Ritz's 4th place a blessing in disguise?

poppit wrote:

Nope. Bekele is washed up. We saw that already. Rupp will medal and Ritz might also.

This is your brain on drugs.

Any questions?

Ritz has placed 6th at the World Champs in the 10k. He can most certainly contend for a top 3 now that he's training with the gold medalist (Farah). Let's be positive and thankful there are Americans running this fast.

I'm no longer an Abdi fan after the Fagan news. Abdi trains with Fagan and Lagat. Everybody knows the Lagat/Li EPO allegations.

Why is assumed Ritz will run the 10k? His 5k pr is second only to Lagat. I think he could beat Rupp at 5k, but not at 10k. Maybe he doesn't have the kick at the end, but he would have the same problem in the 10k.

clearing the bs up wrote:

Could Ritz's 4th place finish be a blessing in disguise? He is now forced to turn his attention to the 10k, but this could be a good thing. He has 12:56 5k speed, and combined with his recent marathon PR, he could pop a big one at the 10 if he can get a good block of training in.

Honestly, unless Ritz had a shot at getting an Oly medal in the marathon he should stick to the Track. He's a very very good 10k runner that everyone has had reservations about in the marathon and he showed that he just doesn't have the pure strength over 26.2.

Ritz has trained crazy miles since high school. He went to high-mileage-college-central. If he's not strong enough NOW to run the marathon he won't get there.

But he's an amazing talent, and just missing it today will fuel his fire for the Track. He should breeze to making the 10k. Without Abdi, the 10k team should be Rupp, Sol, and Ritz. That's a great team.

You're right, with the under-distance speed of 12:56 and the 2:09 strength in the Marathon, the 10k seems like his perfect distance. His 9th in Osaka followed up with a 6th in Berlin are better than he would finish in London, and he has a great shot at doing even better than THAT in the 10k at The Games if he changes his training now.

The marathon prep likely helped him a lot by giving him brutal strength leading up to this track season. He has the best base he could ask for. Switching to 10k training shouldn't be too troublesome, there's still a long time before the trials in June.

I've always believed in Ritz' ability in the 10k over anything else, and today simply reaffirms that.

clearing the bs up wrote:

Could Ritz's 4th place finish be a blessing in disguise? He is now forced to turn his attention to the 10k, but this could be a good thing. He has 12:56 5k speed, and combined with his recent marathon PR, he could pop a big one at the 10 if he can get a good block of training in.

The weather in London is going to be a wild card. If Ritz made the team in the marathon and it was hot for the marathon again, he'd do no better than in 2008, maybe worse. Ritz will most likely make the team in the 10,000, and will likely be top ten in London. If he's ever gonna pop a great marathon, it's gotta be perfect weather, something that's never for sure at the summer Olympics, obviously.

So I think for the purposes of his chances at the London Olympics, I think Ritz is just as well off in the 10 as the marathon, perhaps even better off if it's hot.

No, the fact he got beaten by 3 americans in the marathon, means his chance of doing anything in the olympics = 0.

orbitboy wrote:

The weather in London is going to be a wild card. If Ritz made the team in the marathon and it was hot for the marathon again, he'd do no better than in 2008, maybe worse. Ritz will most likely make the team in the 10,000, and will likely be top ten in London. If he's ever gonna pop a great marathon, it's gotta be perfect weather, something that's never for sure at the summer Olympics, obviously.

So I think for the purposes of his chances at the London Olympics, I think Ritz is just as well off in the 10 as the marathon, perhaps even better off if it's hot.

I don't see what you're getting at about the weather. He did get 9th (beating Hall) in Beijing, a hot marathon.

sentiments is nuts wrote:

The challenge with the Olympic track events (10k and 5k) is that at least 5 or 6 African runners and Farah can run a 54 sec (or better) last 400. And the do so off of running 2:35 per kilo pace (or faster).

2:35/km pace with a 54 last lap would be 12:47...

so there are 5 or 6 africans who can run a 12:47 (or faster) with a 54 last lap? GTFO...

dsrunner has the day off wrote:

now Ritz realizes he can run ~2:07 ~80 miles/week.

no, he won't... and neither will anyone else...

Ritz: "I started to cramp up a little bit about 18, 19 miles.

I tried to ease off and maintain 5:10 pace after that but it was just kind of the same feeling as before. Maybe I'm not made for the marathon. I'm going to turn my attention back to the 10k.

I was 9th in Beijing in the marathon and I thought that would be my best event but so far I've been better at shorter distances. I'll have to turn my attention back to that and focus on that definitely for the short term but maybe for the long term. I've tried it (the marathon) enough times and it hasn't come together yet. I'm a little bit shocked. My training was better than before and I had the same problems (Cramping in the legs)... I don't think it is nutritional so much."

More:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeMWEnvxUQU

what a feeling wrote:

Calling it here first: Rupp gets Ritz at US champs, Ritz gets Rupp at Olys. with a bronze.

Yeah. That make perfect sense. Get gets 4th at the US Trials in the marathon and 3rd in the Olympics in the 10K. He has got some serious improving to do and has to stay healthy.

Azaleas wrote:

I don't see what you're getting at about the weather. He did get 9th (beating Hall) in Beijing, a hot marathon.

Very true. But if I'm not mistaken, it's Ritz only impressive hot weather performance, so that's perhaps as much as he can ever expect. He's mentioned his high sweat rate a lot recently. That pretty debilitating for the marathon. I think Hall, for whatever reason, was off his game that day. How else does he not beat a cramping Ritz?

LOL@tards - I find your post funny. There is no doubt your education is far inferior to mine (most who post here do not come close).

If you read my post carefully, I averred that elite athletes run 54 or better off of 2:35 1K pace. You better believe they do, because they run 61-63 seconds per 400 in the penultimate laps before the last 400. Nowhere did I state that they ran this pace the entire race. The ability to run such a fast last lap after churning a prior 800 in 2:05 or faster is what makes Bekele (and others who come close) so special. This kind of pace takes the sting out of most top runners - but not the top African runners.

What an utter moron. The ability to parse language is the sign of a decent education. It is manifestly clear what you possess.

sentiments is nuts wrote:

LOL@tards - I find your post funny. There is no doubt your education is far inferior to mine (most who post here do not come close).

If you read my post carefully, I averred that elite athletes run 54 or better off of 2:35 1K pace. You better believe they do, because they run 61-63 seconds per 400 in the penultimate laps before the last 400. Nowhere did I state that they ran this pace the entire race. The ability to run such a fast last lap after churning a prior 800 in 2:05 or faster is what makes Bekele (and others who come close) so special. This kind of pace takes the sting out of most top runners - but not the top African runners.

What an utter moron. The ability to parse language is the sign of a decent education. It is manifestly clear what you possess.

do your homework, kid-- the 10th and 11th laps are often the slowest laps in a world-class 5000...

sentiments is nuts wrote:

LOL@tards - I find your post funny. There is no doubt your education is far inferior to mine (most who post here do not come close).

If you read my post carefully, I averred that elite athletes run 54 or better off of 2:35 1K pace. You better believe they do, because they run 61-63 seconds per 400 in the penultimate laps before the last 400. Nowhere did I state that they ran this pace the entire race. The ability to run such a fast last lap after churning a prior 800 in 2:05 or faster is what makes Bekele (and others who come close) so special. This kind of pace takes the sting out of most top runners - but not the top African runners.

What an utter moron. The ability to parse language is the sign of a decent education. It is manifestly clear what you possess.

Actually you did. You said off of 2:35 pace. That means up to that point they were running on average 2:35 or faster. Nobody with half a brain would interpret in any other way. F'tard.

How many times has Ritz bounced back from seeming career-ending injury? We should call him Felix cuz he has so many lives.

Ritz really showed his guts. Ran with the big boys. Hung in there while running alone. Nearly crept into 3rd.

The boy has a heart. I like to see an athlete show it like that.

Mrr82 wrote:

sentiments is nuts wrote:The challenge with the Olympic track events (10k and 5k) is that at least 5 or 6 African runners and Farah can run a 54 sec (or better) last 400. And the do so off of running 2:35 per kilo pace (or faster). No American runner can do this, although admirably Rupp has come closer than others. .

Really? at least 5 or 6 African's run 12:47's or faster in a 5k where they end in a 54? or 12:46 or better closing in less than 54?? What planet are you living on? And in the 10k? yea....how about no.

even if he's exaggerating, he's still right. The problem with american distance runners in the 10k and 5k is their last lap. runners like rupp and ritz, who both CAN run under the 13 minute and 27 minute barrier, can keep with the east africans until the last lap but nothing more. Most of these runners, like bekele and jeilan and merga, do not run much faster than the americans- but that difference (around 5 seconds) is entirely made up on the last lap. It is virtually impossible to win, and difficult to medal, in an international distance track race if you can't close in under 54 seconds for the last 400m or under 56 off of a fast pace. Rupp can run as fast as he wants, but unless he improves his last lap like his training partner did in this past year, the main image many will have of him is when he gets dropped at the end of a race- like at brussels this year. The same goes for ritz. he's never had closing speed. The only american who can medal in the upcoming olympics in a distance event remains lagat.

Proud American #1 wrote:

stuck with match.com wrote:

BWAHAHAHAHAHHA hey I have a bridge I'd like to sell you

You and coach d are probably anti-Americans.

Change your name to stupid american.