the final, so there is no room for error. I had to run a pretty clean race to win the heat in 1:00.34- that’s the fastest time (just barely) over last year’s runner-up: Donique Fleming. Everyone knew she would be a tremendous competitor.
My next event is the 800m prelims only two hours later. There are five heats and the heat winner advance plus the next three individuals on time. I had to make sure to win the heat and not expend too much energy because of a long week of competition still coming and the weather is pretty hot each day. I won heat in 2:15 but I knew the final would be much tougher as several girls have run 2:10-2:11 as PR’s. I’m expecting I need to run under 2:10 to win.
Tues 7/29-
This is a light day of competition as far as distance to run and quantity (only 1 race)- 100H.
Once again there are eight heats and only the heat winners advance.
I made sure to get out fast and win the heat with a time not as fast as I hoped for, but fast enough to advance to the finals with a solid 14.52.
Wed 7/30-
Hump day brings another really tough pressure filled day. There are finals for both the half-mile and 400m hurdles. The major problem is they are sandwiched close together. There will be approximately 60-70 minutes of recovery time between each event. This won’t be the first time for this type of recovery period. Last year in the 800m, it was a close race and I ended up 2nd. This year I’m very determined to win, but I also need to save energy for the 400H. Normally, we go out very fast and they all knew this. First thing first: the 800. I need to come through first 400m relaxed, try and hold back the kick until the last moment. I went through the first 400 around 1:05 and I just stayed in front until challenged. Then around the 650m mark, I heard them pick it up so I took off in a hard sprint to finish first.
Next is the 400H. The competition is tough because Fleming is one of the top hurdlers in the nation along with Aiesha Frazier. We have all met several times and Aiesha was in both races with me. The race got out well and I ran extremely well in a personal best 58.98 for second place. It was a little tough but I got the job done and earned another medal. I was hoping for a better time, but this was the 2nd tough race of the day and 12th event of the week so far and I have a few more to go.
Thursday 7/31-
Only one race today: 100m hurdle finals. Competition is fierce with several of the top hurdlers in the nation lined up. I got out a bit slow and ended up 5th, but was happy to medal in an event that is not one of my best. I ran 14.44- a little slower than I expected.
Friday 8/1-
It’s the 400m prelims today. This is one of favorite races but will be tough to make the final.
The race was not scheduled to start until about 5pm, which helped, so I stayed in the hotel until late afternoon to recover from the sun and heat. I just relaxed until 3pm before heading to the track.
Last year I did not make the final so I knew a good time was needed this time in order to make the final. There are ten heats the top 8 athletes will advance on time. I’m in heat 5, so had to wait to find out who would be the finalists.
When the gun went off, I knew I need a strong start. I came through first 200 in 25.4 By 300m I was in the lead but I knew it was not enough to just win. I had to keep driving to the finish and the result was a PR of 54.88.
The races did not end until almost 7pm so after dinner, it was time for bed to prepare for another day.
Saturday 8/2-
The 400m is the last race of a long but fun and rewarding week. I’m feeling good because I have run a couple of PR’s and ran against some great competition.
The final was crazy with the wind swirling and changing constantly. When we came off the last curve, we ran right into a headwind. It was not good for us smaller athletes. I ended up 6th with 56.32. I’m not happy with my time, but I earned a 5th medal of the AAU national championships.
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