Unsolicited Advice for Hobbs Kessler

Someone might’ve already said this on another thread, but he didn’t race a ton this year. Maybe getting in one or two more races is the difference between making the team and not making the team.

this is very stupid.

2 x 7 milers is plenty for aerobic development maintenance, which may be a 5 and 9, 6 and 8, not much difference.

i'd actually throw in one 11 miler here and there though.

we have a 143 guy

for strength, you can up the hill work, like sets of 600m to 1km hill repeats, walk down, near vo2 max.

and the other thing is to do 800 repeats, 62,52 seconds or 600 repeats 62,24 seconds

otherwise status quo

relaxing during the race just a bit might help a ton.

regarding junk food, your fuel is the good meals, and the carbs replenish deficit after the run, corn chips are probably better but a smaller amount of junk sugar, is ok post workout.

one pint of beer is very good, but only one.

you'll lose meters with more.

And people forget that he has been national/world class at pretty much everything he's tried since he's been young. He is quite literally the definition of a prodigy of physical talent. He also has the competitive fire to match his physical talents. He may or may not ever win a global gold, but he certainly has the time and tools to get there. I could easily see him being in the conversation for global medals for another 12 years and having the best long term career of any American ever. Gold or no gold.

Sorry, but saying Rice Krispie Treats are the perfect refueling food is the kind of patently ridiculous idea that saying beer was the perfect refueling food (a kind of joke back in the 70s-80s) or chocolate milk (2000s) was 'because of the macros.' They're all trash that stress your body. They might resupply some glycogen quickly, but fueling a body is about a lot more than getting quick zero-nutrient carbs after a workout.

Jakob's 12 miles is substantially longer than 7. 7 and 12 aren't in the same univers. If Kessler is running 7 miles at 8-9 pace, that's likely a huge part of his problem. Maybe he's referring to miles per hour when he says that. 7:30-6:40 pace would make infinitely more sense, putting his runs closer to 45-50 minuts.

Remember when Kessler was so disappointed with his 7:35 3000 back in February?

It's because he already knew what it meant for the 1500. That's what he needs to fix.

Your confidence in your opinion is impressive.

The fact that they function well as a lubricant has no bearing on their impact to the human body. You've been duped.

the drawing board should include getting better dietary advice....those rice krispy treats are among the 1000s of food items available that are pure poison to the body...they do not contain anything in real rice that is beneficial...and a PhD in kinesiology, well, I would trust a dietician/nutritionist who specializes in sports medicine/injury recovery. Loads of them in S Calif.

Kessler will be ok. He seems to be very dedicated and has some sincere humility - which goes a long way in this sport.

My only unsolicited advice to him would be to quit bouncing around from coach to coach , idea to idea. I mean, who is even coaching him now? It seems like he jumps into every random workout in Flagstaff and has no grounding in just a plan that is right for him.

He is so incredibly gifted and assumingly hard working that he doesn’t need to go chasing every pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Just get a coach with a plan and settle into the work. It’s not that complicated.

I'm not convinced he needs to do anything drastically different. Consistency counts for something, and years of training at the same level can still lead to minor improvements. Especially since he's still on the younger side. He's the same age as Strand, who is the "new young talent" this year.

Tactics are also something that need perfecting at the top level. Kessler underestimated how much the combo of Hocker, Koech, and Strand would all have at the end of a 3:30 race. If he had enough awareness to realize Nuguse was making it a 3:30+ race, he could have passed him from 300 or 350 out instead of ~100 out to push it into the 3:29 territory. We'll never know if that would have worked, but it likely would have taken at least a little bit of the kick out of the top 3, maybe the biggest effect on someone like Strand.

Also note the minor setback he had this year when his partner was in a biking accident. I'm not convinced that didn't have at least a small impact on his training this summer, even if he denies it. That kind of stuff can really stick with you.

I think Henner is his main coach now but we has already working with him for a while and was involved in his strength and speed development in prior years. Going from Warhurst to Henner might have more to do with Warhurst’s advanced age and not actually be a change at all really. I’m pretty sure Warhurst is still involved with him in some capacity it’s just probably just less.

Thank you

I'm big Hobbs fan too. Progress is not always linear even when you do everything right. I just hope he doesn't get discouraged. We're all rooting for him to succeed.

I'll coach him as well as Mu. Same remedy. Rivelin Valley Road sessions. Day after day

The coach thing in my opinion is the biggest factor here.
Hobbs had a coach who was exceptional with collegiates and successfully coached world/olympic medalists and qualifiers.
He is now with a glorified sprint coach / rock climber and his dad.

Also a Hobbs fan, very much want to see him be successful and do well. Personally just think though that this is a classic case of being young and wanting to test out new environments/methods/set ups. Nothing wrong with any of that and probably healthy long term. But now- you've gotten feedback and data with this year's race. Base yourself in Ann Arbor, do a few altitude stints / winter training stints when its really snowy out, and trust one of the most accomplished dudes out there since the 70s- who also shepherded you along when you were 17.

If he changed one variable in the race, not everything else would have played out the same way. Passing Nuguse from 300-350 meter out have been likely to backfire and the biggest effect would have been on himself. He just didn’t have it that day, and being more aggressive would have made it worse.

Point taken. I just felt mildly disappointed in his tone and/or his attitude as he presented as overly pessimistic about his ability. Saying "I don't know what I can do better", or "I did everything right leading up to this race" Suggesting a belief as if he is not capable of competing with those who beat him. Even with his current success, I think with more growth, and confidence this kid is prime for a breakthrough. Nuguse failed to make the team as well. He thought he just was not the best that day and he may need to re-think his tactics for next time. Naturally both feel a level of disappointment. Who knows.