The rush is because he does not have his father/coach restraining him from taking unnecessary risks, so he is no better than any of us idiots coming back from injury.
His philosophical differences with Hocker are so stark.
Hocker: does nearly everything but race pace in clunkers (Structures)
Jakob: Does nearly everything in supershoes it seems
Hocker: Biking/X-training a core part of training
Jakob: Running only when healthy
And then there’s the Ben Thomas stuff we hear about like lots of mixed workouts (hills, threshold combined), pace change emphasis, long runs vs more regimented double T and VO2/specific work and less of a traditional long run. Just interesting to see such a difference in the two best 1500-5000 runners in the world
Wasn't there also an interview with Couttie where he basically said Thomas doesn't believe in easy days?
Not that every day is a hard workout but there's like a prescribed pace or some sort of intent on all days and their slowest pace is almost always the long run
Very low risk I suppose. Pop the incision, not a big deal long term. And one day of easy running won't lead to an overuse of the tendon. But, its pretty early to say "the healing process is well on its way, time to start loading this sucker" as if his achilles is the limiting factor on his performance, which it is not. It is just the weak link in the chain in a cumulative, overuse type of way (vs the thing that fails him on race day). This suggests it needs individual work to catch up and handle the load the rest of the body can handle. That is not accomplished by rushing back to running, even if he is doing specific calf stuff as well. This is doubly true following a procedure on said weak link, and Triple-y true since running was THE thing that got it jacked up in the first place!
They do it in other professional sports too, with more significant surgeries. Aaron Rodgers got out of his boot super early. Too good for it. Then plays like a dud for 2 seasons now, lowest ADOT in the league. Deshaun Watson did the same thing and RE-TORE his achilles. Joe Burrow playing with a plate in his foot for a losing football team. Watch how next season goes for him.
Here's an idea - how about going for a walk on the beach without shoes and slowly beginning to re-strengthen your lower leg muscles, ligaments and tendons naturally instead of RUNNING ON A TREADMILL IN 40mm STACK, SUPER SOFT RACING SHOES.
This is one of the highest performing race cars (metaphorically speaking) we've ever seen in middle distance running and crew looking after it are taking it to Jiffy Lube and Pep Boys for it's maintenance. F-ing unbelievable.
^ This is not a good analogy.
You are suggesting something like taking a highly specialized Formula 1 car race car out for a slow drive on a gravel road, in stop and go traffic in NYC, or even off road after having something like the drive shaft housing replaced.
That is not very specific or compatible with the intended function and purpose of that vehicle.
Jakob was testing his F1 drivetrain and chassis more specifically and reasonably on a stationary bench with submaximal loads, RPMs, acceleration, and torque, on a smooth surface with no turns.
Missing baby fat Jacob, charming little brother and son, sans tattoos with year after year of improvement, with his mother giving him fantastic haircuts without a hat out of place.
So many commenting as if he tore his Achilles. It was scar tissue on the sheath, as he has clearly stated. The recovery time is nothing like the same. He said his tendon is 100%, so no, this is not about being careful with an overloaded tendon.
He's tried conservative treatment, surgery was a last resort. Why does everyone feel the need to chime in without even bothering to understand what he had surgery for? Do you really think he's not following the surgeons rehab plan?
So many commenting as if he tore his Achilles. It was scar tissue on the sheath, as he has clearly stated. The recovery time is nothing like the same. He said his tendon is 100%, so no, this is not about being careful with an overloaded tendon.
He's tried conservative treatment, surgery was a last resort. Why does everyone feel the need to chime in without even bothering to understand what he had surgery for? Do you really think he's not following the surgeons rehab plan?
You think he got scar tissue in an accident with some scissors? Or do you think a healthy 20-something tendon just gets scar tissue on it sometimes?
If you could read my post without crying in frustration, you would see that I differentiated between his surgery and achilles rupture surgeries.
The wonderful thing is that we will both find out who was right. You can bump this if he runs semi-well in March. I can bump if his tendon mysteriously continues to bug him. Reality will likely be somewhere in the middle.
I think Jakob knows his body better than 99% of people. He's testing things. Certainly he knows more than you former 450 mile armchair experts experts
Verily, the worst things in life are free. But these folks you refer to as "you former.450 mile armchair experts experts" are in fact full time unpaid content creators for Let's Run.
There's someone at my running club who posts his treadmill runs on strava. He can't run a lick under 19 minutes but will run sub 18 on the treadmill. It's fake running. Consider this - would a plane take off if the runway was a treadmill?
Obviously won't be ready for indoor worlds, and he has likely missed his window at the Mile WR unless he can try and make a run for it at Pre
Honestly, if this comeback falls short of expectations, we are probably seeing the end of Jakob. There are some young killers out there.
Yes, at the 1500/mile he may likely be finished, he may be alright for the 5k for years to come. But at the shorter distance, between Ruthe and Myers and Laros and even Hocker and Kessler — maybe Koech, he’s likely around 23 or 24 — Jakob is getting pushed out. He had a decent run as Oly Champ, couple of World silvers, number one rankings, but the new kids all seem to have speed that Jakob never had and will never have. Look at Ruthe, 1:45 at 16. Jakob hasn’t broken 1:46. Sure, he might have been able to. But not at 16.