Finally track and field in Asian Games is over, with the last day on 12 December. It was difficult to prepare my athletes, for three different reasons : a) we were in Kenya, and this year the weather was very bad : rain every day, a lot of mud, difficulties in training for speed, everything very unusual in this period. I preferred to have two groups : one, small, in Nairobi, with Daham Bashir and other two athletes that I didn't put in the team, there for helping him, because of the track (in Nairobi there is the only sintetic track in Kenya), where I left my Assistant Coach, very good, that is Maximilian Iranqhe from Tanzania, following my program and reporting to me every situation 3 times a day ; and another, bigger, in Iten, with all the other guys, because in Nairobi is difficult to go for long run due to the pollution, and for specialisms superior of 3 km I prefer a place where long run can be done with good general conditions. In this second group I put Kwalia and Sultan Zaman (5000), Essa Rashed, Ahmed Hassan, Ali Dawood and Nicholas Kemboi (10000, I choose the first 2 for the Games), Jamal Bilal Salem and Thamer Kamal Ali (steeple), and Mubarak Shami, only for the most important workouts, because normally he stayed and trained in Eldama Ravine, where I want to put the Qatari Camp for Marathon runners.
The first difficulty was to change mentality of the athletes. They normally train in groups of Kenyans, but at the moment Kenyan runners are in a general period, running a lot of km but with low intensity. So, I had to put my athletes out from their normal groups of training, because for them this period was June, not November. However, I could not do some type of training. For example, I never could go for some technique for steeple, or for short intervals, because of the conditions of the track. I used many fartlek mixing the distances (for ex., 6:00 fast + 3 x 1:00 rec. 1:00, repeated 4 or 5 times), sometime on the mud, but expecially long and progressive very fast run, from 12 to 18 km. And, of course, twice a week short sprints uphill.
Regarding Bashir, that had a very bad previous part of the season, due to an injury, I had a different plan :
SEPTEMBER and HALF OCTOBER : Only long and fast run, long fartlek and short sprint uphill, for rebuilding his general endurance and maintaining at top level his muscular situation.
FROM HALF OF OCTOBER (after running 10k in Nairobi in 29'08" the same day of the Marathon) : development of speed endurance and of speed, with workouts like couples of 600m, 500m, 400m, 300m, 200m (first test slow, second fast, rec, 1:00 between tests and 4:00 between couples) in 1:33 / 1:23 - 1:16 / 1:06 - 60.5 / 51.7 - 44.8 / 36.7 - 28.2 / 23.2, or fast intervals of Aerobic power (2000 / 1600 / 1200 / 800 / 400), rec. 6:00, in 5:18 - 4:09.5 - 3:02 / 1:58 / 52.2). Here in Doha, we had an easy work on 6/12 (2 sets of 4 x 200 rec. 200m in 1:10 in 25.2 (average) + 1 x 300 in 37.4 (rec. 2:30 running) + 25.0 (average) + 37.7), two days before the heat (3:50 behind Mansour Belal) and 4 days before the final. The key of his victory in the final was a change of mentality. I explained him that, if he wanted to await the last 300m, nothing could do against Ramzi and Mansour in case of a short sprint. Bashir won, lats year, the important mile of Oslo in 3:47.94, but always was good in fast races with rabbits, never in tactical races withour pacers (see the race of World Champs in Helsinki). So, his problem was to be confident in himself, attacking with 500m to go, without awaiting some action from other runners. He was very able doing what we planned (last 500, 400, 300, 200 and 100m in 1:05.6, 51.3, 38.2, 25.2, 12.1), being overtaken by Ramzi and Mansour with 250m to go, buit remaining there, for overtaking Ramzi at the beginning of the final furlong, and Mansour 10 cm before ths finish line. If he's able to preserve the same mentality, can become a good winner of important competitions.
The only one without any problem was Shami, because Marathon is an event that can be in full season at the beginning of December. With him, I used like last competitions the WCh of 20 km, followed by 9 weeks of specific training for Marathon. Shami showed to increase his shape day by day, and was really ready for the race. If the shape of the other was 80%, for Shami was the best of his life for a Marathon. What Shami was able to do was exceptional : in very hot and humid conditions (at the start, 23 degrees and 78% humidity, at the end 33 degrees and 95% of humidity), after a very slow first HM (1:09:50), I told him to start running, and he went, after 20k, for the following 5 km : 14:55 (20-25), 15:10 (25-30), 15:12 (30-35), 14:52 (35-40) and 6:27 the last 2,195m, very easy (62:54 the second half). His last 10k were in 29:40, giving 3 min to the second and third in the last 7 km. Under technical point of view, this was the most important competition for my athletes, because showed me that the type of work that we are doing with Shami is ok for him. He will run in Paris, and I'm sure that can break 2:07.
James Kwalia was in very good shape for a tactical race. He lost the most part of the season because was stolen of his passport on 23rd of April, went to Qatar for a new one at the beginning of May, and had to await till the beginning of July, when Qatar was already hotter than 50 degrees, without training. When he could start again, in short time was able to run 3:37 (1500) and 7:38 (3000), but only 13:29 in 5k. So, we had to work for endurance (long run, long intervals, lon fartlek)during all october, when he seemed me ready for some more quality. I put him 3 times with Bashir, for increasing his speed.
In the race of today, he ran the last 600m in 1:21.8, making the real break in the first 200m of the last lap, with these splits for the last 600m : 28.4 + 25.2 + 28.2, that was not possible for Jahwer (Mucheru).
So, we could replace Shaheen without too many problems in 5000, while the situation of steeple was very different, because Jamal Bilal Salem nothing could do against Tareq Taher, really in better shape like speed and technique.
I'm disappointed that we lost 10000m, because Rashed made a small mistake during last lap (56.2), awaiting non only the action of Mahoob (Silas Kirui), but also of Adam Ismail (Hosea Kipkosgei, brother of Rita Jeptoo). So, when he had 2 athletes ahead him, he could not go, and was stopped (120m from the finish line) by a Japanese, lapped, in first lane, when he was fighting with Adam Ismail himself. His very good kick in the last 50m was not enough for recovering the 5 meters of gap that he had at the beginning of the final straight. If he had the idea to attack at the bell, like Bekele, he could win running last lap under 55.0. But he's very young, this is sport, and some mistake can happen.