Wheating a top 5 competitor in the world? Not so sure about that.

most everyone in the know at oregon would place wheating at the top of the class in terms of talent.

142 & 328 no problem for a healthy and peak wheating.

wheating rose to the top from nothing - the very top of very competitive USA track scene in only a few years. then he put in an extra long season and ran his great pb. but it was too much. you just can't (shouldn't) go more than 10 weeks off a build up.

he's been injured on and off ever since.

when wheating is healthy in body, the mind follows. he makes the right moves. when wheating is not right, he runs dumb because he's not confident.

as far as working hard, most everybody works hard. wheating included.

some don't pay as much attention to working on a quality recovery however. icing down, stretching, massages and total down time, cross training, pool work, diet, supplements, oxygen boost methodologies even reviewing tape and work on positioning in workouts.

you need as much or more quality work put in your recovery as you do work outs. did i say quality. get smart on the how to.

sports medicine is a work in progress, but they are getting there.

most everyone in the know at oregon would place wheating at the top of the class in terms of talent.

142 & 328 no problem for a healthy and peak wheating.

wheating rose to the top from nothing - the very top of very competitive USA track scene in only a few years. then he put in an extra long season and ran his great pb. but it was too much. you just can't (shouldn't) go more than 10 weeks off a build up.

he's been injured on and off ever since.

when wheating is healthy in body, the mind follows. he makes the right moves. when wheating is not right, he runs dumb because he's not confident.

as far as working hard, most everybody works hard. wheating included.

some don't pay as much attention to working on a quality recovery however. icing down, stretching, massages and total down time, cross training, pool work, diet, supplements, oxygen boost methodologies even reviewing tape and work on positioning in workouts.

you need as much or more quality work put in your recovery as you do work outs. did i say quality. get smart on the how to.

sports medicine is a work in progress, but they are getting there.

What he meant by more serious about his training; was to get healthy so he can train at the level he once did...and perhaps graduate to more intense training than he was ready for in college.

Wheating is not a sissy or a coward or a "boy, aw, schucks" type.

He is just really sincere and kind of small town appreciative of the gift of his talent and all the little miracles that lead him to Jeff Johnson and then to Oregon etc.

Much as I root for the guy he has not show he can race with the best in the world...his PB came with him racing up from the back group.

He's never really been in it, with many international races.

That is why I think he needs to get us butt up to Portland, beg or whatever, to get into Salazar's group. He needs a positive, attention to detail, injury prevention oriented coach like Alberto.

If Andrew stays in Eugene...I won't be surprised if he has the same mediocre results 4 years from now.

He hasn't really done anything since his PB.

His natural ability got him the A standard this year. And he did well to qualify fair and square at the Trials.

But he now has 3 clear years to learn how to race with his big body.

He should be able to get to the point where he can run 3:32 or better in any big race.

His health will be the issue.

Calve, Hamstring, Plantar.

Get thee to Portland and Salazar's group.

Well there are nuances here too. Worried or concerned?

He wasn't so worried...as we all know so many runners often are that he chocked at the Trials.

I think he was more concerned, and I think, unlike some athletes, he was willing in his interviews just to be open. Being open in an interview and being focused in a race are both possible as he showed at the Trials.

To his credit, he made the OT fair and square (didn't need Lagat to give up his place for instance) and he made the semi-finals fair and square at the OG's.

At the OG's he either didn't have the training to run a semi at the level required to make the finals...or he was psyched out. I hope to god he wasn't complacent in making the semi's. He had talked so much about going to London and "taking care of business." And then..fttt. Doesn't make the finals. He could have been complacent on some level to make the semi's after the injury at the OT's. Also to his credit he's going back to Europe for two more races.

We agree, it is time for him to GRADUATE from his current coach and situation.

I'm concerned that he won't, that he will hang in Eugene because it is comfortable; and because last I read his brother was cribbing with him too/mooching?

Joining Centrowitz in Portland would be a good deal, he'd have another 1500 guy at his level to train with...and he'd be in a bigger city/easier airport for training trips, and visits with his long distance girlfriend.

I hope to god he gets out of Eugene. (I know it seems odd for me to say that, buy far and away, most people, most of the time, need to get the hell out of their college towns.

redux wrote:

So, you think he's getting into "head case" territory? I hope he's just used to playing it safe after being injured and can get healthy and get over being careful. But, he did have some PF issue cropping up at trials. He said he felt a pop in his left (?) foot. So that sucks. I hope he gets over it and starts running at his potential again. I like Wheaty.

I think I read first that he was seen limping around the after trials parties, and then later that he was in a boot (part of the limp).

I think one of the people who commented on him was GH who said it was painful to watch. (If my memory serves).

He needs to take an entire season where he is coached / told to use his hands and elbows, to protect his space -- even if he earns a DQ, he does run too much like a bull afraid to break something in a china shop. Close observers will note that Rupp has gotten very good at putting out his hand to guide another runner, or using a elbow when needed. Seeing him "guide" Bekele at the OG's was a thing of beauty. Salazar is smart, he coached up Rupp to be tough and protect his running space and position. Rupp's agressive at just the right degree -- he's been spiked a lot, and doesn't care, he's nails tough in a crowd. Now, if only Alberto had been smart enough to take Rupp aside and tell him "secretly" "you're ready to beat Mo." I think Galen would have given it a great go in the 10,000. (As he said himself after time to watch the race and reflect, he should have passed the Bekele's with 300 to go.

i kinda like running wrote:

I'm sure Wheating puts in a lot of work when he trains. I don't like the way he races though. He always hangs out in the back of the pack and attempts to outkick as many people as possible in the final 200m. Of course, this only works in collegiate-level races. I'd like to see the guy mix it up more and look like he's actually trying win. He's huge. He can take a few elbows.

jjjjjjj wrote:

training with centrowitz again would be a great idea. but centrowitz is not a guy who has in the past taken care of all the little details. in that nick thompson/malcolm gladwell olympics blog, they write that centro hadn't even done more than 50 situps or pushups at a time before coming to salazar. they indicated that salazar thought of him as a huge talent because everything comes so easy for him and he hasn't done a lot of the things that others typically do.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sportingscene/2012/08/the-thin-man.html

Who knows what else he had been doing or not doing...

No, you are an idiot -- for not considering the following:

Wheating may be WRONG.

Ever heard of "Work smarter, not harder?" Wheating's injuries and talent may have caused him to not be able to do as much work as RB, and yet garner better results. Wheating's assessment that he didn't work as hard as RB was very likely due to his injuries. But, to run the A standard, Wheating had to do some hard work...

...Wheating made the Olympic Team, RB did not.

I've seen it up close, one guy can work harder and become great, another guy can do the same work load and is injured or burned out.

I had a friend placed at JN's and Nationals and made multiple USA teams, and he was always the least hard worker of anyone we knew. But he was never burned out.

So Wheating's comment / judgment on not working as hard as RB is irrelevant; knowing the right amount of hard work for each athlete is as much an art as a science and sometimes a lot of luck.

And often, an athlete is not the best judge of their own effort.

Running on Empathy wrote:

hdhsh wrote:

How does late night partying interfere with healing from an injury?

You're kidding, right? How does putting unneeded stress on injured parts of the body while consuming large quantities of alcohol and getting little sleep interfere with the healing process?!

Common sense - you lack it.

Let's be correct about this -- he didn't hit "every" party. He didn't even go to Hayward until his race days. And there was no partying until after he made the team. And since the Trials were over, that means one night, maybe two. And some of those were very likely socials that OT members were asked to attend by USATF/sponsors.

coach d wrote:

dbags wrote:

No offense to him, but I'm not even sure he's top 5 in the US.

Centro, Manzano, Lagat, German soon enough, and I'm sure Rupp and/or Andrews will be taking him soon. Or maybe I'm wrong and he's going to run 3:28-3:29, but it seems like a longshot

You forgot about Russell Brown and Robby Andrews.

When Wheating ran his 3:30, he finished FOURTH in Monaco. Manzano and Centro both have medals, but Wheating didn't even make the SEMIS in London, I believe. Injured, perhaps, the results speak for themselves.

5th in the world? Hardly. More Oregon boasting, as usual.

Coach d(umb),

You're an a$$hole, and I don't mean in the good way.

Let's make it easier for you to be clear. In Wheatings 3:30, he came from way back and wasn't really threatening to place.

Yes, he was still doing pool workouts in London 3 weeks before the games. So, his results in London were certainly effected by his year of injuries.

Next, the inspiration for this thread was an interview with Wheating where he said (paraphrasing) "I know I am a top 5 competitor in the world if I can just get healthy and get the training I need behind me."

And he's probably right. He ran 1:45 in his second year of the 800...where he almost won NCAA's, and then he won NCAA's twice, and doubled, extended his season and then ran his 3:30.

"Oregon Boasting?"

You are such a tool.

For a program that was recently rebuilt after 20+ years of incompetence...the Ducks had 10 alumns in the Games trackwise.

Ashton Eaton - GOLD

Galen Rupp - Silver

Centrowitz - 4th

Wheating - Semi's

Not bad for a program that developed those athletes 4 years into a rebuild of a program that was fallow/crap for most of 20+ years.

Give a little credit where credit is due.

OR, STFU, just about every post you post is to crap on some runner or Oregon.

One can only imagine the sad state of your life...

(How you can even refer to yourself as a "coach" boggles the mind, as others have said here about you, I pity anyone who has you or a coach.)

Lastly, Centrowitz has finished 3rd and 4th in the world the past two years.

Previous to his injuries, Wheating pretty much beat Centrowitz regularly...

The problem with dickheads like you is you spend more time on this board than you do actually following the sport. The op and many of the posters clearly knew this thread was in reference to Wheating's interview...

LJ:

You pretty much nailed it.

Probably he can pass as a top 5 in the US only, but not in the world. However, he might have a chance in the future if he joins Salazaar.