POOR RENEE METVIER

onward christian soldiers wrote:

It sucks that Renee can lead the entire race and hold off the entire field for the win and NOT qualify for World Indoor. 2nd, 3rd. 4th, and 5th are all eligible having run sub 9:03 in the past year.

Finals

1 Renee Metivier Baillie unattached 9:14.90

2 Sara Hall Asics 9:14.92

3 Shannon Rowbury Nike 9:15.41

4 Desiree Davila Hansons-Brooks 9:21.05

5 Delilah DiCrescenzo Puma 9:29.54

6 Shayla Houlihan unattached 9:33.20

7 Toni Salucci Adidas Ralei 9:33.72

8 Alisha Williams Boulder RC/adid 9:34.51

9 Frances Koons unattached 9:35.30

10 Tanya Zeferjahn unattached 9:50.88

11 Karen Dimoff Bowerman AC 10:09.08

Delilah never ran 9:03 or faster

Truthfully, I don't think the USATF is sending their best team by selecting the top two in this race. Training at altitude gave Renee and Sara a huge advantage at this meet, but Rowbury was a far superior runner in Boston at sea level. It's a shame to keep her off the world team because of a championship race run at altitude.

Maybe Renee will have time before worlds to get the standard and prove that she can represent our country well at worlds.

Delilah ran a 9:02 last year in Boston and that is within the Window.

You Can NOT chase a time. Tickets to Qatar will be purchased this weekend.

Hall and Rowbury are the team

Davila is the alternate and Delilah is next on the list. The only other person in the field that is allowed to go is Koons.

Renee showed some guts going after it tonight, both for the win and the time standard, that took some courage in my book, glad she hung on for the win

Thanks for the update about chasing times to make it to worlds. Rowbury and Hall are the two that will represent the US best at worlds in my opinion.

Based on the results I have seen tonite, I can see why the USATF is getting so much slack from the coaches, agents, etc. about holding a championship meet at altitude.

The mid distance and distance athletes that performed the best tonite are the ones who have been training at altitude leading up to this meet.

Symmonds, Pierce, Rupp, Metivier, Hall. Not sure about Lagat, but he is just a phenom and would do well against this competition at any venue

Solid season so far for her though:

5th at US Half Marathon Championships

5th at US Cross Championships

1st at US Indoor Champs for 3k

That's definitely an impressive first 3 races heading to outdoor.

Needs to be thought out better wrote:

Thanks for the update about chasing times to make it to worlds. Rowbury and Hall are the two that will represent the US best at worlds in my opinion.

Based on the results I have seen tonite, I can see why the USATF is getting so much slack from the coaches, agents, etc. about holding a championship meet at altitude.

The mid distance and distance athletes that performed the best tonite are the ones who have been training at altitude leading up to this meet.

Symmonds, Pierce, Rupp, Metivier, Hall. Not sure about Lagat, but he is just a phenom and would do well against this competition at any venue

Most athletes probably came in to town yesterday if they were smart. If that's the case then altitude has no effect on performance in the first 36 hours at higher altitudes. It should therefore be a more difficult race on someone like Rowbury for her race tomorrow after racing today than it would on her performance today. So I'm not buying that altitude athletes had an advantage in the races today.

Most athletes probably came in to town yesterday if they were smart. If that's the case then altitude has no effect on performance in the first 36 hours at higher altitudes. It should therefore be a more difficult race on someone like Rowbury for her race tomorrow after racing today than it would on her performance today. So I'm not buying that altitude athletes had an advantage in the races today.[/quote]

If you're fit, you're fit, altitude is just an excuse for the weak

Altitude absolutely has an immediate affect on performance for those who train at sea level. Ask any sea level distance runner how they felt racing at altitude tonite.

Why do you think the OTC and Rupp came to Albuquerque so many weeks ago? Read Nick Symmonds recent article in which he talks about how difficult it was his first few days here.

Talk to the scientists if you "don't buy it". Better yet, come to altitude yourself and put in a hard workout as soon as you arrive. Let's see how your times compare to sea level times.

I believe the experts over you anyday.

Big deal, WXC will probably be better for her, anyway.

I agree with this guy. I've trained at high altitude many times, and the first day is never that bad (as long as you're hydrating well). It's the second and third days when you start to feel it on the run.

You guys are wrong. The amount of O2 in your lungs at altitude is the same if you've been at altitude 30 days or 30 seconds, and that absolutely affects how much O2 gets into your blood and into working muscles, which absolutely affects your performance in distance races.

It's true you won't feel as bad running in the first day or so as you will in days 2-5, but to say that it won't inhibit your performance is wrong.

If you're racing against people who all train at sea level, then it is not an excuse. But you are definitely at a disadvantage if you're racing people who train at altitude, there's no doubt about that. Unless you're an idiot. Or if you're smart but haven't learned anything about chemistry or physiology.

hmmmmmm wrote:

You guys are wrong. The amount of O2 in your lungs at altitude is the same if you've been at altitude 30 days or 30 seconds, and that absolutely affects how much O2 gets into your blood and into working muscles, which absolutely affects your performance in distance races.

It's true you won't feel as bad running in the first day or so as you will in days 2-5, but to say that it won't inhibit your performance is wrong.

If you're racing against people who all train at sea level, then it is not an excuse. But you are definitely at a disadvantage if you're racing people who train at altitude, there's no doubt about that. Unless you're an idiot. Or if you're smart but haven't learned anything about chemistry or physiology.

Well said. I think perhaps they are idiots AND they don't know anything about chemistry or physiology.

And based on what the Letsrun founders put on their front page "It's hard to say altitude wasn't a factor in this race", I think they agree too.

My issue has to do with the fact that the USATF has chosen to put a world championship qualifying meet at altitude. As a result, and after tonite, you have the winner of the 3k NOT eligible to compete at worlds because she doesn't have the standard. Does anyone know how the time Renee ran tonite converts given the altitude adjustment provided in the NCAA conversion tables? If it converts to a sub 9:03, then I would think that she has a MAJOR beef against the USATF.

In addition, you have the favorite and the person with the best chance of doing well at Worlds ending up in third place and potentially being left at home.

Does anyone know why Rowbury did not come up to altitude to train for this meet like the rest of the top runners?

Because this isn't an important meet. Neither is World Indoors.

Rowbury is not going to worlds. The team will be Hall and Davila.

Why do you consider world indoors not important?

There are no outdoor world championships so that would make me think it would be worthwhile to put some importance on world indoors.

The saddest part of Metivier's situation is that the altitude adjustment for 3K in Albuquerque is 13.97 seconds. That would give her the qualifying time and she would make the trip to Doha. I want to believe that Mr. Logan is leading us in the right direction, but this along with a somewhat disorganized and sometimes less than friendly USATF staff is not sending the right message that change is taking place. I went to pick up a credential today at one of the times/locations specified on the USATF website and after 10 minutes of waiting the site was still not up and running. The staff member I asked about the wait time said they would open the door when they were ready.

Renee is not on the team for 1 reason. She has been given poor management. Everyone knew the rules 2 months ago. You needed a sub 9:03 on a 200 meter track to go. Everyone (with good managent) also knew that in order to run the standard at Albuquerque, you have to be in 8:48 shape. Because the conversion (although not being used) is roughly 14 seconds.

Ah, yeah, had she known, she could have just trained to be in 8:48 shape. Too bad she didn't know what you do!