Hypothetical Races

In the world of elite track and field, you generally have an idea of how athletes will perform. If runner "A" has faster times than runner "B" at distance "X," you expect runner "A" to win. But what if runner "A" ran a completely different event against someone they have never raced against?

Back in the day when I was in high school, at some of the smaller meets (non-district/regionals/state) there would be a "big man relay." Just for fun, the throwers from each school would participate in a 4x100m relay. I'm pretty sure the crowd yelled the loudest during that event because it was entertaining. Track meets can always use a little more entertainment.

With that in mind, there are a few races I think we'd like to see. One recently popular topic on LetsRun is titled "Bolt vs Bekele in a 600m." Usain Bolt is the world record holder in the 100m (9.69) and 200m (19.30). Kenenisa Bekele is the world record holder in the 5000m (12:37.35) and 10,000m (26:17.53). I say Bekele would win it because distance runners can sprint more easily than sprinters can run distance. That's the theory anyway.

Of course there are always some match-ups that should have stayed imaginary:

Spring is in the Air

NCAA Indoor Nationals came and went. Our coverage is here. Oregon and Tennessee won the team titles. I'd say Galen Rupp was the MVP as he won the 5000m, DMR and 3000m easily.

On the women's side, Jenny Barringer ran a 8:42 3000m pretty much by herself. Sarah Bowman beat Sally Kipyego in the mile by less than a second. Kipyego won the 5000m though. It was Sally's last college meet, but I can't wait to see how she does as a pro.

Now that spring is here, we can start thinking about the outdoor season. It's Rupp's last NCAA season and German Fernandez's first. I want to see those two race each other. Fernandez did not run at NCAA's last week because he is going to Amman March 28 for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. 

The Stanford Invitational is also the weekend of March 27-28. It's the first major track meet of the outdoor season. Some of the top high school, college and professional runners will compete. Also coming up are the Texas Relays, April 1-4, at the University of Texas. I plan to be at that meet with PreRaceJitters.com.

Perhaps the biggest week for outdoor track and field (other than national championships) will be April 19-25. Penn Relays, Drake Relays and the Boston Marathon are all that week! 

Technically the Boston Marathon isn't track and field, but it's muy importante. Ryan Hall, Brian Sell and Kara Goucher are running. Could Hall win? He is up against some tough [Kenyan] competition, so things should get interesting.

Speaking of major marathons, don't forget about the most competitive of them all...London. Dathan Ritzenhein (USA) will try that one April 26, but look for someone like Martin Lel (KEN) Sammy Wanjiru (KEN) to win it.

Back to track and field... The outdoor season continues long into the summer. The NCAA National Championship meet will be held at the University of Arkansas, June 10-13. USATF Nationals are in Eugene, June 25-28.  

It's difficult to make individual predictions at this time. Last year was so huge because of the Olympic Trials and Olympics, but now a lot of athletes are refocusing and trying new events. Some have even dropped their old coaches and moved across the country. And don't forget about the inconsistency of Alan Webb. 

Howdy Dammit!

Howdy! That's what you are supposed to say to everyone in Aggieland. Along with their many traditions, Aggies (and Texans in general) are some of the nicest people you will meet.

I'm in College Station, Texas, for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Texas A&M recently built an indoor facility to host this meet. They also hosted the Big 12 Indoor Championships two weeks ago where Colorado's Jenny Barringer and Oklahoma State's German Fernandez broke the collegiate mile indoor records.

Barringer is not running the mile this weekend, however. She will compete in the 3000m. Unfortunately, we won't get to see her go against rival Sally Kipyego. Kipyego is entered in the mile and the 5000m.

Fernandez is not competing at all at this meet. Instead he will run in Amman at the IAAF Cross Country Championships, March 28.

Where does that leave the rest of the competition? The men's 5000m should be good. Oregon's Galen Rupp and Liberty's Sam Chelanga will once again race each other. It's always a close race between those them. At the Tyson Invitational last month, Rupp beat Chelanga by a little over a second.

Kipyego is the favorite in the women's mile, but it's not her best event (in other words, she has actually gotten 2nd place as opposed to winning). Brie Felnagle of North Carolina and Sarah Bowman of Tennessee are in contention as well.

The event many people look forward to is the men's Distance Medley Relay. There are 18 teams entered! Those were all automatic qualifiers. I won't even try to make a prediction for that race (but I'd like to see Texas get it).

Coverage starts Friday at PreRaceJitters.com.

But It's So Warm Under This Rock

It has been a while since my last post and now the indoor track season is just about over. That was quick. Good thing I just use indoor to prepare for outdoor. Yeah, that's it.  

The USATF Indoor Championship meet was last weekend in Boston, as well as NCAA conference meets.

Not everyone showed up for nationals. By "everyone" I mostly mean Bernard Lagat and Nick Symmonds. At the Tyson Invitational we saw Khadevis Robinson make a comeback since an injury to almost beat Symmonds in the 800m. It would have been fun to see those two race again last weekend. Without Symmonds, KD won in 1:48.61. 

Another popular rivalry is between Lagat and Alan Webb in the 1500m. Of course Webb has not had a good year, but there's always some hope, especially if he is pushed by Lagat. But Lagat was not there. Webb was 2nd (3:45.82) in Boston, behind Rob Myers (3:45.73). It was a close race, but was it an improvement? That's hard to say. Surely Webb will peak this spring/summer. He normally doesn't always run indoor track.

I'm just glad I picked Myers for the win on the LetsRun poll. He had the lowest percentage of votes too. This means I am getting better with my predictions.  

In college running news, the Big 12 meet was rather eventful, which just goes to show that the A&M Track is just as good as the one at Arkansas, if not better. Oklahoma State's German Fernandez ran a 3:55.02 mile, a new college record. The women's collegiate mile record also fell as Colorado's Jenny Barringer ran 4:25.91. She beat Sally Kipyego in that race. 

The NCAA national meet will be held at Texas A&M, March 13-14. I will be there to cover the meet for PreRaceJitters.com. I am currently working on some preview articles. It should be a good meet, but the best part is that it's in Texas! Only a 3 hour drive for me.

Tyson Invitational

The Tyson Invitational was this weekend. This was my first time to come to the University of Arkansas, which is surprising given their history with track and field. I'm caffeinating right now in preparation for the 7 hour drive home.

In case you don't know what happened, the big story was Galen Rupp's American record in the 5000m. He ran 13:18.12. I covered the meet for PreRaceJitters.com and LetsRun.com. Links: http://preracejitters.com/rupp-sets-5k-american-record-at-tyson-invitational/ and http://www.letsrun.com/2009/tyson0213.php

There is also some very good coverage in all the events at TrackShark.com. The TrackShark guys, Tom Borish and Scott Bush, impress me with their work ethic. They have been writing, Twittering, filming, etc. nonstop. They were also nice to let me stay with them after my plans fell through. I was going to rough it and sleep in my car, but it did get awfully cold last night.

My favorite race has always been the men's mile. This was the first time I got to see Nick Willis race in person. I had hoped Alan Webb would have finished better, but he needs to work on his tactics.

Some Texas Tech people are here too. I got to see my old coach and former teammates. Sally Kipyego was 2nd in the mile, but we all know that's not her best event.

Yesterday I ran around town, but it killed my shins since there was mostly concrete hills everywhere. I was told there are trails, but I never found them. I felt better once I ran though. I get antsy if I watch track meets and I can't run.

Shalane Flanagan - Flotrack Video Interview

Flotrack's Mark Floreani interviewed 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan today. Flanagan will compete in the 5000m at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games tomorrow. She hopes to break Marla Runyan's record of 15:07.33.

In this interview, Flanagan discusses what she has been up to since Beijing, as well as why she left her coach, John Cook.

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

"Come to Oregon!"

Jordan Hasay decided to go to the University of Oregon and everyone on letsrun has their panties in a bunch. How can you live vicariously through these talented young runners if they just won't listen to you?

Sure, she could have gone to Stanford. She certainly has the grades for it. She could have gone to the University of Washington to join the 2008 NCAA champion cross country team. Not to say Oregon doesn't have a history of achievement. Jordan Hasay is going to be a Duck. Accept it and move on.

Eugene is a great place to train. It's called "Track Town, USA" for a reason. The entire community is supportive of the Ducks. It probably didn't hurt when the crowds shouted "Come to Oregon! Come to Oregon!" to Hasay when she ran her 4:14.50 high school record at Hayward Field during the Olympic Trials.

Hasay stated that she gets along well with the coaches and her future teammates. There is also the Oregon Track Club in Eugene, which she can join when she runs professionally.

More importantly, Hasay considered her future when she made the decision to attend the University of Oregon. She said she plans to study physiology and work in athletic training or physical therapy. Where better than the birthplace of Nike?

What is the problem then?


(Photo by Joe Johnston, SanLuisObispo.com/The Tribune)

Jack and Jill Went Up the Hills

I apologize for the lull in action, but my blogging activity tends to coincide with my running. This is a running blog after all.

For a few days this week, I was dragging. The good thing about not wearing a watch is that you don't know exactly how slow you are running. This is good because you run according to how you feel instead on obsessive-compulsively checking your watch. After a tempo run last week, I needed a couple of recovery days.

Sure there are tougher workouts than tempo runs, but I have not done much "fast" running in the past year and a half. Everything is kind of rusty.

Eventually I recovered, only to do an intense hill workout this past Thursday. It was with a running group I never ran with before. I had no idea they had a hill workout scheduled, but I was already there. The reason I was weary is that the last time I did a hill workout after running on nothing but flat terrain for a long time, I broke my foot.

I don't think I broke anything this time (knock on wood). We warmed up 1.5 miles, ran a 4 mile very hilly course (I lost count how many hills) around some neighborhoods, then cooled down another 1.5. The 7 miles was the longest I have run in a while, since I broke my foot last fall, but it felt good with the easy warm-up and cool-down.

Since I had not run hills in a while, I started the 4 mile route a little fast. Actually, I did great for about the first 3 miles, but then we hit a really steep hill and I fell back. I still finished within 15 seconds of the lead guys though. They were impressed. They said this was the hardest workout they do. Little do they know this is only me at 22 mpw while they are in the midst of marathon training.

German Fernandez 3:56.05

This Saturday, January 24, German Fernandez ran 3:56.50 for an indoor mile at the Razorback Invitational at the University of Arkansas. I repeat, 3:56.50! That's his first-ever collegiate indoor track race, as well as his first race back from an injury. It is also a new junior world record.

Expectations have been high for Fernandez this year. Fernandez, 18, from Riverbank, CA, is a former high school running star who is now a freshman at Oklahoma State University, coached by Dave Smith. Some predicted a top-10 finish at the NCAA DI Cross Country Championship meet 2 months ago, but he DNF that race because of an Achilles injury.

"I didn't expect to break the record at all," Fernandez told OSU after the race. "That's the best time I've run in my life. I couldn't believe it at first."

No one was sure how soon Fernandez would rebound from last fall's injury. Some critics thought he would not reach the level of success he had in high school, but if his 3:56 mile is any indication, he will surpass it. There is a long track season ahead and he is only a freshman.


**Photo from Facebook.com

A Minimalist's Shoe Reviews

I train in racing flats. Crazy, right? Well, after wearing "normal" running shoes and going through 3 different pairs of orthotics, I kept getting injured. One day I read some threads on LetsRun about minimalism and it made sense that stability, cushioning, etc. in shoes weaken your feet. Think about it: try to run barefoot and see how long you can heel-strike. I am a natural mid-foot/forefoot striker, so all that extra heel height put additional strain on my tibia.

Minimalism is not a cure-all, however. I have had injuries since the switch, but they were due to training errors. If you are fine in regular running shoes, stick with what works. If you want to try something new and have the patience, try training in flats. Here are the flats I have trained in, ranked by my preference:

#1 New Balance RC152

I like the slightly curved last and wide forefoot of the New Balance RC152. These shoes fit my feet really well. The only drawback is that they are bright orange. The color is good for racing to make you look like a badass, but on the trails they got a few stares. I still want another pair. These are great shoes.

#2 Adidas adiZero RC

The adiZero series is quite popular. I'd like to try the Pro and PR. I really liked my experience with the Adidas adiZero RC. The shape of this shoe is very similar to the NB RC152, but more narrow. It has a low heel and is flexible. The sole of the shoes were durable, the upper on both shoes ripped. It ripped where the 3 stripes are stitched to the mesh. Perhaps mine were defective or I should have gone up a size.

#3 Asics Gel Hyperspeed 2

The Asics Gel Hyperspeed 2 is classified as a marathon racer, so it is more solid than some of the other flats. I like that it has a little more cushioning so that I don't feel every sharp rock under my feet, but still has a low heel. A drawbacks is that the shoes are less flexible than some of the other flats. You also have to be careful running on trails because the soles are made for roads. Overall, these are really good shoes. They are also what 2008 Olympian Ryan Hall wears in his races.

#4 Mizuno Wave Idaten

My first pair of flats were the Mizuno Wave Idaten. They are now called the Wave Ronin. I used to always wear the Wave Rider, a neutral trainer, so this was a good transition shoe.

Mizuno shoes fit my feet really well. However, the heel is still high for a flat and the shoe has the plastic "wave" in the arch and heel which makes it heavier and less flexible.

#5 Asics Piranha

The Asics Piranha is the lightest shoe I've worn, about 4.8 ounces. It almost feels like it's made out of paper. Unfortunately mine were a size too big, so my footstrike was a bit off. They are also

fairly narrow. I recommend them for road running. They don't hold up well on trails.

#6 Nike Air Zoom Streak XC

Nike makes great spikes, so I tried a pair of their flats, the Streak XC. They were okay, but not a favorite of mine. The heel is a little high, the sole is not flat, and they are very narrow. However I did see Dathan Ritzenhein wearing them at the Olympic Trials. Nike also makes the Air Zoom Katana Racer and the Air Zoom Marathoner. I've heard a lot of good things about the Marathoner.

#7 New Balance 205

The New Balance 205 has too much heel in my opinion. It's not

necessarily too high, but it felt wide. There is a large amount of space between the heel and the forefoot. Also, there is hardly any

traction on the sole. This is not a problem for racing, but is if you train in flats. I've seen several NB sponsored athletes, like James Carney, wear them.

#8 Nike Trail Free 5.0

The Nike Free is not exactly a racing flat, but it is a minimalist training shoe. I have a pair of the Trail Free 5.0. It is similar to the Free 5.0, but has a little more traction and a suede upper. Mostly I wear them to walk around in, but have worn them running. They are heavy and it bothered me that they did not have a heel counter. They are comfortable for walking around. I'd like to try the 3.0, which is much lighter.

The Ego Withers in the Face of Evidence

No matter how hard I try, I continue to make (at least) one rookie mistake with my running. I cannot stand it when I am out on a training run and someone passes me. Yes, that's pointless and ridiculous, but let me explain. 

It does not bother me if someone is running faster, especially if it's a guy (I can't recall the last 

time I was passed by another woman). What bothers me is the guys that try to race me because they can't stand the fact that a female runs faster than them. At least I think that's the reason. I never see them sprinting ahead to pass a man. What's really "fun" is when they sprint ahead, stop and walk, then sprint ahead again, only to stop completely while I keep going. They are doing themselves more harm than good. Keep in mind, I'm not talking about racing, just normal running on the road or trails.

The other day in Houston, I went to Memorial Park to run. A loop around the park is a little less than 3 miles. I was doing two loops. As I was about to start my second loop, a guy with an iPod was just starting his run. I kept the same pace I had been running as I passed him and sure enough he heel-strikes his way up next to me. Eventually I got annoyed by his huffing and puffing down my neck and sped up a bit. He went with me of course. I let him pass because there was no point in playing this game. Sure enough, about 400m later the guy stopped with his hands on his knees, spitting (or vomiting) on the ground. I went on my merry way.

You can always tell the non-runners. That guy was definitely a weekend warrior. One thing I love about running is that, for the most part, it is not a masculine or feminine sport. Men and women are on the same teams, train together, race at the same meets, coach each other, etc. All that matters is what you accomplish and mostly everyone supports each other. 

Real men can accept that a woman is faster. Train harder if you don't like it. You have the physiological advantage. Just look at Paula Radcliffe, the female world record holder in the marathon. How many men can run a 2:15:25 marathon? It's okay to get beat by a girl.

Keflezighi Starts 2009 as USA Half Marathon Champion; Merga Breaks 20-Year-Old Record

After a turbulent year, Meb Keflezighi had a breakthrough race at the 2009 USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston, Texas, Sunday morning. Keflezighi ran 1:01:25, ten seconds in front of runner-up Dathan Ritzenhein (1:01:35). McMillan Elite runner Brett Gotcher was third in 1:02:09.

Keflezighi and Ritzenhein led the race from the gun at an average speed of 4:42 per mile. At the 10-kilometer mark, Keflezighi’s split was 28:40, 15 seconds ahead of Ritzenhein. The gap widened, but Ritzenhein kept Keflezighi in sight. At mile 9, they were 18 seconds apart. Around mile 11, Ritzenhein made a move to close the gap, but it was too late to catch Keflezighi. Ritzenhein stayed about 10-15 seconds behind Keflezighi throughout the race, but in the end did not have the kick necessary to close the gap.

“I didn’t feel good. I just didn’t have the spring in my legs” Ritzenhein said. “[Keflezighi] ran great. There’s a reason why he’s an Olympic silver-medallist.”

Ritzenhein is currently training for the USA Cross Country Championships in Derwood, Maryland, February 7. He will then train for the London Marathon in April.

A 2004 Olympic silver-medallist and 10,000m American record-holder, experienced a number of setbacks leading up to the 2008 US Men’s Marathon Trials, including a pelvic stress fracture.

“This is probably the sweetest national title I’ve ever gotten…because of what I’ve overcome,” he said. “It was a rough year…[but] in life there’s challenges.”

Keflezighi’s coach, Bob Larsen, was happy for him as well. He said he was sure no one would beat him, but that “he took it one step further” by running away from the field from the start. Larsen said that depending on how Keflezighi feels after this race, he might run a spring marathon.

Ritzenhein’s 2008 Olympic teammate, Brian Sell, ran 1:02:36 for fifth place in Houston. At the pre-race press conference Friday morning, Sell seemed unsure of his fitness level.

“I think Dathan and Meb are really going to roll,” he accurately predicted.

As far as his training, Sell said he had a rough Christmas, but that the past three weeks before this weekend went well. He will likely run the Boston Marathon, April 20, as well as a possible fall marathon.

After an exciting Olympic year, the USA Half Marathon Championships set the bar for American distance running in 2009.

Merga Runs 2:07:52

The 2009 USA Half Marathon Championships were held in conjunction with the 37th annual Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Half Marathon.

Deriba Merga of Ethiopia won the men’s marathon with a time of 2:07:52, good for a $45,000 prize. His time is a new course record, but he said he wanted to run a 2:05.

Merga was fourth in the 2008 Beijing Olympic marathon. He has a personal best time of 2:06:38, which he set in London last year.

Past Travels: Eugene '08

One of these days, I have to move to Eugene, Oregon. It's Heaven for runners, Tracktown, USA. Hopefully I'll make it back this summer for the US Outdoor Track & field Championships, but it won't compare to last year's Olympic Trials.

For 2 weeks, I was breathing track and field, even more than I usually do. The best part was that so was everyone else. I could talk running with random strangers there, while back home people tune me out if I do.

Of course the races were exciting. The best was the men's 800m final. I'm so glad I was there in person to experience that, especially the celebration later that night. I don't think I slept at all while I was there, but I didn't care.

Past Travels: Texas Marathons

The good thing about living in Texas is that there are 3 major marathons within 3 months. In December, there's the Dallas White Rock Marathon. In January, there's the Houston Marathon. In February, there's the Austin Marathon. You get the idea, it's warm in Texas.

Houston is my favorite. It is very well-run (no pun intended). It is also the host of the USA Half Marathon Championships. Last year, my sister and I went and had fun covering the races for Flotrack. This year was even better. The fields were loaded with awesome runners. In the end, Meb Keflezighi (2004 silver medalist) and Magdalena Lewy Boulet were the champs.

Luckily Meb didn't get stuck in the elevator the day before. The elite 

athlete hospitality room was at the Hilton on the 21st floor. The elevators got stuck, so we had to walk down a few flights of stairs and then 

pack like sardines in the one elevator that actually worked. We made it out though and ate some dinner later that evening.

The next morning, we rode on the press truck leading the men's half. I felt weary when the driver told us it was his "first time to do this." I was right. He kept slamming on the accelerator and we'd go flying. There wasn't much keeping us on that flatbed trailer.

My life flashed before my eyes a few times. I could have fallen off and been trampled by Meb and Ritz. What a way to go!

At the White Rock Marathon, we had to sign a waiver first. That was a good idea because a cameraman jumped off and hit hit head. I think he was okay...

Next up I'll probably go to Austin. Last year, Henry Rono, Dick Beardsley and Steve Jones were there. 

Past Travels: 2008 Men's Marathon Olympic Trials

The first major race I covered was the 2008 Men's Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City. I had never been to NYC before and flew there alone. My friend lived there, so I wasn't alone for too long.

It was an amazing learning experience, that's for sure. The morning of the race, I got lost on the subway for 3 hours. There were maps, but some routes were closed for the marathon. By the time I reached my destination, the race was half over. I didn't even have press credentials that day. I found the guy I was working for and he tried to get me into Tavern on the Green (media HQ) with him, but security was tight. I remember making it through the door and down a long mirrored hallway, but 

the last guard would not let me through. So I sat and waited until I got bored and went back outside.

When I got outside, there were a lot of sad-looking people (athletes, coaches, agents, media, etc.). I thought they were just sad because they didn't make the Olympic team. Then I bumped into wejo (letsrun.com co-founder) and he told me one of the athletes, Ryan Shay, had died. Everyone was in shock. When the shock wore off, I cried.

It was a weird mix of emotions that day. Part of me was extremely sad, but part of me wanted to be happy for the 3 guys who were going to be Olympians - Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell.

President Obama is Part Kenyan

Obama became the new president today. I noticed he was careful not to say "change" too much in his speech. Instead, he chose words like "remake." But I like Obama. I liked him more when he visited Hayward Field and "hurdled." 

No, that's not why I voted for him, but this is primarily a running blog after all. Despite having the Internet for the past 13 years or so, I've never been good at keeping a blog, but it's about time I do. Let's see how long this lasts.

Running...

In a nutshell: For anyone who doesn't know me, I started running back in 2001. Over the next few years, I got better (fast enough to run D1), but didn't realize I was overtraining until I was in college and got a number of chronic injuries. For a while I tried different activities like cycling, swimming, etc., but there's absolutely nothing compared to running. To get my "fix," I found a little website called LetsRun.com. It was like no other running website I'd seen. These people were as crazy, if not crazier, than I was about running. Soon, I learned a lot about proper training and other interesting things.

Which brings me to today. I wish I had known what I know now about training before I got injured the first time. I still run some, but can't get too far without getting another problem. It's not all sad though. I've now worked with various running websites/publications/organizations to promote the sport I love. I've been all over the country and met some great people. Still, part of me wants to race again so bad.