Arkansas Runners- McDonnell Era

I first read the falcomn bench press story in this SI article:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1066619/1/index.htm

yo yo ma wrote:

I first read the falcomn bench press story in this SI article:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1066619/1/index.htm

OK, good. I subscribed to both TaFNews and SI back then and it looks like I remembered the story mostly right even if it never happened.

I am unsure about the heavy lifting at Arkansas, but I hear Taylor (Matt) and Thomas used to practice combat in the their front yard at the wee hours. The loser would have to buy grout for the bathroom project that never got done. However, they did work with body weight. Taylor did perfect the one arm hang on the pull up bar that you saw when you walked in the front door.

Arkansas was a hell of a trip. It wasn't the perfotmances that defined this University's track program, but the characters and the sheningans that these personalities produced. It was not boring.

I can assure you that "a" 1:45 800 took place. I saw it AND timed it!!!!! I have absolutely no reason to lie. It was in Springfield, Missouri in the spring of 1992. He was rabbited by a college kid for the first lap in the low 50's (I can't specifically remember the exact split). Myself and 2 other members of our running club were there to witness this. In fact, we warmed up for 3 miles with Joe and then ran an easy 5 with him after it. I don't know if this is the one in question or another one? My wife was very good friends with Joe's wife and we got to be very good friends with them both while they were in Springfield. I'm almost positive that he ran 3:34 or so at a meet in Oregon not long after that.

90% of the shit said so far on this thread, is people blowing smoke out of their ass.

Hey "New Back", haha maybe, but that's the kind of guys you're dealing with here - awesome talent that didn't take anything too seriously, and if this isn't 100% accurate, it's based on reality.

So here's the other 10% then, most of these "people" have an NCAA Triple Crown ring. You don't. Both Fact.

I would agree with Gaz. If this is blowing smoke, then that smoke created the pile of NCAA trophies that are laying on my living room floor, and the 4 NCAA triple crown rings in my drawer. I believe that smoke also created 7 straight NCAA championships during my time. So let's just call the training 8 minute pace with a lot of studying, your choice new back, results are results.

Grout man

we never saw smoke coming out of anyone's ass- only from the soles of feet of team mates in front of you during intervals on the track.....and every now and then when Coach Mac had it coming out of his ears during team meetings....especailly the time Lorenzo told Donald Williams about getting a bonus for 3rd at conference! "Time to get paaaaid!"

New Back....you missed out on the time of your life. I'm not sure where you went to college or if you ran. Again, the racing/rings/trophies are not the highlight of this program. You have a coach with a lot of fire, then you have a bunch of athletes, making an inferno.

I agree with New Back. It is true that Arkansas won all of the titles, which is awesome. However, I am sure most of the tales of training and partying are "tall ones." I bet my bottom dollar that the training and party regime was similar to the standard student-athlete experience.

I am sure it was a great program and fun to be a part of, but nothing much different than anyone else's. I believe the true excitment for a runner is just to be able to compete on a university level.

I believe I was coming back from Patella Tendonitis when you saw me doing lap after lap on the turf going at about 8 minute pace. Or it might have been the few weeks before NCAA Outdoor in 1993. I qualified in the 5000 and pulled my hamstring in the month leading up to the Championships. I could only do light running in order to let the hamstring heal. You should have shot me and put me out of my misery! :)

So... a 2-week schedule anybody? From indoor or outdoor season? I do believe most of the workouts/stories, as for some, well that's the beauty of a college team, "you just had to be there".

i'm pretty sure it was right before you left.

I'll have to dig around and find my old training logs, and then I'll post you a 2 week sampling of what we did. It really wasn't anything too special or fancy, just very intense and always consistent.

Ok here is a 2 week block out of my training. Nothing special here. Everything is as I wrote it more than 10 years ago.

10-9 Monday - 4am, 8pm Workout 1200, 800, 1200, 800 on cross country course 1200 uphill 800 downhill, 3:37(2:30),2:14(1:30),3:39(2:30),2:14 Felt Shitty

10-10 Tuesday- 4m, weights and 8pm(49:30) ran easy and weights

10-11 Wednesday - 4m, 8miles total 9x400 on golf course 50 sec rest

62,71,64,71,63,72,62,71,60 - downhill and uphill

10-12 Thursday - 6miles easy before race

10-13 Friday - 4miles easy before race

10-14 Saturday Am XC race- Chili Pepper- redshirted so only ran 6 miles like all the redshirts - 32:09 PM 4miles

10-15 Sunday- 12 miles on XC course - 1:10:50 felt good, good run

Total for the week- 72 miles

10-16 Monday - 4am, 10pm(59:42) felt ok ran ok

10-17 Tuesday - 4am, 6pm 600,400(x4)- 1:32,62,1:32,63,1:32,64,1:32,61 Rest was 1 minute after 400 and 2min after 600 Did not feel so well

10-18 Wednesday- 4am, 10pm (56:50) felt good was a barnburner today.

10-19 Thursday - 4am, weights and 8pm(46:52) legs tired today

10-20 Friday - off AM, 7miles total PM workout- 12x400 on golf course uphill and downhill, 64,72,64,73,65,74,64,73,63,75,62,72

Legs Dead today F***

10-21 Saturday - 12miles on XC course 1:12:03

10-22 Sunday 4am easy, 4pm easy very easy running.

Total for the week 77miles

OK there you go fanatics. I wasnt anything special and got my ass handed to me on a daily basis in workouts. There were a few runs where everyone was tired and I would blast them (56 min 10 miler) those were the runs the slow guys lived for, when everyone was tired. I was young and stupid and a lot of you will agree from looking at this training that I ran too hard on easy days. Like almost all hogs, the running completely ends when this is over as it is a lot of pressure everyday and strain on young bodies.

I've run 1.50.6 for an 800m TT in training. Considering Joe's mile time is 10 seconds faster than mine, I don't doubt his 1.45.

Man, that 2 week sample seemed pretty soft compared to the 80's. I think the fans want to know about the hard era.....there was no long runs on the golf course. it was a road race where the finishing point was 4 miles away from campus. there was no way a razorback could cut it short, unless you turned left on 72, bit that was a no no.

the bigest surprise was the second sunday, where there was 4mi in the am and another easy 4mi in the pm...

can any old schooler let the readers know what John would say about 4 and 4?

[quote]HOGLOG wrote:

10-14 Saturday Am XC race- Chili Pepper- redshirted so only ran 6 miles like all the redshirts - 32:09 PM 4miles

6 miles for Chili Pepper? Not 10k?

Hey Bud wrote:

[quote]HOGLOG wrote:

10-14 Saturday Am XC race- Chili Pepper- redshirted so only ran 6 miles like all the redshirts - 32:09 PM 4miles

6 miles for Chili Pepper? Not 10k?

On the new course the redshirts stop at the last big 90 degree turn and jog it in. That point is acknowledged as being 6 miles.

I'm really glad that some folks think the partying stories are tall tales. That's going to make many a former Razorback's wife much happier. Thank god for discretion