What’s up with Colin Sahlman?

That’s the excuse? The NAU team has to share their 300m indoor track with other teams,so they are incapable of being halfway decent in a championship race? Try again.

I think Flag and living there full time is catching up to Colin just like it does for nearly everyone else. You get a couple of good years there - and then it's a slow down hill from there with no option for further stimulus. Live and train in Flag if you have 2-3 years and only 2-3 years. Just ask Kincaid, Nur, Grevalda, and every collegian that has outworn themselves in Flag. Its the same story every time.

You mean living and training at altitude is a bad thing?

Or Mike Smith is

I think you are seeing Nur Luis and Woody get old.

Pretty sure Woods was the oldest guy in the 10k field at the Olympics. Outside of a few folks you only get one maybe two Olympic cycles. The sport is unkind.

I also don’t think NAU prioritizes indoor like other teams. Heck they used to not leave flag during the winter! I remember McNeill and Estrada running dome races only

But seriously they are going to be fine. Smith is a good coach. Folks have short memories.

I remember when people said Vin was washed, then Martin shows up and they are back. Or said Jerry was washed then the win nationals on the women’s side. Had the 800 champs.

Live high, train low is best

altitudecentre.com

10 Lessons From 25 Years of Live High Train Low

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Red blood cell production, increased plasma is the main benefit but aerobic capacity is diminished as one lives at altitude. An athlete cannot attain their true max HR at altitude. The heart governs itself. Max effort/max heart rate workouts cannot be done at higher altitude. ...Even though perceived effort is off the charts at altitude.

Todej Pogacar, Jakob Ingebrigtsen and the entire Norwegian Nordic ski team live at sea level and visit high altitude several times a year. They don't live at altitude year around.

To be clear Vin doesn’t coach much at UVA and besides Martin UVA is the same as they used to be at distance.

Smith threw his stopwatch because his guys fell short of a national qualifying time. That is not the behavior of a coach that doesn't care about indoor.

The first two are just not old. Nur is 26 and a late-starter to the sport, Grijalva is 25. It’s just two guys so injuries hitting them is not that insane, but I guess the slowness of the recovery from last summer is surprising.

Luis just needs to hit a qualifying time to get in, and the late timing of Worlds helps. Looking pretty daunting for Nur to beat the likes of Hansen, Gilman, Teare, Wolfe, Jacobs etc. That is even if Fisher is the only guy who doubles back, and not Nico, Blanks and Hocker.

Is it possible that all these HS studs are burned out by the time they get to college? Sahlmans, Lex and Leo, Rheinhart, Burns (yes won conference but just as fast as HS).Brinbaum, etc. They all run so many high profile races their senior year and train as a college athlete that may not have anything left by the time they get to college.

Not all high school superstars in this sport continue to climb the ladder, for many varied reasons, including the fact that some high school nobodies, on a different training and developmental path than Sahlman, only start to benefit from training in college, or even beyond. But, on the other hand, high school studs like Grant Fisher continue to improve and be leaders of the pack.

I certainly don't know if Sahlman is mentally stale from the grind of being a top runner, or worn out from the rigors of school (and don't give me that "NAU is an academic country club" crapola), or physically out of shape due to injury, or (as some know-it-alls have speculated) messed up due to the girlfriend factor, or what! Or if the altitude is actually hurting him. I'm more than willing to see what he does in the future, instead of writing him off, like so many love to do, and I sure hope he can find pleasure in his running!

Few athletes are on the top forever. Like the stock market, an upward trend is never a straight line. Hoping for greatness again for the young man.

Can we notify Smith and inform him that college eligibility is 4 years and not 2-3? Should Smith organize seminars where he provides his 2-3 approach to JC coaches?

or perhaps nothing is wrong. he qualified in the 1 mile and 3K for indoor nationals - no small feat especially with the times college runners are clocking these days. maybe he's exactly where he and Smith want him to be - he just had an off day. it happens.

Mike Smith has failed Colin Sahlman.

Incoming "Has Mike Smith failed Colin Sahlman?" thread

You say "worn out from the rigors of school" while the school everybody loves to hate here, Duke, has very good 800 and 1500/mile progression for those runners they recruit. Surely their academic rigor is greater and they're also not altitude.

Trained and studied benefits if altitude running in Flagstaff 30 years ago. This was my findings as well.

As far as that particular athlete goes, I think he should try eating a couple sandwiches as well.

Hard to prove but most likely without a complete frosh redshirt season. And not because they are injured co.ing into frosh xc season. It should be decided in June. Too many young talents over raced and over trained to get the big races under their belts. I know thats not a popular statement by fanboys here but most of the time it's probably most correct.

I think it’s possible he is not the generational talent we thought. Still very good and will be around a long time. Rather than a truly transcendent talent, he might more mimic the careers of guys like Ciaetti and Prakel, which is not a terrible thing in its own right.