piedmontcat wrote:
Really Really Really,. wrote:4500 feet to be exact, and the area he runs. we have no idea if the first 5k was flat and then he started to hit some up hills. and he raised even more altitude.
The reason that gives us that hint is because josh quoted ryan as saying, i want to bang my legs up a little before boston. so im sure ryan picked a route that ended up having some massive hills. where as josh already said there were several 300 m hills...where ryan surged...
I do realize the altitude and understand its implications. But I stand by my statement: Ryan has lived and trained at altitude for almost his entire life, running sub-4 miles, AR half, American born record full marathon, and has done similar work in the past at altitude. I think it was a great run for him, but not the single indicator that he's ready to face the world. Unless, that was in the middle or end of a 20 mile run without taper.
For me, who was born at and have lived at sea level my entire life, that would be absolutely incredible. Especially, since I probably couldn't run 10 miles under an hour right now. But for Hall and most importantly his credentials/resume, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it really is typical threshold training for a 2:06 guy (even at 4500 ft altitude). Keep in mind, these are the kinds of runs the Kenyans/Ethiopians do CONSISTENTLY when prepping for big time races. Which is why they are either ridiculous sharp/strong or cooked by the time they get closer to race day. And oh yeah...Iten, Eldoret, Ngong Hills, Nairobi, Addis, and the Ethio training camp is AT LEAST 3-6 thousand more feet higher altitude than Ryan's 4500 ft run.
That said, I've always been and always will be a huge Ryan Hall fan. I hope he shocks the world and beat everyone in that field. Being that he's only seen the Boston course recently and only once or twice, that would be all the more impressive. Boston is not London, Rotterdam, or Berlin. The more you run it and become comfortable with it unique downhills and sudden hills, transitioning easily from one segment of the course to the next, the more of an advantage he'd have. Robert C has that advantage. However, this is one sickly talented field, so anything can happen.
*As a side note, I think one of the most impressive Ryan Hall workouts I've heard about/seen video of was the one in which he ran 10 miles at just under 6 minute mile pace and followed that with 10 miles at right around 5 minute mile pace around a lake near his home. At the time, that run was the indicator that he was ready to rock!*