Olympic Trials - Day 2

A quick note on my "highs" and "lows" of the day. They are not meant to be disrespectful, but rather, notes of exciting, unexpected and curious results that occur each day. "High" doesn't necessarily mean that I found it the best , nor does "low" denote worst, performance/s of the day, but instead grouping of things I feel as though pointing out, sometimes for my own personal reasons, other times because I think they are just results that need to be highlighted that may have been missed by the "naked" eye. So here goes with Day #2!

Recap:
Day 2 was mainly quarter/semi finals with Finals in the hotly contested Women's Heptathlon, Men's Shot Put and Women's 100m. In the end I would say the favorites made it on the the next round in nearly every event, with no super surprises. The one main surprise probably came from the Women's 100m where Allyson Felix placed 5th, having gone in to the event as a odds on favorite to make the team, although she has to be a shoe-in for the 4X100 pool. Most important to mention was the absolutely insane men's 100 Quarterfinals, which had 7 men run 10.00 or faster and the following records set: American/OT Record (Tyson Gay), Collegiate Record (Travis Padgett) and World/American U-20 Record (Jeffrey Demps)...just un-real considering there are still 2 rounds to go!

Today's Olympians:
Men's Shot Put - Reese Hoffa, Christian Cantwell and Adam Nelson
Women's 100m - Muna Lee, Torri Edwards and Lauryn Williams
Women's Heptathlon - Hyleas Fountain, Jacquelyn Johnson, and Diana Pickler

Highs:
3. Christian Cantwell - Men's Shot Put - Final - 2nd Place - 71'-2.75"
Cantwell didn't throw his best but really shook off the demons of the past to make the Olympic team. In the previous 2 Olympic Trials Cantwell, a former World Champion, had fouled 10 of 12 throws. Cantwell not only managed 4 legal throws, but let his last throw stretch him out over 71' which really has to have given him some confidence. Up next Beijing where he, Hoffa and Nelson have a real "shot" at sweeping the medal stand...sorry that was a really terrible pun.

2. Diana Pickler - Women's Heptathlon - 800m - 2:16.59
Pickler made her first Olympic team running a really gutsy race in the 800m, which is the final event. She needed be within Gi Gi Johnson 1.5 seconds in order to score enough points to take the final qualifying spot, and did it. She ran an 800m PR in the process and made her first Olympic team by a mere 10 points, which can be equated to about .1 seconds in the 200m or 2-3in in the long jump. Over the course of 7 events it really shows that every little extra effort can mean the difference between a trip to Beijing or sitting at home.

1. Tyson Gay - Men's 100m - Quarterfinals Heat #1 - 1st Place - 9.77 (AR)
Well Gay was just about to land his place on the top of my list for Lows for the entire Trials with his near fatal mistake in the 100 Qualifying rounds earlier in the day. Thinking he had the win, Gay slowed down with about 10m to go, was passed by virtually the entire field and was able to rally in the last 2m and lean to make the Quarterfinals. Sporting a "throwback" 1936 Jesse Owens Olympic replica uniform (see image below), Gay exploded out of the blocks in his Quarterfinal and set an American record while still pulling up again with about 8m to go. Had to run through the line I think he would have run damn close to a world record. If Gay is still getting warmed up I truthfully see him running sub 9.70 at the Olympics.

Lows:
3. Jacob Hernandez - Men's 800m Semi-Finals Heat #2 - 5th Place - 1:46.16
Reigning NCAA 800m champion Hernandez failed to make his first Olympic Trials final, as he was edged out of the final by .14sec. Hernandez is young and has tons of potential in the future. He had a great shot at making the team, but with such a stacked field, a few big names were bound to fall before the final. Joining Hernandez in the "did not qualify" group in the same heat was another former NCAA champ, Sam Burley. A tough result, but there is plenty more to come from Hernandez in the future.

2. Virginia "Gi Gi" Johnson - Women's Heptathalon - 800m - 1st Place - 2:15.88
Gi Gi merely had to beat Diana Pickler by 1.5 seconds and she would have been on the Olympic team. Looking at the results you ask yourself, how could she had done any better, she won the event and clearly did all she could...WRONG. With about 10m to go Johnson threw her hands in the air, unintentionally slowing down in the process, most likely costing her a spot on the Olympic team. Johnson ended up only beating Pickler by about .8sec, however watching Johnson accelerate down the final stretch I really think she could have won by the 1.5sec margin had she focused more on running through the final 10m rather than frivolously celebrating her way off the Olympic team.

1. Allyson Felix - Women's 100m - Finals - 5th Place - 10.96
Granted Felix will make the team, and likely win the Gold Medal, at the 200m, but it is disappointing not to have her in the 100m as well. Felix is one of the most talented sprinters in the world and I think everyone expected her to contend for medals in the 100m and 200m in Beijing. There is little doubt in my mind she will be selected for the 4X100m relay pool, which may give her the chance for 2 Gold medals in Beijing after all.

Olympic Trials - Day 1

So here goes on my first post on the Olympic Trials, it will one of a 9 part series of posts. I will do one for each day and then a final recap. The format is going to be simple: intro, list of newly named Olympians from the days finals, 3 "highs" and 3 "lows." We will be in Eugene for the last 4 days so those posts will include (hopefully) pictures and other fun insights from our adventures. Without further ado...Day 1:

Recap:
Today was pretty short and simple. Lots of prelims, a few quarter/semi-finals, and the Women's 10k final.

Today's Olympians:
Womens 10k - Shalane Flanagan (yay Massachusetts!), Kara Goucher and Amy Begley

Highs:

3. Laura Roesler - Womens 800 Prelims - Heat 1 - 4th Place - 2:04.03
Ok so you look at it and say "why does he pick this totally random result as a top performer." How about we start with the fact that she has rarely raced outside of her home state of North Dakota so running in front of 20k+ at Hayward Field had to have shook her nerves. And why has she never raced much outside her home state...well that's because she is still in High School...a SOPHOMORE in High School! Unbelievable, this girl won the 100, 200, 400 AND 800 at her state meet the past 3 years, that's right ever since she was in 8th grade! Watch out for this girl come the 2012 Olympics, I am rooting for her to make the final.

2. Hyleas Fountain - Womens Heptathalon - Leader After Day 1
Again a bit random, but an amazing day for Hyleas. Most impressive was that she, please try and follow, broke the American record for the 100m Hurdles during a Heptathlon. Now that may seem like a little obscure but just remember that Jackie Joyner Kersey held the record...enough said. Hyleas is holding a 200+ point lead into Day 2 and is primed to make it to Beijing.

1. Amy Begley - Womens 10k - Final - 3rd Place - 31:43.60
So topping off my female only top 3 is Amy Begley who ran an AMAZING race to qualify for the Olympics by 1.4 seconds. Going in to the final Begley didn't have the necessary "A" standard of 31:45, so she had to place in the top 3 AND run the "A" standard. She pulled it off in almost unbelievable fashion. Going through the first 5k around 16:10 (32:20 pace, hard math I know) she proceeded to run a mere 10sec off her 5k PR for the second half of the race having run a 15:33 second 5k. Keep in mind with all of this that it was 80+ degrees and humid, not the conditions you expect someone to run fast. Truly a great performance.

Lows:

3. Khadevis Robinson - Mens 800 - Quarterfinal #1 - 6th Place - 1:48.04
Khadevis is not only an Olympic hopeful but is a long shot for a medal in Beijing. However, he ran a terrible race in the Quarterfinal and luckily qualified for the Semi-Finals on time. Khadevis is a great runner and it would be a huge disappointment if he didn't make the team, hopefully he can rebound...

2. Chanelle Price - Womens 800 - Quarterfinal #2 - 6th Place - 2:05.93
Chanelle is another High Schooler, but she had hoped to, at the very least, break the HS National Record this week. Well that is out the window along with her hopes to make her first Olympic Team. She was ranked 7th going in to the meet, however many thought she may have the fight to make it in a tactical final. We'll have to wait 4 years to see her in the Olympics, which she will make.

1. Katie McGregor - Womens 10k - Final - 4th Place - 32:29.82
So this has a little personal/professional meaning to it for me. Katie runs for Reebok and I have had the chance to spend a little time around her and feel a little connection there. She is probably one of the down-right coolest girls you will ever meet and a great competitor. It looked like she had the Olympic birth handed to her as the pace went out so slow and she was one of only 4 women with the "A" standard. All she had to do was hold off Molly Huddle, the other "A" qualifier, and she would be on the team. Everyone, including the TV announcers, discounted that anyone could hit the standard last night because of the mix of heat, humidity and slow early pace. However, Amy Begley ran the race of her life leaving Katie in 4th for the second straight Olympic Trials. I stood shocked at the end of the race for about 5 minutes not knowing what to think when I saw Katie missed it again by one place...again...she is resilient and I know she will give it one more shot in 2012.

Here is a video of Katie post-race, gotta respect her:

(video from Letsrun.com )

Trials Coverage

Ok, so I may not be LetsRun, FloTrack or RunnersSpace but I am going to do my own coverage of the trials. I will likely link to some content on those, and other, sites but I wouldn't mind giving my own take on each day. So I will recap the days events the following day, so for example today I will recap Day 1, which was yesterday. Why a day late you ask? For one, I am removing myself from all running/sport related websites once the meet starts each day because I have to watch it on a tape delay because I want to see if happen rather than hear about it. This is thanks to NBC and their terrible decision to not show the Trials live on the West Coast and pretty much making it impossible to watch it online (please see my rant below). Also, when I get to Eugene I will likely not have the chance to come back and type up a recap each night, mainly because I want to enjoy myself at night and I would rather do it when we are bored in the hotel in the morning.

So check back later today for my recap of a VERY exciting Day 1!

West Coast Delay

So for whatever reason, one of the largest media outlets in the world is showing a live event on tape delay for 1/3 of the country. In order for me to watch the Olympic Trials I need to wait 3 hours until it is over and then it will be on TV on the West Coast. Now, I understand T&F isn't the most popular sport, however I have watched at least a dozen meets on ESPN/ABC/VS, etc. this year that were LIVE and not on tape delay. How does it make sense that suddenly now, when it is probably the 2nd most important meet (the Olympics being #1) in the world they cannot seem to get it live for the entire country. Keep in mind that the meet is taking place in Eugene on the West Coast! So...if you worked for Nike, a MAJOR sponsor of the trials, and you wanted to watch the meet from you home just outside Beaverton you will have to watch it on tape delay, how messed up is that? I hope Nike throws it's weight around, or anyone for that matter, and they convince NBC to make sure that these trials are live for the entire country. Oh yes, and to top it off if you want to watch online GOODLUCK because you need to have Windows Vista, which I think something like 10% of all PC users have...what CRAP!

Thankfully I am going to be at the trials next week so I won't care anymore...but for the next few days I will bitch about it until the cows come home!

Also...be sure to check every day on FloTrack for some great coverage of the meet. They are a great group of guys and they do an amazing job making T&F fun and exciting. I will definitely be stopping by the set a few times when I'm up in Eugene next week.

Quick Recap

OK so lots have changed/occurred over the past 2.5 week since I really gave an update as to my running/life. Here is a quick set up bullet points on what is going on to better justify my absence in the blogsphere, as well as an excuse to another short entry here...

• WE MOVED! Ok maybe not a big deal because it is only a mile away but it has an additional bedroom, now my "office", another bathroom and in a bit of a nicer neighborhood.
• Sell In for Spring/Summer 2009 has begun, which pretty much takes 6-8 weeks total. Most people probably don't know, but when you sell athletic gear you actually sell it about 6 months in advance...so every 6 months or so I work about a million hours a week, and that time is now.
• Running has de-railed just a bit, I will post a full recap of running over the past 2-3 weeks soon. Overall I have cut out the long run and core but pretty much get in an hour 5-6 days a week, which is actually good for now.
• Plans for the fall, running wise, have sort of changed a little. I would still like to run a good half if possible but for now I am planning on gearing up for the Dirt Dog XC Series in San Diego. It is a solid competition and good time. A team is in the works, which should work out well...more on that when the details are ironed out.

Ok that's all I got for now. More soon...I hope.

Long Time Coming

I have so many things to update on this blog it is stupid. I know I haven't posted training for 2 weeks or anything else for that matter. I will have a full re-cap of my crazy life over the past few weeks as soon as a get a free moment...

Amazing Crazy Super Fun Happy Sports Time

So this is probably one of the best summer of sports I can think of ever. Over the past few weeks in the world of track and field we have seen multiple world records, amazing finishes, and incredible individual performances...too many to even mention here (see pictures above). On top of that the Celtics are playing the Lakers in the NBA Finals (currently winning 3-1), the US Open is this weekend at Torrey Pines (tickets in hand for Saturday and Sunday!), we are in the midst of the always exciting UEFA Euro Cup, and the Red Sox are playing well when they aren't kicking the crap out of each other. Let's see what else...oh right the Olympics start in a mere 55 days!

To think that this year couldn't get any better for me as a sports fan my favorite sporting event of them all occurs this year. Let's see Red Sox win World Series, Patriots go undefeated (although lose Super Bowl which we shall no never talk about again) and the Celtics...well let's just say have a bettors chance to win their 17th NBA Championship. On top of it all here come the creme de la creme...the Olympic Games.

The Olympics have sort of been an obsession of mine since 1992 when I was old enough to understand exactly what was happening in Barcelona. Since then I have been known to stay up to ungodly hours to catch anything from the Opening Ceremonies to the qualifying rounds of Badminton. Truthfully, I could care less what sport it is, there is just something about the Olympics that absolutely captivates me and sends me in to a state of virtual retardation to all that is not related to the Games.

Oh did I mention Dianna and I are going to the Olympic Trials! Yes I was lucky enough to snag tickets a few weeks ago when they sold off the remaining single day tickets. We have tickets for July 3rd-5th and hope to snag a few for the final day when we are there. It should be amazing, especially the 4th when we will see the Women's 5k final followed by the Men's 10k final followed by a 4th of July celebration at Hayward Field...I can't think of anything better than that...

Training Summary: June 2 - June 8

I had planned on posting a few blog entries this week but never got around to it. I don't really plan only posting my training every week but that is what seems to be happening. I will be on the road a bunch over the next month so expect more entries as I spend more nights in hotels on the road. So here goes this weeks training:

Monday 6/2 - 8mi, 54:30, solo on the bay. 6X100 strides mid run.

Tuesday 6/3 - 8mi, 55:40, solo on the bay.

Wednesday 6/4 - 10mi, 64:35, solo workout on the bay. Workout: 20min easy, right in to 20min around what felt like Aerobic Threshold, right back in to easy running for final 24:35 of the run. Ditched the Garmin and ran completely on feel, which felt great. Core circuit.

Thursday 6/5 - 10mi, 68:45, around PB and La Jolla with JLew. As usual got in a solid run with JLew that included a different running route which was nice...a little bit of a stomach issue but I survived thanks to lots of construction projects along the way.

Friday 6/6 - 7mi, 50:10, solo on the bay. Needed a very easy day and took it. Felt horrible to say the least, and the fact that it was insanely windy did not help.

Saturday 6/7 - 8mi, 54:10, solo on the bay. Felt much better today and had a decent, yet windy, run. Core circuit.

Sunday 6/8 - 15mi, 1:39:32, solo around the bay and Fiesta Island. Solid long run, but it took a while to get in a normal rhythm. Averaged right at 6:30 pace for the final 10mi with a few under 6:20. I like to slowly pick it up over a long run and it felt really natural.

Totals: 66mi, 7 days. Great week and really on the track I want to stay with. Did more miles than I had planned but that is fine, and I think a comfortable 70mi is only a week or so away. Got in both my core circuits and a good early season workout mid-week. I really don't want to wear my Garmin for my AT work unless it is necessary, which it shouldn't be. It helped to just run on feel and not care how far/fast I went. This is how I ran all my AT type runs in college and the way I will do them from now on. Probably hit around the same mileage this coming week with a hard/hilly run mid week. Things are looking good...

Training Summary: May 26 - June 1

Took one day off but it was a planned rest day so no biggie. Didn't stay true to the core work but need to stay more consistent there. Side note on my log, when I use my Garmin I will put a more exact mileage (see Thursday). Other runs are either exact on the Garmin or my best guess. Here goes:

Monday 5/26 - 8mi, 54:20, solo on the bay.

Tuesday 5/27 - 8mi, 54:30, solo on the bay.

Wednesday 5/28 - off

Thursday 5/29 - 8.2mi, 56:16, random solo run around Oxnard, CA. We stayed at some random hotel in Oxnard and I just ran around the roads near the hotel.

Friday 5/30 - 8mi, 55:15, solo on the bay. 6X100 strides mid run.

Saturday 5/31 - 13mi, 1:27:08, solo around the bay. Felt pretty crappy and didn't get in the push I had planned.

Sunday 6/1 - 8mi, 54:15, solo on the bay.

Totals: 53 mi, 6 days. Actually a pretty good week, besides missing on the core circuit...which I swear I will get back to this coming week. I figure about 60+mi is easily on tap for the coming week and I look forward to continuing to bump up each week.