clearing the bs up wrote:
Could Ritz's 4th place finish be a blessing in disguise? He is now forced to turn his attention to the 10k, but this could be a good thing. He has 12:56 5k speed, and combined with his recent marathon PR, he could pop a big one at the 10 if he can get a good block of training in.
Honestly, unless Ritz had a shot at getting an Oly medal in the marathon he should stick to the Track. He's a very very good 10k runner that everyone has had reservations about in the marathon and he showed that he just doesn't have the pure strength over 26.2.
Ritz has trained crazy miles since high school. He went to high-mileage-college-central. If he's not strong enough NOW to run the marathon he won't get there.
But he's an amazing talent, and just missing it today will fuel his fire for the Track. He should breeze to making the 10k. Without Abdi, the 10k team should be Rupp, Sol, and Ritz. That's a great team.
You're right, with the under-distance speed of 12:56 and the 2:09 strength in the Marathon, the 10k seems like his perfect distance. His 9th in Osaka followed up with a 6th in Berlin are better than he would finish in London, and he has a great shot at doing even better than THAT in the 10k at The Games if he changes his training now.
The marathon prep likely helped him a lot by giving him brutal strength leading up to this track season. He has the best base he could ask for. Switching to 10k training shouldn't be too troublesome, there's still a long time before the trials in June.
I've always believed in Ritz' ability in the 10k over anything else, and today simply reaffirms that.