WTF is Puskedra doing?

Yes

SouthernFriedRealist wrote:

Dingler wrote:

Estrada did the smart thing and dropped off once he realized the pace was too hot. He's on 1:03 flat pace right now. Calling it right now, Estrada will beat Puskedra in the Trials.

I bet you $100 over Paypal he won't. We can let Wejo hold the money.

PayPal has taken all the fun out of making outrageous online claims. I may want a piece of this action - Puskedra is rolling, I wouldn't bet against him. Unless of course I wouldn't be held accountable.

For a long time it was common practice for the top marathon guys to run a half marathon--and by run I mean compete, all out. In fact, a couple of years ago there was a long thread on the value of doing so, and I remember one of the Hanson brothers posting about it and indicating that he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. As one poster intimated, in 2012, Ritz ran 60:57 in Philly on September 16, and then 2:07:47 in Chicago on October 7. The practice--very hard half a month or so before a marathon--is not unusual. Luke is doing what many of the best guys have done.

Dingler wrote:

kmaclam wrote:

yeah, what could be the plan here? Drop after 7 or 8 miles? Back off immediately? And what happened to Estrada?

Estrada did the smart thing and dropped off once he realized the pace was too hot. He's on 1:03 flat pace right now. Calling it right now, Estrada will beat Puskedra in the Trials.

Overall, the times were a bit slow, except for the ladies' half, with 2 women finishing in 1:06 low. What is a 1:06:15 worth? 2:18:45?

Most of you don't know shit. Luke figured out how not to overtrain and goes to races to race and has started to produce results again. He will go into the trials slightly under trained and run well. While 98 percent of the field is smashing themselves in training doing long marathon pace runs for their long runs.

Mark my words.

Spisak also finished a close 4th at the U.S. National 12k Championship this past November. Seems like an impressive guy. Anyone know his story? I'm not aware of him being sponsored - does he run this fast while also having a day job?

He was a consistent presence at major Pittsburgh road races and ran for Duquesne for school. He has since moved from the Pittsburgh area and I haven't been able to follow him as easily.

I've followed his career because he went to my high school. He's in Rhode Island now with the New England Distance Project or some such thing. I think he works part time in a school there and has some level of sponsorship from Saucony (I think.) He ran at Duquesne and has been out 2-3 years maybe.

Sage missed out again! Tough stuff. The guy works is buns off.

Jefe in the CO wrote:

SouthernFriedRealist wrote:

I bet you $100 over Paypal he won't. We can let Wejo hold the money.

PayPal has taken all the fun out of making outrageous online claims. I may want a piece of this action - Puskedra is rolling, I wouldn't bet against him. Unless of course I wouldn't be held accountable.

I love it! A bet is a tax on bullshit. Put your money where your mouth is Dingler!

I really don't see why people are so upset that he ran fast. Another poster said it - a half marathon, even all out, isn't going to kill you. Heck, I'm not a pro, and I ran a half PR two weeks before one of my marathons. Granted, the half probably wasn't as fast as I could have done, as I kind of purposely held back a bit the first few miles. But aside from taking a wrong turn and adding on 10+ minutes to my time (lol), my marathon was fine.

Bottom line is, if you're training correctly and well, a hard half marathon 4 weeks out from marathon race day will be just fine.

Call child services wrote:

Dingler wrote:

4 weeks out from the trials and he's blasting the half in Houston.

Who is to say he is blasting it? Maybe this is simply a good hard workout for Puskedra. Maybe building off Chicago he has taken his game to yet another level

Please...

Doing 1:01:2x half marathons as workouts is for the big boys like Galen Rupp, that Holiday Half was a steady state run for him (his 5k pace is 4:11, and Salazar said he does his tempo work at 4:35 pace, the HM was at 4:42 pace so he wasn't even going tempo pace)

Puskedra went all out

rojo wrote:

...So basically some fans are upset that Puskedra is running too fast whereas others are upset that Estrada is running too slow. It just shows you can't please the fans.

Yep. The LRC board are the place to go for an explanation of why it's a BAD thing to test your fitness with 4 weeks to adjust/recover and find out your fitness is great and you're way ahead of where you hoped to be, just at the right time.

Dingler wrote:

Running a half at full marathon pace 4 weeks out, and racing a half all out (he's on 1:00:57 pace at 10k and his pr is 1:01:30) are two completely different things.

The idea that you can't be in good marathon shape 1-4 weeks after being in good shape for other events is something that was invented by people like you the last 10 years and supported by the African dopers who hide away for months before a major marathon so they can dope undisturbed.

High-profile examples of why you are wrong:

Shorter '72 - 27:58 AR, 27:51 AR 5 days before 2:12 Gold Medal

Viren '76 27:40 Gold, 13:26 Gold THE DAY BEFORE 5th in the Olympic Marathon in 5th place - 2:13 - his first

Lopes '84 - 13:16 PR, 27:17 2nd all-time / 4 weeks before an OR in 2:09:21

Treacy '84 - 13:16 PR, 9th in Olympic 10k in 28:28, 5 days before Silver in marathon and 2:09:56 his first one.

Jones '84 - 8th place in Oly 10k in 28:28 - 6 weeks before running WR 2:08:05 in Chicago - his first marathon

Meyer '83 Boston - runs 27:53 PR by himself 2 weeks before 2:09:00 PR and win at Boston

Salazar '82 - runs 27:30 PR and 4th fastest all-time 10 days before 2:08:81 CR at Boston

I have 50 more but I anticipate that you aren't going to accept any of this as relevant so I am not going to go on.

For your knowledge: Puskedra knows WAY BETTER than you do what he is doing.

kmaclam wrote:

Obviously more than workout effort & hence the italics and the shock I expressed. So what gives? Will love to hear rational behind this. And are we 4 weeks out or 3? Maybe his splits will shed a little light but any way you look at it, it seems a bit out there.

Rationale and rational are different words.

CHAMPIONSHIP 10ks and 5ks ARENT ALL OUT 1/2 marathon races.

kmaclam wrote:

Personally, I ran a 1/2 hard yesterday & I feel like crap today. And I'm not in the peak of a marathon trials buildup! I plan to not go hard for at least a week. 4 weeks out from the Olympic Trials would be primo workout time where you have about 10 more days to do those last 3 hard ones (24 miler?, 4 X 2 @ HMP?, 15 @ MP?…) before your taper. Now Luke has to 'recover' from this race for about a week which puts him at 3 weeks out, where he tapers? All of this is conjecture but it looks from here that he's doing an all out 1/2 4 weeks out & then a 1 month taper.

People really do a 20-day taper?

Splianer wrote:

CHAMPIONSHIP 10ks and 5ks ARENT ALL OUT 1/2 marathon races.

Thanks for IGNORING all the EVIDENCE that he laid out for you and using CAPS SO WE'D GET IT. Now that you've explained it so coherently, I agree that Puskedra would've been better off eating chips and watching football. You win.

Splianer wrote:

CHAMPIONSHIP 10ks and 5ks ARENT ALL OUT 1/2 marathon races.

Oh, so you guys are concerned that he has worn himself out or will? That is even more stupid.

Also stupid? The idea that a track 10k or one heat and one final track 10k is easier on you than an even-paced all-out half-marathon. You are free to think what you think. I think it is not.