American Men really haven't improved in the marathon like they have in the 800-10,000. What's the reason?
Different things work for different people, but IMO too many men are training/racing primarily for the marathon, rather than for a wide range of distances/races.
Look, I get it: People have to support themselves, and sponsors call a lot of the shots. But the guys BITD ('70s, '80s) who were competitive at high/international levels were doing a lot of racing, at various distances, and handling all those distances including the marathon with training that I think was probably closer to what we'd think of as 10k-focused.
yes, was introduced to dmso at that time. which i used sparingly to this day. it is kind of a miracle substance. i dont trust anything that works like a miracle, but use it once in say 10 years, for an injury that wont heal on its own.
regarding training with Sal, yes and no, i was in the B group, on the track with the A group of Sal Mcchesney, Chappa, Borleau, Martin, where the A group would do things like 6x1 mile at 420 plus minus, and the B group did 430 plus minus.
regarding what PEDs were in play, a guy like Malmo would most probably have the higher quality info on Oregon distance PED use.
i simply was ob the ground. and the A group were in their own little group, paralel world, though knew affable mcchesney, borleau, david mack was a nice guy, but with a dangerous aura.
there was Athletic West , never knew the inside of that, that group did not smell of PEDs, though everyone would be small time dabbling with dmso and other stuff.
Guys like Malmo on the inside, they have the best info.
You have quite the imagination. I was no insider on information re: Oregon or Athletics West PED use. I was at AW the 1st year 77-78 and there were no PEDs that year... except for the weight guys who admitted as much. I suspect the runners started in 79, but purely conjecture.. but I know that at least three of them were using by 1980, because they told me so.
thanks for qualifying, i simply don't have deep research on your travels in Oregon, proper writing and journalism requires that, then again, we're not being paid, so my bad,
that said, we are not claiming to be super insiders, and sharing some info that some people may find extremely interesting. I love the old stories, direct from the scene. not imagination, 55555
the point of mentioning PEDs in Oregon in the early 80s. is that on the track and in the lockers, and among the running community at the U of O, it was not jumping out.
contrast that with Jamaica world beating sprints, China women distance runners, Morocco culture of full meal deal PED, Kenya free for all, Iron curtain total PED culture, American sprints and power for ever PED use,
when you're on the ground in that community PEDs jump off the page in short order,
and if you're there for years, well, you will have a lot of stories.
at the end of the day, with these optics, Sal was as clean as anyone in the early 80s, Sal used LSD in a quantity like a alcoholic drinking 24 beer a day, though he did a lot of work at under 5 minute mile.
and if that guy did not destroy his natural form, to create a shuffle stride, fit for ultra marathon, and with today's shoes, courses, he would be 203 marathon without too much speculation. lower times, it is too much speculation, but this is the type of guy that might go 2 hours.
Sal used his extreme success and failure to improve coaching methods, and to pay attention to supplementation, science, and technique (he recognized his running style was optimized for LSD and not ultimate track success).
all of which is not news to anyone affiliated with Nike and Oregon, but rementioned,
basically a lot of knowledge is created through blunt force trauma.
anyway, there you go on Salazar, GOAT talent, GOAT mentality and ambition, GOAT self destructive / arrogant MF personality, destine for self destruction in running and coaching.
anyway, there you go on Salazar, GOAT talent, GOAT mentality and ambition, GOAT self destructive / arrogant MF personality, destine for self destruction in running and coaching.
Great men are strange.
Since I've actually spoken to Salazar in detail about his training philosophy, including drugs, but mostly regarding Galen and Mary, I just want to make it clear that he has a lot of internal conflicts that he acknowledged, mostly about his relationship with God and his poor treatment of others. Despite the fact that he told me Nike lawyers didn't want him to talk to me, I think that he opened up because he knew (actually said so) that I'm a person who doesn't put up with liars and bullsht so I allowed him to present his case.
I don't know what the hell he was thinking with the molestation charges, but I can assure you that Alberto is probably not forgiving himself over it, personally, at the same time, being in denial, officially.
If you were to ask me "does Alberto have a good heart?" I would say, "mostly."
anyway, there you go on Salazar, GOAT talent, GOAT mentality and ambition, GOAT self destructive / arrogant MF personality, destine for self destruction in running and coaching.
Great men are strange.
Since I've actually spoken to Salazar in detail about his training philosophy, including drugs, but mostly regarding Galen and Mary, I just want to make it clear that he has a lot of internal conflicts that he acknowledged, mostly about his relationship with God and his poor treatment of others. Despite the fact that he told me Nike lawyers didn't want him to talk to me, I think that he opened up because he knew (actually said so) that I'm a person who doesn't put up with liars and bullsht so I allowed him to present his case.
I don't know what the hell he was thinking with the molestation charges, but I can assure you that Alberto is probably not forgiving himself over it, personally, at the same time, being in denial, officially.
If you were to ask me "does Alberto have a good heart?" I would say, "mostly."
You've put up a load of really good posts here over the years. This may be the best yet. Salazar has never been a favorite of mine but I know a couple guys who know him fairly well and I think both would agree about mostly having a good heart.
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