Has Nick Symmonds lost his mind?

He likely isn't racing it hard. 800/1500 guys can run 13.1 miles and it won't hamper their season in the slightest.

Why do people like the OP think that racing other distances will ruin you? It's just a race. How is a half marathon going to ruin his outdoor season?

13.1 miles at a pace you can maintain for 1 hour is a long tempo run.

Any questions?

I mean, I see no reason why a 3:34 guy couldn't run a 1:08 or so. An elite time, no way. But it would be a real solid workout for him. Doesn't he run upwards of 70 mile weeks anyways with 14 mile long runs?

illinoisphotographer wrote:

I mean, I see no reason why a 3:34 guy couldn't run a 1:08 or so. An elite time, no way. But it would be a real solid workout for him. Doesn't he run upwards of 70 mile weeks anyways with 14 mile long runs?

some reason I just find it hard to picture nick putting in miles on trails, especially something 10 miles or longer.

2/10, too obvious he isn't racing this

Probably using it as his long run or something.

Steve Ovett ran a 1:05 half and tore up the track something like the following weekend.

I read somewhere that Nick actually does quite a bit of mileage for a 800m runner, especially in off-season. Nothing like a 100miles/week, but something around 60-70 so he probably does a 10+ mile long run. I was a bit surprised myself when I read that because he is pretty "big" for a middle distance runner, but the fact that he can run a good 1500m and has such a good second lap (and struggles with the first lap particularly early on in the season) shows that he puts in some miles.

he probably will just jog it in

no way he does it as a workout

i'd bet he runs 1:18-1:30

It would be cool if he dropped a 1:04 and change to get an OT qualifier. He is likely capable, and his ego would love a resume point like that (as would his publicist).

He's running* with Paris Hilton. They plan to have brunch at the 5ooom mark,a facial at 10ooom, a massage at the 15ooom mark then on to some jewelry shopping at 21ooom. Then they will slip into special footwear for another of the highlights of the long day on the road a dash to the finish. That pretty much takes them to a 8PM dinner and wink-wink nudge=nudge- after dinner interview- wink-wink nudge-nudge.

* Paris will be sitting in a pedicab and her Nicky-Poo will be the engine. This will be part of the pilot for the as yet unrated sportstravel show "High Heel Road Racing and Conventioneering with Kelly Lundy" .

Why you all hatin' on Nick?

Obviously a commitment for his sponsor Brooks.

Legend of the TT playground wrote:

He's running* with Paris Hilton. They plan to have brunch at the 5ooom mark,a facial at 10ooom, a massage at the 15ooom mark then on to some jewelry shopping at 21ooom. Then they will slip into special footwear for another of the highlights of the long day on the road a dash to the finish. That pretty much takes them to a 8PM dinner and wink-wink nudge=nudge- after dinner interview- wink-wink nudge-nudge.

* Paris will be sitting in a pedicab and her Nicky-Poo will be the engine. This will be part of the pilot for the as yet unrated sportstravel show "High Heel Road Racing and Conventioneering with Kelly Lundy" .

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weve seen this one before wrote:

illinoisphotographer wrote:

I mean, I see no reason why a 3:34 guy couldn't run a 1:08 or so. An elite time, no way. But it would be a real solid workout for him. Doesn't he run upwards of 70 mile weeks anyways with 14 mile long runs?

some reason I just find it hard to picture nick putting in miles on trails, especially something 10 miles or longer.

Remember his Super Bowl column where he said instead of watching the event he would be off on a long run? Yes, he does long runs and No, 13 miles is not that long for his level of training. He does a lot of miles.

coach d wrote:

13.1 miles at a pace you can maintain for 1 hour is a long tempo run.

Any questions?

Yes, I have a question. Only 94 men in history have ever managed to complete 13.1 miles in 1 hour or less. Does that mean these are the only people to ever complete a long tempo run?

Also, when Ritz ran 60:00 for 13.1 miles, that means he was running 13.1 miles at exactly the pace he could maintain for 1 hour. So that means he was doing a long tempo run? Pretty cool to win a World Championships medal with a tempo run!

have you read is training log leading up to london 2012?

he hardly ever runs over 70 miles a week, breaks down too much

Nick has an open ended appreciation of reality. Come on, the man owns tanning salons in Eugene. I used to live in Eugene... didn't see a lot of tanning salons.

Nick had his own personal Eugene!

Remember, Steve Ovett, at his peak, dropped into a half marathon and won, on a relative lark.