Solinski with another DNF

If he was 100% he would've run the mile with his training partners. His hamstring probably can't handle the speedwork. He's run 3:55 to outkick Rupp at UW meet before. He's done.

rupp-certified ferns wrote:

burger and fries wrote:

I like Solinsky so much I can spell his name correctly, but he hasn't been the same since Merga mind-fvcked him into the potted plants in Monaco.

LOL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJQyJk2pe-8

I don't think this is funny. I'm sure this guy has been living in emotional hell for the past few years.

Watching this video though, it's hard to see what actually happened.

I think it's fair to say that Chris' biggest enemy right now is his own mind, just like Webb. I'm sure he's trying it, but I hope he has a good sports pysichiatrist. Maybe he needs some separation from his group, some time with one other guy, say Teg in the mountains.

It's probably defeating to have guys like Derrick, Jager etc. nipping at your heels or even blasting by you in workouts when you know you are a 12:55/26:59 guy.

He probably needs to get away from that and feel success instead of failure at practice.

Just a guess.

He should spend the summer on the US Road circuit this summer and transition to a fall marathon. There is not a lot of gain for a 31 year old running indoor 3000's. The roads would be a great place to hone his racing psyche against top notch talent while making some $.

could you really picture solinsky running steeplechace? he would be brutal

Give new coach new event a try wrote:

By the way he was so defensive about not caring if "everyone rips him apart" for the performance, we know for sure he is glued to message boards and it very much affects him.

Why not start steeplechasing finally?

A race can be a miserable experience when your standard is high and you suspect the race is not going to meet your expectations. It is difficult to fight through pain when you have calculated early on that the time is going to be slow and you are going to finish way back. (I have been there.) With that said, running a slow time and finishing way back is worst than a DNF. First, you don't really know how the rest of the race is going to go based on how you feel halfway in. Second, you miss the opportunity to put up a mark to let you know where your fitness is and the mental and physical stimulus gained from having raced. Third, with a DNF, you have wasted the training, coaching, time and money required to get you to the race opportunity.

With all of that said, as an elite athlete nowadays, it is difficult to weed through the noise on the internet and in your head that will result from a poor performance, but in the end, a DNF will create more noise than a poor performance. - I wish Solinski all of the luck in the world, but one DNF, is an anomaly, 2 times requires introspection and 3 times is a trend. I hope Solinski can get it back together, but his biggest problem is the fact that there is a new group USA athletes who are raising the bar and it is going to be like chasing a moving target.

I can't imagine what it would be like to set an AR in your first real attempt at a race, go on a terror in a year with no championship, and then break your body to the point it never recovers. That is heart-wrenching stuff.

I am a solinsky fan for sure and I will pull for him to regain his confidence/focus/drive/mojo/groove/whatever you want to call it.

others have pointed at it, he has had very very high expectations. and he still has them despite being injured and requiring MAJOR surgery. all these DNFs can be really frustrating for a competitive guy. he probably FED off of the energy at races to help his confidence. now he has nothing to feed off of.

he is haunted by his previous performance level.

recommit to the process, enjoy the process, get after it and feel fulfilled about doing so.

TLW wrote:

God damn....that interview. He is mentally gone.

also solinsky should read this, a great letter on competing:

he may be mentally gone now, but those are just beliefs. beliefs are changeable. a good sports psych would help too, but i'm assuming he is already going to one.

1Why does everyone think a DNF is alarming? If anything it reminds me of his college days, no? He'd DNF and then within a few months throw down big.

2 Whenever I hear about an athlete needing a shift mentally or needing to break out of a certain pattern of negative thought all I can think about is drugs. Not PEDs but mushrooms ect... I'd be curious how much a meditative/outer body experience could help an athlete that's down but not out.

From his Twitter 2 hours ago.

‏@ChrisSolinsky 2h

DNF!! That is a coward's way to quit, unless hurt. I will NEVER DNF without injury ever again!! This is my vow!!

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joho wrote:

From his Twitter 2 hours ago.

‏@ChrisSolinsky 2h

DNF!! That is a coward's way to quit, unless hurt. I will NEVER DNF without injury ever again!! This is my vow!!

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man he is intense. pretty high strung.

CHRIS, IT'S OKAY. DNF'ing a race doesn't mean you have to keep quitting, or that you are a quitter. Just get out there and give it another go, and relax with your absolutisms.

If you DNF 10 times and then run a 27:10 everyone is going to sh** their pants and be all on the solinsky-train once again.

It doesn't matter what they think though, it matters what YOU (solinsky) think.

end of psych rant

NJ Possible wrote:

Did someone link the post-race interview?

http://www.flotrack.org/speaker/123-Chris-Solinsky

Man you have to feel for him. Almost looked in tears as he said "I'm going to get torn apart and that's okay. Those guys don't know what I've been going through the past 3 years." Chris, it's cool, we're rooting for you, man.

In that video he looks like the guy who was in the movie The Machinist