Courtesy: Running USA

When she crossed the finish line 12th in the 10,000 meters at the IAAF World Track and Field Championships last Saturday night in Paris, Team USA California's Deena Drossin put a period on her peaks-and-valleys 2003 season. In the last nine months, Drossin has reset her American 15K record, defended her USA Cross Country title, earned a second straight individual silver medal and led her team to a second straight team medal at the World Cross Country Championships and broken Joan Benoit Sammuelson's long-standing American Record in the marathon. When action turned to the track, however, Drossin found success harder to come by, and was forced to deal with a skin cancer scare as well.

Although the Mammoth Lakes, Calif. resident plans to run the New York City Marathon in November, it will only be as a pacesetter for women keen to get the Olympic Trials "A" qualifying standard of 2:39:59. Next year's Olympic Games hosted by Athens, Greece stand as the large feature on Drossin's horizon - apart from her September 14th wedding, that is.

After her race in Paris, Drossin took the time to talk at length with Running USA wire's Charlie Mahler and other reporters about her roller coaster 2003 season and to look ahead to 2004.

1. On her Paris 10,000 meter race:

It was strung out. There weren't huge gaps in between me and everybody else. I always felt like I was running on to people, so I was trying to feel comfortable running behind other athletes and let them do the work for me. It was an effort the whole way. I would have been happy with a personal best; I would have been ecstatic with a medal.

I put it all on the line today and that's the best I could do. I'm a little disappointed in my season, but really happy with my efforts in my last couple weeks. I felt like I've brought on my aggressiveness and my drive a little late in my season. I was criticized earlier this week on making excuses for myself, in the press, but really it's just a year of reflection and trying to get everything right for next year. And I feel like I did a good job of making a list of pros and cons, so I look forward to next year. I've got a lot of time to prepare for it.

2. On the race the medalists ran:

Oh, it was exciting! I was entirely impressed with the way the race went. It was a phenomenal finish. I was glancing up at the Jumbotron in my final lap and pushing my hardest to not to get lapped here. Hopefully next year I'll be able to hang on no matter what the distance is 10,000 or the marathon.

3. On learning from disappointment:

I've been in the sport for 19 years and I'm still learning, every year I'm learning. Like I said, I've had a long year so it wasn't me being negative the past two weeks being over here in Europe making excuses for myself. I'm really just making a list as a springboard for myself next year. I'm just excited, I guess. This is the first track season that didn't feel like it dragged on. Like I said, I was aggressive a little too late in the season and I need to find that happy medium where I'm not dragging the season out and I'm not unhappy with myself for not being ready either.

4. On confidence:

If I'm moving backwards, then that's one thing but I feel like I have advanced this year. I have become a stronger, more mature athlete, so I've learned a lot and hopefully I can perfect this by this time next year.

5. On what's next:

A wedding in two weeks, which I'm going to plan for as soon as I get back to the hotel. I've got a plane ticket bringing me right back to LA in a couple days. Then I'm going to be running the first half of the New York Marathon this fall to help some people with some Olympic Trials qualifying times. Then, as soon as I put that under my belt, it's just time to dig down deep for next year.

6. On whether to run the 10,000 or the marathon for Athens 2004:

I'm not really sure, but that's probably one of the major things I have coming up right now is to make that decision. I want to make it as soon as possible so that I can prepare as long as possible so I can get the best performance out of myself. The marathon is totally different. I'm a little unsatisfied with my track season so it makes me a little hungry to come back and have a good track season next year, but I don't know if that's emotional talk because I've just finished this season right this second. I'm not really sure. I thought I could accomplish all my goals [on the track] this year and I came entirely short of that, so it leaves me a little hungry to accomplish more around this oval, before I hang up these spikes and put on my marathoning shoes.

I feel like my marathon career can last awhile and my track career can't last that long, so I want to take advantage of that as soon as possible. I feel like everybody's been in on the roller coaster of this decision. Because just when I think I've made my decision to do the marathon, as I was leaning towards after London, I now feel like I want to come back and redeem myself on the track. I know whichever one I choose I'm going to prepare the best for it and get the best out of myself.

I will decide, probably, within the next month or so. I'm definitely not going to run both. I'm going to make my decision now, like I said the preparation for them is entirely different and I want to prepare the best I can for a single event.

7. On whether her potential move to the marathon, along with that of Marla Runyan, would leave the U.S. weak in the distance events on the track:

No, I mean there's Lauren Fleshman an entirely young, fresh athlete coming on to the scene and really just getting a hang of this incredibly well. I think you're going to see a fabulous performance out of her. I'm just ecstatic that's she's on the team. And, it's better to have enthusiastic people on the team than people who don't really want to be there anyway. So, I don't think we're going to be lacking talent whatsoever.

8. On her plans for the fall:

I'm going to take a week or so off, which is probably one of my shorter breaks, but I really want to do a good job in New York so the girls can just relax and let me do the work and depend on me to bring them through in the time that they want for the marathon. So, I want to prepare the best I can for that.

9. On training plans for the future:

One of the main things I've learned this year is that I need to train with partners. I thrive in a training group environment and I didn't have that at all preparing for this track season. We usually have a great team of training partners and my coach and organization around me and I didn't have that at all. I'm not sure where but I'll be wherever a group is. We [Team USA California] get together about five months out of a year, but this track season with people's injuries and people focusing on roads instead of track, coach [Joe] Vigil having his heart attack this April - he's really the organization - and he wasn't there to organize everybody so it just wasn't there.

If the Running USA group doesn't come together like they didn't this season for track, I'll travel the world to be with anybody. It's what I know I thrive off of, and I'm sorry I didn't learn that earlier. All the signs are there I just didn't pick up on it. I guess when you're having a good year you think you can put all the weight on your shoulders, but I just feel great training with a group. It makes it feel effortless out there even though you're going to the grindstone each day.