Al Sal making excuses for Rupp's 5k beating- pollen count was higher than in 2011 when he pulled out of 10k

upper respiratory stupidity wrote:

Idiot.

Rupp went OUT OF HIS WAY to avoid looking like he was making excuses by not wearing the mask during the race, and not mentioning his allergies during the post race interviews. Move somewhere else? When Nike HQ is in beaverton? You are possibly the biggest sack of nonfunctional brain cells I have ever had the misfortune of having to 'interact' with on this cesspool of a message board.

That's why his coach did it in a newspaper.

excuses are not the same thing as explanation. It would be an excuse, in my mind, if performances were consistently poor, if there was always this or that, as opposed to an occasional off-day, and a good reason for it. Webb, 2007-2012, made excuses. High pollen count? For a runner who ran 12:58 at a similar point last year, and closed the USA 5k champs in 52, won silver in the 10k, and ran a 3:50 mile earlier this year? that's an explanation, and a very reasonable one.

This is right about where I expected Rupp to be based on his 1500 and 3k this outdoor season. Salazar said from a long time ago that he was working on a twice a year peak system, and Rupp is clearly building towards his second, and not there yet.

People have this conception of Rupp they seem to have formed in like 2008: unable to clinch the big one, scared of difficult courses, whatever, and don't seem to have clued into the fact that 2012-13 Rupp is a different guy. He and Salazar clearly know what they're doing. Rupp is going to be there when it matters.

Not that I think he'll medal in the 5k. He doesn't seem quite ready to pull off two great races in a short time span.

Dennis Reynolds wrote:

That makes you pathetic. Same for Rupp. Do you ever hear about football players or basketball players whining about allergies? Runners can be such wimps sometimes.

A football play lasts about 5 seconds with about 30 seconds in-between each snap. Add in TV timeouts, substitutions, offense-defense changes, there's a lot of standing around. So pollen isn't going to have that great of an effect on exertion when you have so much time to recover and you're using your anaerobic system anyways.

Basketball is an indoor sport.

Nothing Better wrote:

Basketball is an indoor sport.

LMAO, why does that matter?

stick with eharmony wrote:

I'm sick of Al sal always making excuses. He's so lame sometimes. Just admit the fact that your little protege is overrated and has bad races. Face the facts al stupid

overrated? what do you mean by this? he is an ar-holder and a silver medalist.

when are people like you going to accept that rupp is a great runner. not perfect, not vintage geb or bekele, but a great runner nonetheless.

konami cod wrote:

overrated? what do you mean by this? he is an ar-holder and a silver medalist.

People rate him like a WR holder and gold medalist, therefore he is overrated.

Dennis Reynolds wrote:

People rate him like a WR holder and gold medalist, therefore he is overrated.

examples of this?

Dennis Reynolds wrote:

Basketball is an indoor sport.

LMAO, why does that matter?

Yeah really, what possible difference could breathing air run through a filter make. Morons.

Dennis Reynolds wrote:

Nothing Better wrote:

Basketball is an indoor sport.

LMAO, why does that matter?

I'm starting to suspect you don't actually know what pollen is

for the record, rupp was wearing his mask in the warmup area behind the stadium.

The air quality may not have been Rupp-certified, but he deserves credit for giving it a go anyway.

Nashville wrote:

Dennis Reynolds wrote:

LMAO, why does that matter?

I'm starting to suspect you don't actually know what pollen is

So all you have to do is go inside and allergy syptoms go away instantly? Really? Why do I see people sneezing and having red eyes even though they are inside?

If pollen in Eugene is so bad then why does he live and train there?

He... doesn't?

He lives in Portland. For what it's worth, I am from Portland, and I have spent a great deal of time in Eugene. I have allergies. The pollen in Eugene is the worst I've ever experienced. In Portland it's almost never bad. The two cities are almost 100 miles apart.

Still, if I were Rupp, I'd probably tell Al to keep his mouth shut after reading today's quote. I wouldn't want excuses made on my behalf.

Allergic to indoor allergies like mold, dust.

Dennis Reynolds wrote:

Nashville wrote:

I'm starting to suspect you don't actually know what pollen is

So all you have to do is go inside and allergy syptoms go away instantly? Really? Why do I see people sneezing and having red eyes even though they are inside?

staying indoors with air-conditioning helps a lot! I know I have bad bad Allergies... windows up in the car while air is running helps...all these little things helps....before I leave the house i put on cortisone cream around the eyes and put Eucalyptus oil around the nose, it helps a lot....I have found staying indoor helps the most!

Government Cheese wrote:

Allergic to indoor allergies like mold, dust.

Dennis Reynolds wrote:

So all you have to do is go inside and allergy syptoms go away instantly? Really? Why do I see people sneezing and having red eyes even though they are inside?

Yet that only happens when outdoor allergies are bad? Maybe I just don't get it, I'm not a p*ssy and don't have allergies.

Football/basketball players? I think you're really stretching here if that's all you can come up with. I'm sure Rupp would have been fine with the pollen count if he had a 2nd stringer sub in for him between laps 7 through 10.

I went for a run in Eugene Saturday morning before the meet and it felt like I was breathing through a straw. In hindsight it would have been better for Rupp to scratch the meet but, as a fan, I'm glad he toed the line anyway - it was more exciting having him in there with all the other Americans.

If it was a movie Ritz would have won best supporting actor.

It is probably legitimate on both counts, Mo was sick a week ago and missed some training and I know some who was at the meet to watch, but said they had to cut their morning run short because their allergies were acting up and the pollen count was probably worse as the day wore on. With that said, both situations are things all runners deal with from time to time and I appreciate the fact that they still ran. There are athletes who pull out of meets at the last minute with vague explanations. - With that said, there is a difference between an excuse and an explanation; Mo and Rupp did not have horrible races and when you are as consistent as they are, you definitely get the benefit of doubt.

First, Rupp didn't even run bad. Second, high pollen count and heat are a terrible combination. I was in Eugene a couple of years ago and it was rough. It's uncontrollable sneezing and eyes tearing up. Racing like that would be terrible. And the football player comparison is ridiculous. Pros play in big, air controlled stadiums and they're at least a half mile from the nearest grouping of trees. It's not even close to being on an open area track, particularly in Eugene.