dmb wrote:
Keith Stone wrote:Geez, one of a matched pair of jagoff's comes back. Did you jump up and down and foam at the mouth with insistence? Are you a jerk that's saying such an anomaly means someone has to prove the negative before your pee-brain is satified. Yes. Really.
I'm saying that there have been enough doping scandals to make me wonder every time I hear about a performance like this.
It is a shame and if acknowledging that makes me a jerk in your eyes than I can more than live with it.
But I think the best way to save the sport is to openly question as painful as that is for fanboys.
Would it help at all if you looked at how the other runners in our Wednesday AM workout group are doing and judge Linda's results this season at least partially based on this?
We have 6 people regularly on Wednesdays; Linda, Phil Reid, Kara June, Christine Reyes, Dan Nunn and Jennifer Rubio. There are 2 others as well, my 2 daughters (they're 4 and 6, so just run around and aren't that coachable) out there at Cuesta College bright and early for the first interval at 7:00 AM.
Linda as we know ran 17:15 back in July, 22:59 at the GGP 4 miler in Sept, won all XC races this season she ran, won the PA XC meet in 22:47 (so a 12 second improvement from September on the same course) and then ran 16:14 last Thursday. Good season.
Phil ran 14:09 at the 5k in Providence in Sept. He won all XC races he entered this season ending in the PA champs where he won. He ran 13:55 at the 5k this past Thursday at the same 5k as Linda in a new PR and a few ticks off Alistar Craig. Phil ran 14:15 at the same San Jose Turkey Trot Race last year. Good season.
Kara took most of the summer off rehabbing a PF. She opened up in Mid October, got 2nd at the PA XC Champs 3 seconds off her winning time of last year. Kara ran 16:37 last Thursday, her 2nd fastest ever. Good season.
Christina ran a Marathon PR at Chicago in low 3:00. She steadily worked her way up the ranks in the XC standings this year. Good season.
Dan ran 28:21, won the Stanford 10k last March, took most of the summer off and jumped in October with about zero fitness. He had a rough season initially getting beat by many, but improved and at the PA meet had a really strong race for where he was a few short weeks earlier. Refocusing season.
My wife does her own thing because I don't know what I'm talking about so she get's the workouts from others in the group and does them w/o my input. She's happy w her season, so that makes me happy.
We have several of the best open distance runners in California, they work full time and fit in training around that reality. They all ran better at the end of the season than the start, the bulk are running at a very high personal level right now.
If you don't buy the fact that the program the athletes are following is working, here are additional specifics concerning Linda:
On the subject of the 17:15 back at the Pozo 5k on the 4th of July. Linda had the swine flu 3 weeks, then had had 1 week of getting better, ran 1 day and raced because it's a social event for us here - no pressure, just fun and she runs 17:15.
She was officially retired after the 2004 Marathon Trials (11th BTW at 41) with foot issues. At first it was a Neuroma that was operated on, then when that didn't work, she had her bunions removed. Doctors told her she'd never run again. She started jogging, then training when there wasn't pain to progress where she is today.
She has been one of the most consistent performers in California for a quarter century, she's run 5 Marathon Trials, made a Oly Team, several World Teams. On the subject of staying regional to race - anyone who has started a business knows that to travel to a event on Thursday and return on Monday isn't a reality. You hit local races where you leave Saturday after work and come back Sunday immediately after the race so you can be back at it Monday. We're fortunate to have a very, very good local road and XC races in the PA/USATF series of events to provide top level comp and a few extra $.
Ask anyone and what they'll say is she is one tough SOB. After she ran the World Marathon in Paris, she sent me pics of the bottom of her feet. The skin on the balls of both feet was torn completely off from blisters - they wanted to sew the skin back on, she declined and went to Portugal for a vacation w/ her husband. She tolerated the pain for a large portion of the race and finished - the first American.
Linda is one of the most focused, driven, hard working, talented and simply tough competitors I have ever been in contact with. The crazy part of this is the fact that she's running this season as a XC athlete, for the team, she did the 5k to see where she's at, the focus has always been the XC team this fall. She happens to be in the perfect storm where good health, solid fitness, and confidence meet to create a memorable season.
She's tough, she doesn't like to loose and she's been doing it for over 25 years. She wills herself to win, there is something inside her that forces her to succeed. You rarely come across people like this - talented, tough and willing to work for it, which makes success inevitable.
Yes its unique, but it isn't be purchased from a pharmacist.
Joe