I have never participated in a LR thread due to some of the negative nature. However, since this thread is about me I thought I may as well say something. I did a podcast interview with Jay Johnson this past weekend. Since it has been posted, a large number of people mistakenly thought I ran 15:16 the week before. In fact, the race took place a year ago. About 6 weeks later, an achilles issue shut down my training for 5 months. I am hopefully ready to go again this weekend.
Lots of questions out there about me. I ran at Oregon from 1980-85. 3:41.76 and 13:45 while in school. Got 6th at US Champs in 1987 at 5k, Silver Medal at World University Games later that summer. After fighting plantar fasciitis too many years, I retired in 1992. This whole return to running came in part due to getting involved in high school coaching in 2007. So yes, I took 16 years away from racing and all those aches and pains disappeared.
No, I don't use drugs. Yes, Masters athletes can and do get tested. Yes, some of them fail their tests. I'm extremely grateful to have not lost my leg speed over the years, and I think that has helped my abilities to train with efficiency, keeping excess volume off my legs. For the most part, I'm smarter than I used to be, listen to most of the warning signs and continue to make training decision that allow me to race well. I still believe I can run faster than I have during the past 5 years, but the stopwatch (or the timing system) will have the final say...