longjack wrote:
time will tell.
the marathon training could lead to one hell of a 10k.
the reason, he banked a lot of miles, and if you build up the right way, it is money in the bank. over do it and you're screwed.
i noticed that farah ran a decent last 1K in london marathon, so he was not totally busted in the race.
so maybe this is the year to go after the WR 10K.
but if farah is not tip top, take the season easy and get em next year.
cudos to al-sal and farah for pushing the envelop. but dang, that 328 1500 means that he can go 1240 5k or close. woulda coulda shoulda gone for the WR.
I really hope he is planning on going for a really fast 5k and/or 10k later this year. Otherwise, hell, why not stick with the marathon. I mean, 2:08 isn't a bad initial effort, particularly since he seems to have made a bit of a tactical mistake in not going out with the lead group. And nobody with any sense really expected him to win that race anyway, not in his maiden attempt. Frankly, if it hadn't been for Bekele's astonishing debut, and the rivalry (at least in the media) between the two of them, I really wonder if everyone would be considering Mo's run in London as such a disaster.
But to get back to my point, other than posting some really fast 5 and 10km times, Mo has done pretty much everything you could ask for on the track. So if he is going after the one thing he's missing, a WR or two, then kudos to him. But if not, why not commit fully to the marathon. It's a new challenge, there is more money, as much if not more glamor, and a ton more competition. I'm not sure I buy this argument that he's too young to be making the move. He just turned 31, and while that may have been the time to move up in Geb's day, before the young guns started skipping careers on the track, and moving to the marathon in their early 20's, I'm not sure that's true any more. Particularly since he is probably going to need another couple of attempts to get his training and tactics right, and given that the top guys only run one or two marathons a year, it'll probably be a couple of more years before he hits his peak. By that time, at 33+, he could be passed it.
So if he's not going for those WRs, why not go all in for 26.2. If it doesn't work out, he's already had a great career.