Anyone else think Mo Farah looked terrible at Oxy?

Ho Hum wrote:

It was a ploy to make sure Solinsky didn't get the A.

I'm sure it wasn't but it really did seem like it was. Rupp was sitting on Solinsky. But I mean, Solinsky and Teg have done the same thing to Ritz and Rupp so many times.

I just don't get why nobody went with Braun earlier.

TrackCoach wrote:

He never looks great and he always looks tired, but that was a decent early season run and he certainly didn't look any worst than Rupp.

Rupp pulled a DNF. Why would you compare Farah to that type of performance and say it wasn't any worse??

Looks like Mo was going pretty hard.

Ho Hum wrote:

It was a ploy to make sure Solinsky didn't get the A.

I won't lie, watching the race this is what I thought. All the NOPers were purposefully hanging RIGHT behind Solinsky for the first 10 laps. With two laps to go they all took off, knowing that Solinsky was not in his 2010-Pre-injury 2011 self.

Solinsky is in shape to get the 'A'. He just needs to be in the right race where he won't have to close to fast to get it.

Ploy to lull the Geb's and Rupp to sleep

Ploy to mess with Salazar's head. Mo is sick of him

domestic pro wrote:

20 seconds off a 5K PR is fast. also, consider that he made at least 3 very significant moves during the race; one after several laps into the race where he went from the pack he was in to the pack that had split off ahead, then again several laps later doing the same thing, and then again when Rupp and/or Ritz floored it and caught Braun within about 20 seconds of accelerating.

Mo is in excellent shape.

This exactly. The camera was unable to capture a lot of it but he just ran by a bunch of people running 13:20 pace like it was a joke. Good simulation for matching hard moves in a competitive tactical race. Could explain a bit why he looked maybe a little tired at the end.

He's timing his peak for when it counts.

ryan foreman wrote:

I think Ritz had some interest in getting the standard. Even if it was maybe #10 on his list of goals.

Ritz got the "B". In the off chance that he even doubles back in the 5 after the 10 and places top 3, what are the chances that the other 2 in the top 3 don't have the "A"? Pretty remote, unless Lagat or Galen don't finish Pre.

Ho Hum wrote:

It was a ploy to make sure Solinsky didn't get the A.

POD

TLW wrote:

Ritz wanted to show off his kick

Who wanted to show off his what, now?

smartned wrote:

It is May.

LOL. Part of American Distance Runner Syndrome excusing sh!t races by saying it's still "early"...even while the rest of the world is crushing them and will continue to until August.

Yea didn't look great.

A 13:1x closing in 57 should not be super tough teeth gritting type stuff.

His stride looked slightly off. Perhaps he is tired from mileage.

We'll see later in the summer.

I agree. I thought he was going to stay in!

Ummm...Mo Farah is the person who won double Olympic gold at 5k and 10k?!? He's not slow! HE'S NOT SLOW AT ALL!!! WAIT WHAT????????????????????????????????????????

But Mo Farah is NOT slow? WHAT????????????????????

This thread is so wackadoocrazy!!!

Ritz said in his interview they are in heavy training and were going back up to altitude the next morning. Ritz, Rupp, Levins, and Farah are going to do big things in the Moscow 10k.

Derrick and True better bring their A game to USA's if they want to make that world team.

Terribly relaxed.

JHKHKHK wrote:

Same for Webb. It is part of his brilliant peaking strategy.

There's a difference between a particularly ugly rust-buster, and what appears to be actual regression in a short period of time.

If the NOP crew runs slower in their next set of races, or if they are way in the back of the pack in an otherwise fast race, THEN I will start to be concerned.

Horst Girth wrote:

Terribly relaxed.

^Yup.

I was there, on the rail right by the finish line. He could not have been more relaxed. Even on the last lap, he put a gap on Ritz and just was checking to make sure it was still there. It's still 13:15 so over the last 100m he showed a sign of being tired, but never pressed to his limit. Not even close.

All that anyone and everyone was talking about afterwards was how easy that entire race looked to Mo.

Don't read too much into a couple of pictures.