RE: Galen Rupp.......HOUSTON!!??!?!?!?!

Don't mess with Texas.

M Froelick wrote:

In 1984 Alberto Salazar came to Houston for a couple of weeks to train for the LA Olympics.

Yeah, but look how he di.....oh nevermind.

"4. World leading medical center. The hospital district in Houston looks like a mid-sized city. Experts in every field and every imagineable piece of diagnostic equipment."

I'm thinking that is an important factor.

go hansons wrote:

Brian Sell was on the paint creek trail at the duck pond just a few weeks ago. if he went to florida it must have been fairly recent

Article today says that Sell leaves for Florida today. I think he is there for 2 weeks before leaving for Dalian to join Ritz and Hall.

Ritz leaves for Beijing on Tuesday.

Sell, you da man!!! I believe he will run a smart even race and catch alot of people who are going for it and end up falling apart before it's over.

BUT, the majority of team Hanson is over-rated at best! Good runners, but anyway you slice it, they don't cut the mustard and probably never will. I kinda feel sorry for them. Goals that are too lofty and will never be met due to ability, or lack of.

We are all entitled to our opinion.

jeebus christos wrote:

"accomplished"

Chill man. The I and O are right next to each other. Easy mistake.

Dew point in Houston this morning at 8:30 AM was 75.

I am calling your bluff. You did not do 1000 meter repeats in in 90+ heat. If you could do that you would clearly be a much better runner.

I know you have a 2:18 to your credit (which I heard you cut the course) but besides that what races do you have to back up that kind of workout?

he is in houston since Levine is nearby. there are medical facilities, human performance lab, and best of all an environmental chamber where you can manipulate heat/humidity and pressure-altitude.

like i said before rupp should go pro. if the ncaa infraction committee could see what is provided to him by nike and salazar, U of O would be sanctioned and be put on probation by ncaa. In the SEC a college was put on probation and a football kid was suspended for receiving shoes, jewelry/clothes and paid travel from an agent.

please don't tell me that his parents are paying for all this (.... obviously it is Nike/Salazar and not U of O. i don't hate rupp but what he has done is illegal in the eyes of ncaa.....he needs to play by the rules like every other collegiate runner.

btw great post by wejo!

there was an article i read a few years ago when people claimed that Rupp could be the next pre. it said that during highschool he purchased an altitude tent and hired a private coach. then once in college he opted out of living in university housing by living in not just an altitude tent but an altitude house with his coach (salazar). the article continued to say that the only way he would run for U of O was if he was able to continue to be coached my salazar. he does some runs on easy days with the team but for the most part he runs with pro runners.

i am all for taking a season off through red-shirting due to injury or whatever, but how was rupp able to run all over europe with all nike uniforms and than at the trials come back with the big O on his chest and say he is a duck.

im all for young runners taking back the distance events at the olympics but id much rather see someone do it on all heart not by having more money than someone else. he has all those advantages and still got beat by McDougal. if Galen wants to go run in Houston this close to the olympics let him. one thing will always remain true, you can have all the money with the best coaches and train in the best places but there will be one guy who trains harder and just simply wants it more (mcdougal). houston could be good for him but my cheers go to abdi and jorge.

(1) Bangkok has 6 excellent all-weather tracks, 3 of which are in the downtown area (2 at the National Stadium complex, and 1 at Chulalongkorn University.

(2) there are 2 excellent parks, with plenty of trees for shade, Lumpini Park and Chatuchak park. Both are marked every 100 meters so you can pace yourself. No exhaust fumes at all in these parks.

(3) Bangkok has almost every known cuisine in the world, from Cuban to Brazilian to Hungarian to Korean and everything in between. There are 2 excellent steak houses within a 5 minute walk from my apartment: The New York Steak House at the Mariott, and another steakhouse at the Landmark hotel.

(4) One of the best hospitals in Asia is about 600 meters from my apartment, Bumrungrad Hospital, and I've had 2 achilles tendon surgeries there (November 2004 and February 2007).

(5) My cook makes me plenty of raw salads and I never have a problem. I eat street food all the time without any problems. The only times I've had food poisoning here were from chains like Starbucks (a bad sandwich) and Au Bon Pain (a spoiled salmon salad). Bottled water is everywhere, and cheap.

(6) You don't need shots to go to Thailand.

(7) There are nice beaches within 2 hours drive (Hua Hin, Pattaya, Koh Samet).

(8) Every known piece of weightlifting equipment is at my gym, Fitness First at the Landmark hotel, which is about 400 meters from my apartment.

(9) If you need to have everyone speaking English, perhaps you should stay right where you are and not try to have an adventure.

(10) Thai people are very clean. The don't use toilet paper, they rinse there rears with water after defecating. They shower about twice as much as me!

Calling your bluff wrote:

I am calling your bluff. You did not do 1000 meter repeats in in 90+ heat. If you could do that you would clearly be a much better runner.

I know you have a 2:18 to your credit (which I heard you cut the course) but besides that what races do you have to back up that kind of workout?

Let's see, I've run 14:17 for 5000 (which I admit sucks completely), and 29:40, which was in Bangkok. I've also run 48:24 for 10 miles and 60:34 for 20km (during the first half of the 2006 Tokyo Marathon).

As for your statement that I "cut the course," at Berlin, you are welcome to check the Berlin marathon website for my splits and results. Every 5km split was registered, and you can confirm my run with the other runners in the group that I was with.

Runner100 wrote:

Bangkok is a fun city, but probably one of the worst cities in the world for running. You must commute to your training site, via motobike, taxi, boat, skytrain, etc. Plus, there are zero trails. All of the running is on hard concrete. Hello foot and lower injuries. You would have to do maybe 35% of your training on a treadmill. Boring! It is impossible to just head out your door and go for a run. The traffic is thick with cars, taxis, and millions of motorbikes. It would not be a bad idea to train in Thailand, but not in Bangkok.

I don't have to commute to my training site at all. I can start running right from my apartment on Sukhumvit soi 6 and be in the Thai Tobacco grounds in 3-4 minutes jogging. There is a nice loop of about 4km with very little traffic.

Runner100 wrote:

Bangkok is a fun city, but probably one of the worst cities in the world for running. You must commute to your training site, via motobike, taxi, boat, skytrain, etc. Plus, there are zero trails. All of the running is on hard concrete. Hello foot and lower injuries. You would have to do maybe 35% of your training on a treadmill. Boring! It is impossible to just head out your door and go for a run. The traffic is thick with cars, taxis, and millions of motorbikes. It would not be a bad idea to train in Thailand, but not in Bangkok.

I don't have to commute to my training site at all. I can start running right from my apartment on Sukhumvit soi 6 and be in the Thai Tobacco grounds in 3-4 minutes jogging. There is a nice loop of about 4km with very little traffic.

sj quik wrote:

i trusted the dude that offered to take me to a ping-pong show in patpong. he did not disappoint. however, i am now scarred for life. not to mention it was pretty said to see these emotionless women shooting ping pong balls, darts, eggs, and more out of there cha-chas.

I've never seen the "show" that you speak of, and I never will. I cannot support things that demean or degrade women like that.

I've always defended Galen Rupp, but this is a little too much.....HOUSTON???? What the hell is up with that?

Look at how Luke Kibet trained for the World Championships last year! He purposely trained in hot and humid conditions in order to survive the brutal conditions in Osaka, and it worked brilliantly.

Well Houston is pretty hot and humid so that should eliminate that issue with Houston wouldn't you think?

Galen Rupp has done a lot right. I really want him to be in the position to win a medal. I just don't see how training in a hot and dry climate, 9000 miles away from the site of the Olympics is going to help him at all.

Oh, I see, you have no idea of the climate in Houston....the same town you're going to critique because Rupp should train in a hot and humid environment even though he's training in a hot and humid environment. Is that your claim?

....so basically you are completely wrong in your initial assessment but you're going to spend a whole bunch of posts trying to deflect and defend your completely wrong position.

My position is not wrong at all. Bangkok is well known for being a very hot and humid place. China will be about the same, but with a lot more pollution.

There is no reason to "deflect" anything.

Yes, I admit that I have only been to Houston one time in the summer, but at the same time there is something to be said for getting accustomed to the time zones and the general situation in Asia.

AND SO IS HOUSTON, DUMBASS!!!!!!!!

Rupp won't be in Beijing for more than 3 days, who gives a crap about time zones and the "general situation in Asia"??

Like him or not, Mayeroff does do these nasty workouts, although he can be a little up and down like any guy approaching 40 and working that hard. Also for the record saying he cut the course and claimed a PR is like calling him a drug cheat. He did not cut the course at Berlin or this would have been ratted out a long time ago on here (where did that rumor come from?).

IMO Jason travels a lot and that affects his consistency.