Symmonds 4:00 at Fifth Avenue mile. WTF?

hear me out bro wrote:

Do people understand the concept of peaking for important races, and the fact that a peak can only be held for a limited time? Most of the guys in this race are closing out their season, and were well past that point.

This is false. A peak can be held for as long as you want. The whole idea of a peak really doesn't make much sense.

sok wrote:

This is false. A peak can be held for as long as you want. The whole idea of a peak really doesn't make much sense.

Physically maybe. But mentally, good luck trying to be on your game year round without flaking.

But, back to discussion at hand. The season was over with for him a few weeks ago. The 5th Avenue Mile is the exposition race with all the studs in the US lining up for once. I can't imagine many of these guys went into this race as seriously as the DLs or WCs.

Wow Unbelievable wrote:

I was at the NYRR building when he was there on Friday. He had a casual attitude and low expectations for the race. He's done what he had to do for 2013.

What a pro. Shouldn't have even shown up if this was his approach to the event.

Remind me again why paying elite appearance fees is important?

rupp-certified saladbar wrote:

Seriously now. Didn't he run a 3:35 1500 this summer?

worst poster wrote:

Seriously now, your evident dipshitedness has never been more evident.

Sorry, it was a 3:34-high.

All the more reason that 4:00 for a mile is a joke for him. If you can't show up within 80 meters of a PR effort in a mid-d race, don't show up at all.

This is a good example of why Rock and Roll feels they can justify paying solid prize money but NOT appearance fees. Guys phoning it in and taking the appearance cash (of which there was no doubt plenty for Nick) are part of the problem.

Isn't NYRR a registered charity?

Arm Chair Wrestling wrote:

The season was over with for him a few weeks ago. The 5th Avenue Mile is the exposition race with all the studs in the US lining up for once. I can't imagine many of these guys went into this race as seriously as the DLs or WCs.

And yet guys whose season was obviously equally as over, who he is within 2-3 seconds of for 1500, beat him by 6-8 seconds today.

Sorry, it was a bad race. Period. There might be excuses, but it was bad.

rupp-certified saladbar wrote:

Arm Chair Wrestling wrote:

The season was over with for him a few weeks ago. The 5th Avenue Mile is the exposition race with all the studs in the US lining up for once. I can't imagine many of these guys went into this race as seriously as the DLs or WCs.

And yet guys whose season was obviously equally as over, who he is within 2-3 seconds of for 1500, beat him by 6-8 seconds today.

Sorry, it was a bad race. Period. There might be excuses, but it was bad.

I like Symmonds, but I do agree that it's a poor result, even if he was focusing on 800, especially speed side, leading up to worlds.

Half agree on the phoning it in and taken appearance fees thing. It's a bad practice, but Symmonds is definitely one that actively tries to promote himself and give the sponsors their worth. Even if he mailed it in racingwise (not that doing so is a good practice) he probably contributed in other ways.

In the case of RnR stuff...that is probably less likely.

Everyone knows he was using this race as part of his forthcoming beer mile WR attempt.

His time isn't impressive in itself but if you consider the fact that he sank 6 beers beforehand then it puts it in context.

rupp-certified saladbar wrote:

Wow Unbelievable wrote:

I was at the NYRR building when he was there on Friday. He had a casual attitude and low expectations for the race. He's done what he had to do for 2013.

What a pro. Shouldn't have even shown up if this was his approach to the event.

Remind me again why paying elite appearance fees is important?

So people like you and me talk about the race. It is called marketing.

Guys...it was a fckin road mile in late Sept. Who gives a fck?

rupp-certified saladbar wrote:

Remind me again why paying elite appearance fees is important?

Im calling it wrote:

So people like you and me talk about the race. It is called marketing.

Laughable.

NYRR paid Symmonds and appearance fee to get a dozen running nerds talking on a message board?

People pay attention to the Fifth Avenue Mile for the professionals who show up to race.

Not someone promenading around.

Celebrating and resting after WC's + extra distance for an 800m runner

He did it when it mattered

Symmonds' stated goal was 4:00. He said in the pre-race press conference that he'd have been capable of better earlier in the year when he'd come off altitude training and had a big mileage base (for an 800 guy). He said that at this point in the season, he'd rather be running a 600--but that he'd give it a shot because he likes the event.

He really is stretching the scope of his talent even to run a mile. This isn't a Steve Ovett who can run a 1:05 half-marathon or an Aouita who can run 27:20. Symmonds' longest run ever is 13 miles, and he didn't enjoy it. He typically maxes out at 10-mile runs at 7:00 pace. (His training book about the year leading up to London is fun and informative--including his description of "fishing workouts" and "Dungeness crabbing intervals." (He's something of an outdoorsman.)

2222 wrote:

gorilla man wrote:

Decent drug testing at this race.

so that would mean... wrote:

Yeah, unlike at the world championships

Is it possible he timed his doping cycle for worlds because it is an important race and didn't dope at all for this race since it is rather insignificant? Oh, wait, are you one of those fanboy/girls that still believes your man Symmonds is clean even though it is becoming clearer by the day that practically all the top athletes in all track and field events are doping?

I think he probably dopes but I doubt this 4:00 mile was due to him being off his cycle. You don't suddenly lose fitness when you stop doping...

He's never run well at Fifth Ave. He is an 800 guy. The race goes too fast for him to even have a shot. Anybody picking him to win is an idiot. Lagat contends for the win every year and Willis was in the best 1500 form.

Lomong was injured at USA's and Worlds with a hamstring issue similar to what Solinsky had.

One tweet said something like:

'The only thing I did today was eat a burrito from taco bell and watch breaking bad.'

nyrr is not a charity, you moron

And for marketing purposes, sponsors care a lot more about what a pro does when he's not racing than what he does when racing. Let that one sink in, retard.

If Symmonds had given a flying f*ck about this race it would be a bad result. He didn't so....

First of all, a 4 minute road mile from an 800m runner is nothing to sneeze at, especially at the end of the season.

Second, some of you seem to understand nothing about peaking. Symmonds peaked for the 800 at Worlds by working on speed and hasn't been working on an endurance base for a couple of months. He's done a lot of racing and traveling since then and is fried from a series of fast 800s, and has had no chance to build up endurance/speed endurance for a mile, which isn't his main distance anyway.

The result was perfectly natural if you have any sense of Symmonds' abilities and training. I'm sure NYRR thought they got their money's worth to have a charismatic 800 runner stretch himself a bit at the end of his season. Symmonds is a popular guy and he and Simpson were working the crowd at the race.

http://www.letsrun.com/photos/2013/5thavenuemile/imagepages/image43.php

He just doesn't have the speed to compete with the milers.