WTF Is Fernando Cabada thinking???

Annyine who thought Cabada was going to make the team was likely influenced by some ill Chipotle

SouthernFriedRealist wrote:

Maybe 2:18 is a little aggressive and he would have been better off running his initial plan of 2:20-2:25, but this isn't much different than Canova's 40km hard long run 4-5 weeks out and Cabada has Hudson as an adviser, who is also heavily influenced by Canova.

We will see in a few weeks how it plays out for him. Assuming he's in 2:11-2:12, this isn't much harder than racing an all-out half marathon, like others did today.

This^

Why do you people not see that 40k at MP + 45s is actually a great run for four weeks out.

Better than a half marathon PR lol!

SouthernFriedRealist wrote:

Hhgreg wrote:

That's almost an entire year of rent if he lives in an average city. Doesn't seem like a bad idea to me.

Yeah, if you live in a beat up mobile home in some meth park and have a roommate. I'd love to pay under $300 rent in an "average city".

Nope. You could if you actually spent some time looking instead of talking garbage.

I'd imagine he was thinking something like, "Good workout. Passable payday"

This is totally in line with something Lydiard would have people do.

"My last long run was 12 days before the marathon. 23 miles. 2 warm up. 5 miles hard, 5 miles easy, 5 miles hard, 5 miles easy, then 1 mile really hard"

"I went through 5 in 24:30, then backed off for the next 5. I looked at my watch. A 5:18 pace. That was my recovery. Next 5 miles in 25:00. Again the easy 5 at 5:18 pace. Last mile in 4:43.

-Dick Beardsley before running 2:09:36.

Hhgreg wrote:

SouthernFriedRealist wrote:

Yeah, if you live in a beat up mobile home in some meth park and have a roommate. I'd love to pay under $300 rent in an "average city".

Nope. You could if you actually spent some time looking instead of talking garbage.

Ok, I'll bite. Find me places for under $300 a month in an average city. I have a mortgage now, but before, I paid $900 and $1200 a month for a two bedroom apartment and townhouse and before then, $625 for a one bedroom apartment. And that was in two different, midsized Southern cities.

athleticasm wrote:

SouthernFriedRealist wrote:

Maybe 2:18 is a little aggressive and he would have been better off running his initial plan of 2:20-2:25, but this isn't much different than Canova's 40km hard long run 4-5 weeks out and Cabada has Hudson as an adviser, who is also heavily influenced by Canova.

We will see in a few weeks how it plays out for him. Assuming he's in 2:11-2:12, this isn't much harder than racing an all-out half marathon, like others did today.

This^

Why do you people not see that 40k at MP + 45s is actually a great run for four weeks out.

Better than a half marathon PR lol!

See this this article:

The plan was to run 2:22 so a 2:18 is a little fast. Also, assuming for the sake of argument that his goal race pace for the Trials is 2:10 (4:57 pace), 45 seconds above Marathon pace would be a 5:43 pace or a 2:30 Marathon.

for a top sub elite 2:19 is a hard long run. You don't think elites are doing hard long runs next week? Let me guess you think marathon training tops out at 20 miles because thats as far as you can go op.

Cabada is an elite marathoner, 2:19 is a hard workout, and its 4 weeks from the trials. Anyone that thinks a elite runner can't fully recover in a week doesn't know anything about running.

And for Cabada, he's an emotional runner. He needs some successes leading up to the trials. That and the money doesn't hurt.

This was a perfect lead up to the trial.

But having said that, Cabada doesn't seem to have the pace to stay with the leaders. Boston was a perfect example, Cabada was off the pace from the start, and was consistently 5-15s off the lead group per mile pace. He would have to have a monster showing at trials.

Michael Wardian used to run near-peak performance marathons a day apart. If he's fit, he'll be fine.

goonitup wrote:

Michael Wardian used to run near-peak performance marathons a day apart. If he's fit, he'll be fine.

Chuck Engle still does and has been doing it for over a decade.

Still a Whine baby....

mjunk wrote:

goonitup wrote:

Michael Wardian used to run near-peak performance marathons a day apart. If he's fit, he'll be fine.

Chuck Engle still does and has been doing it for over a decade.

And those jokers don't ever get tested, with one of those two obviously on testosterone or some type of mild steroid. And there's been rumors about the other for years. USADA loves Cabada.

Unless you are truly a world class marathoner, calling a 2:18 a "workout" is a little pretentious, but like anybody else he's got bills to pay. If I could put in what is effectively my Sunday long run, make a few thousand, and still be able to at least toe the line at the trials, I'd do the same thing. He's not going to make the team. He knows that. He's still gotta eat, and until you can run 2;18 it's time to cut him some slack.

I am not a 2:18 marathoner, and never was one. I was never good enough even to have a chance at becoming a has-been. But if we apply the "if you haven't done it, you can't comment on it" standard consistently, then pretty much all commentary on all things will cease. Perhaps that would be a good thing, but we are in this world rather than that fictional world. So ... seems OK to discuss and to raise some questions, and wait for the OT for the answers.

If I were predicting, I would not pick Cabada to make the USA marathon team, but I would think, if he ran well he would be top 10, and there would be a payday in that (10th place earns $7000) . He ran 2:11:36 for 7th in the 2012 OT, and he ran 2:11:53 for 11th at Berlin in 2014. Assuming good health, good preparation, and good racing, top 10 is a reasonable estimation for a 2:11 guy, and -- on the day, who knows? If he needs to earn his keep winning small races for a few thousand $$, then he has the talent for that, and could do that, a lot, post marathon trials -- there are enough of those races around for him to do so. Making a living, or part of a living, as a 2:11 marathoner is not easy -- I respect any athlete who is dedicated to that, and who keeps at it.

I know we can go back to earlier eras of marathoning and find studs who ran top-level races close in time -- Shorter, Beardsley, et al. And yes, I am aware of Kawauchi, and I am impressed with his high-frequency, high-quality racing, but he is a 2:08 guy, and one thing his high-frequency racing has done is ensure that he is never going to get that close to 2:08 again. Kawauchi and legends of the past aside, we generally don't see today's 2:04 (and those few who are faster) marathoners, who are aiming for top-level performances at major marathons, running around 2:11 a month before as a tuneup. That's pretty much what Cabada did here, and if he runs a near-top-level performance (for him) at the Trials, then more power to him. But I will be surprised if he does.

You raise good points but you have to remember for an American, it's much easier to run a marathon somewhere. Guys training in Kenya have to spend several days travelling to get to a race, and that brings a lot of new stressors. That's why they do their "2:11s" on the dirt roads of Iten a month out.

So many people are on this, "you can only run a couple of races a year" kick. But what they don't understand with collegiate running and then post collegiate running clubs is that the level of practice is so high that essentially they race much more.

But for Cabada, he basically trains on his own, with only a couple running partners, and sometimes he travels to run with someone. But you look at some of these others, Meb, Ritz, Mo, they run together a lot. Can you image the potential training pace if they ever got really going. This is why they can only run a few race a year vs. a guy like Cabada, that doesn't have that level of talent around them. So he has to, in some respect, turn to races to find talent to push him.

I never understood crappy or average cc teams only running a few race a year. The reason they are crappy is because they can't generate the appropriate training intensity to be competitive.

Tool Detector wrote:

UofHbound wrote:

Haha, i agree with you! Freaking stupid. Dude,just needs to get a real job. Wait, he will make a post mid this,week on how he was so,down he did not run slower, but then later found him self. What a crock of shit.

I am done believing in this douche.

So lets get the facts straight. You are anonymously insulting someone and calling them a douche for running and winning a marathon in 2:18. Something he was obviously advised to do by Brad Hudson, one of the best marathon coaches in the country.

Here's the thing... Knowing Fernando he likely did it on his own and not following much of his coach's plan.

Second, I'm always amazed that Internet coaches get any credit whatsoever. You are not a coach, you are a consultant.

Open a running star and pay emerging runners and you too are one of Americas best coaches?

Thanks for posting this article, which provides some helpful context. To add to that, remember that on January 3, two weeks ago, he ran 63:25 in Jacksonville, coming in second behind Grey and ahead of Derrick.

Ackley wrote:

athleticasm wrote:

This^

Why do you people not see that 40k at MP + 45s is actually a great run for four weeks out.

Better than a half marathon PR lol!

See this this article:

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jan/17/carlsbad-marathon-halfmarathon/

The plan was to run 2:22 so a 2:18 is a little fast. Also, assuming for the sake of argument that his goal race pace for the Trials is 2:10 (4:57 pace), 45 seconds above Marathon pace would be a 5:43 pace or a 2:30 Marathon.