Up to date- Joey

Since I haven't been able to talk to Calvin in some time, I figured I would go ahead with a new post and share my training situation and some thoughts I have.

First off, it is really really hard to be in college and run with other collegiate runners in the East Bay and run only 55 miles a week. I end up taking a couple really low days every week so that I don't go over my mileage, yet still went 59 for what was supposed to be a 55. I suppose that's not too bad. Training has been pretty easy here in early base phase but I am already feeling like my speed is pretty good, just based on strides. Soon enough I will be running a 60 mile week and get to build toward my 80mpw with real workouts that will hopefully last for a good while before I have to drop my mileage.

This track season I am going to focus on the 1500 and 5k, off what is mostly 5k training. Lately I have been thinking that because of my height, my potential lies in the 1500/5k. I am 6' 2" and a white boy, the best 10k runners and marathoners are all considerably shorter than me. Now bare with me here. Shorter runners are more efficient at longer distances because in their form, they have a shorter lever, which is more efficient because it requires less energy to make a shorter lever work, while a longer lever takes more energy, but produces more power. Thus Haile Gebrselassie is the fastest marathoner in the world at 5' 4" and Asafa Powell holds the world record in the 100m at 6' 3". Now here's the other thing that leads me to believe that 1500/5k should be my distance. Craig Mottram. Like me, he is white and 6' 2". He runs a 12:55 5k and 3:48 full mile. I don't mean this to be racist in any way or form, but Craig Mottram is my personal inspiration due to the fact that he has the same Caucasian heritage and he is my height, he gives me hope. If this man who is similar in genetics and body can compete with the Africans, maybe I can too, that is my thought. This is not to say I don't think I should run the 10k, as Mottram is a great at that distance in road races from time to time, but he is definitely better as a 1500/5k man.

Now this is not to discourage tall people from wanting to develop themselves at the longer distances, in fact I have always been an advocate of the mentality "Everyone runs the shortest race they have the speed to run, when they should move up in distance to be great." At this point though, I am not so sure which is right, that tall people should run the race they are more efficient at or move up in distance and let the mileage carry them to have great endurance.

Just some thoughts. Feedback would be great, leave comments and I will try to analyze and learn.