Danny Komen wrote:
The posts about his long tempos at 5 min/pace are interesting. Fitness wise, due to the altitude, it might feel like 4:50's etc but his legs will feel a difference. I think a lot of the Africans run at the same pace as their goal while at altitude which is obviously harder but gives the added benefits of knowing they will be able to run it easier at sea level and getting used to the turnover/stride length they will experience in a race.
If Hall is running everything at 5min miles and someone drops a 4:30 mid race he's gonna think he's sprinting.
*I want to mention, firstly, that everything I say should be read within the context of a continued Hall fan*
To say the Kenyans are running similar paces as Hall's at altitude is misleading. Yes, they do run a lot of 5 min-type longer runs, but the Kenyans are notoriously known for hammering out 20-25x400's at 62-64 and 10x1k at 2:35 on a regular basis...at altitude. I don't think Hall is running anywhere near these paces on a CONSISTENT basis, hence, his inability to respond to sudden pace changes. Another differnce is the Kenyan camp system; they probably have a group of 30-50 2:05 to 2:09 guys training together. Hall stated himself that he lives a couple of hundred feet from Meb but rarely runs with the guy. If my neighbor was an Olympic marathon silver medalist I'd be hanging around his mailbox waiting for him to come out to run. The proof is in the pudding.
Before, when Hall was transitioning from the track to the roads (after years of running with the boys of Stanford), throwing in 4:30 miles in the middle of his races appeared effortless. I remember watching his Houston half video and thinking how easy he made 59:43 look. That Hall would whoop the current Hall all over the road--any distance! His rhythm was completely different then versus now. My assumption is that the rhythm of running 62s 400's and 2:35 K's was simple muscle memory lingering over from his 3k/5k work. He still has the wheels, I believe. But, continuing to slog (relatively speaking, of course) out 2:14 800's on the road with Josh Cox ain't gonna get it done.