Sad news of course, but also a very wise decision.
One thing is very clear. He will put a good amount of hours at the Crosstrainer, Aqua jogging AND….there is a third “cross training”. Maybe not as demanding for the cardiovascular system, but the high G-forces gives him a great strength and focus as well ;)
Already got plane tickets Eugene for the Pre Classic. What are the chances Jakob is on the starting line for the mile?
I think it's easy to underestimate how fit and good these guys are. Jakob is not completely losing years of foundation and cumulative fitness and at his age, the ability to bounce back and get into race shape extremely fast is even underestimated by the athletes themselves.
Regarding specifically Eugene, I would feel a lot better if he was actually running without issues right now, which unfortunately it doesn't seem he is. Let's pick an arbitrary date - he's back no issues on 1 June - I think in that case it's possible he could start in Eugene because that's 5 weeks of prep. I don't think you'd see a WR off of that, but he would still be easily good enough to run under 3.47.
But that would be final cut-off, and it doesn't sound like this will be the case. To straight up answer your question I would say there is a 20% chance you see him in Eugene as it stands. So not great.
I know he won't do this based on his prior comments, but if he is back fully fit in August, going after the mile WR should be his absolute priority this season. This is the record he can absolutely get and he needs to get it before he truly commits to the going after the 5000m because while his training philosophically won't change, the volume and specifics will (maybe why he's having these issues to begin with). The 1500m now just seems really tough. It was going to be tough for him regardless, but losing these months and his ability to run a 1-2 races under 3.30 to prep himself just seems like it pushes it even further away.
Sad news of course, but also a very wise decision.
One thing is very clear. He will put a good amount of hours at the Crosstrainer, Aqua jogging AND….there is a third “cross training”. Maybe not as demanding for the cardiovascular system, but the high G-forces gives him a great strength and focus as well ;)
For those of us old enough to remember Bill Simmons mailbags…this is the “Yes these are my readers” comment to end it
This post was edited 11 seconds after it was posted.
I know he won't do this based on his prior comments, but if he is back fully fit in August, going after the mile WR should be his absolute priority this season. This is the record he can absolutely get and he needs to get it before he truly commits to the going after the 5000m because while his training philosophically won't change, the volume and specifics will (maybe why he's having these issues to begin with). The 1500m now just seems really tough. It was going to be tough for him regardless, but losing these months and his ability to run a 1-2 races under 3.30 to prep himself just seems like it pushes it even further away.
The recurrence of his Achilles issue shouldn't be understated. If he has micro tears again after his bout last year then he's already, by defifinition, in the zone of tendinosis not tendonitis...which is a more chronic situation. It should also be noted that the "pain" indicators that let an athlete know they've suffered an achilles flare up come several days or even weeks after micro tears happen. The nerves that send these indicators are not immediately inflamed but lag behind the actual micro tears. There's a high likelihood that Jakob is only trusting his body to tell him if he's training to hard based on the pains he's feeling. With tendonitis/tendonis those pain indicators come well after the damage is done. It's been mentioned before but Jakob not having a coach and only trusting his body and instincts may not be enough to stop him from over training.
Also, "healing" from past bouts of achilles tendonitis/tendinosis never results in perfect healing as it actually leaves imperfect collagen build up along the tendon in a way that is not parallel with the tendon but perpendicular. This imperfect build up along the tendon makes recurrence of the original injury probable and potentially chronic.
Jakob famously tries to keep himself in racing shape year around. This method might not he ideal as he gets older. Jakob needs more than himself and his brothers to help him train and not hurt himself moving forward.
Not micro tear. His problem is in the Achilles sheath.
Honestly I'd love to know how pro runners treat achilles niggles and injuries. Appears to me that many run through it if it's just uncomfortable, but surely that sometimes catches up with you and you end up on the sidelines for a long time?
they try desperately to train through it and most pros are in a state of constant banged up-ness. Achilles is tricky because rest sometimes exacerbates the problem
In 2021 he said he'd go through 2028 at least, which isn't another 10 years.
In 2020, he said on a podcast that he hoped to win a championship or two and then retire young because he was fed up.
Matt Wisner quoted him as telling his father, “Maybe I’ll run for another year. Maybe I’ll run for two years. I don’t know. I can’t see myself running in 10 years. I will do something else with my life.”
justanothercuriousdude wrote:
2. Late in 2020 Jakob told the interviewer in a podcast that he hoped he could win a championship or two and then retire young, because he was fed up.
3. In 2021 (post Olympics I think) he said he had changed his mind, and would go for a longer career (felt he owed this to his fans among other things).
So it's pretty clear that he could be happy retiring young and doesn't feel the need to have a long career for himself (but maybe owes it to fans). That doesn't sound like someone who wants to drag out a running career out another decade.
In 2021 he said he'd go through 2028 at least, which isn't another 10 years.
In 2020, he said on a podcast that he hoped to win a championship or two and then retire young because he was fed up.
Matt Wisner quoted him as telling his father, “Maybe I’ll run for another year. Maybe I’ll run for two years. I don’t know. I can’t see myself running in 10 years. I will do something else with my life.”
justanothercuriousdude wrote:
2. Late in 2020 Jakob told the interviewer in a podcast that he hoped he could win a championship or two and then retire young, because he was fed up.
3. In 2021 (post Olympics I think) he said he had changed his mind, and would go for a longer career (felt he owed this to his fans among other things).
So it's pretty clear that he could be happy retiring young and doesn't feel the need to have a long career for himself (but maybe owes it to fans). That doesn't sound like someone who wants to drag out a running career out another decade.
I think his statements from 2020/ 21 are outdated.
In my understanding he has realized how much he likes competing so I don´t think he will retire anytime soon, barring injury or illness. AND..............
he wants to become the GOAT and knows he needs more achievements.
Jakob cancelled his altitude trip so he could stay back and get daily care from his physio. He doesn't mess around. He's a very logic minded person, much more than his brother(s). His dad's work is in logistics. Jakob probably has a similarly wired brain.
He's taken a lot of time off without ever trying to race on it, so im not sure where the weird assumptions are coming from with people talking like he's not smart enough to know his own body and to listen to actual doctors.
In 2021 he said he'd go through 2028 at least, which isn't another 10 years.
In 2020, he said on a podcast that he hoped to win a championship or two and then retire young because he was fed up.
So it's pretty clear that he could be happy retiring young and doesn't feel the need to have a long career for himself (but maybe owes it to fans). That doesn't sound like someone who wants to drag out a running career out another decade.
I think his statements from 2020/ 21 are outdated.
In my understanding he has realized how much he likes competing so I don´t think he will retire anytime soon, barring injury or illness. AND..............
he wants to become the GOAT and knows he needs more achievements.
probably not a coincidence that he's enjoying it more since he broke from Gjert, who I'm not passing judgement on.
Whatever happened there, The coaching relationship had run it's course after a dozen or so years.
I think his statements from 2020/ 21 are outdated.
In my understanding he has realized how much he likes competing so I don´t think he will retire anytime soon, barring injury or illness. AND..............
he wants to become the GOAT and knows he needs more achievements.
I side with you here. The statement from 2020 was due to Jakob’s fear of wrecking his body (operations and so on) like his brothers. But there was a big reason that he didn’t mention then, but that maybe is resolved now -his extreme exhaustion from having Gjert at his back all the time. (I build all this on recent interviews).
Only a year after his “short career statement” Jakob declared that he had changed his mind, and felt very obligated to his fans.
There so many things Jakob hasn’t achieved: Winning global 1500m champs by front running, or by staying in the pack, a fast 5000m, WRs in his prioritised events, and even a long distances career. So much exciting to see what he can accomplish, and how…
This post was edited 5 minutes after it was posted.
I know he won't do this based on his prior comments, but if he is back fully fit in August, going after the mile WR should be his absolute priority this season. This is the record he can absolutely get and he needs to get it before he truly commits to the going after the 5000m because while his training philosophically won't change, the volume and specifics will (maybe why he's having these issues to begin with). The 1500m now just seems really tough. It was going to be tough for him regardless, but losing these months and his ability to run a 1-2 races under 3.30 to prep himself just seems like it pushes it even further away.
The recurrence of his Achilles issue shouldn't be understated. If he has micro tears again after his bout last year then he's already, by defifinition, in the zone of tendinosis not tendonitis...which is a more chronic situation. It should also be noted that the "pain" indicators that let an athlete know they've suffered an achilles flare up come several days or even weeks after micro tears happen. The nerves that send these indicators are not immediately inflamed but lag behind the actual micro tears. There's a high likelihood that Jakob is only trusting his body to tell him if he's training to hard based on the pains he's feeling. With tendonitis/tendonis those pain indicators come well after the damage is done. It's been mentioned before but Jakob not having a coach and only trusting his body and instincts may not be enough to stop him from over training.
Also, "healing" from past bouts of achilles tendonitis/tendinosis never results in perfect healing as it actually leaves imperfect collagen build up along the tendon in a way that is not parallel with the tendon but perpendicular. This imperfect build up along the tendon makes recurrence of the original injury probable and potentially chronic.
Jakob famously tries to keep himself in racing shape year around. This method might not he ideal as he gets older. Jakob needs more than himself and his brothers to help him train and not hurt himself moving forward.
I know he won't do this based on his prior comments, but if he is back fully fit in August, going after the mile WR should be his absolute priority this season. This is the record he can absolutely get and he needs to get it before he truly commits to the going after the 5000m because while his training philosophically won't change, the volume and specifics will (maybe why he's having these issues to begin with). The 1500m now just seems really tough. It was going to be tough for him regardless, but losing these months and his ability to run a 1-2 races under 3.30 to prep himself just seems like it pushes it even further away.
Yes he only has 4 shots in August against any of the three records. Silesia on 16th, Laussane on 20th, Brussels on 22th, and Zurich on 28th. He could run the 5000m in Laussane but I doubt it. He should change Silesia or Zurich to a mile. I doubt he'll run Brussels so close to Zurich.