Did someone forget to tell Gags that the Olympic Trials already took place in Eugene 3 weeks ago

coach of a sub-4 guy wrote:

Colby Alexander, Johnny G and Merber all got the 1500 standard. I was raving about them and then my buddy said, "Yo. Did Gags not get the memo. The Trials were already held in Eugene 3 weeks ago."

Nah, it's just that HHF magic. Everyone runs better at HHF.

Rabbits yo.

Gags works miracles. As much as I respect Oregon as a prolific producer of milers, how is it that Alexander has improved SO MUCH since graduating just one year ago. His transformation over the last 12 or 13 months to where he is now is just something that doesn't happen that often.

GAGS THE GREAT!

Simply put the guys were in the wrong shape at the wrong time. Plus they don't have a championship kick like Robby or Centro. They are in fantastic shape and shine when the pace is steady and hot. Congrats to all of their PR's but maybe Gag's can lay off the gas a little sooner to let them pop.

coach of a sub-4 guy wrote:

The NJ/ NY guys crushed it tonight.

Colby Alexander, Johnny G and Merber all got the 1500 standard. I was raving about them and then my buddy said, "Yo. Did Gags not get the memo. The Trials were already held in Eugene 3 weeks ago."

I just started laughing.

Bruh, Merber already had the standard.

Gags has never been the best at getting his athletes to peak lately.

To Merbers credit, he was injured long time and racing against the recovery clock time going into the trials. Couple extra weeks of fitness can go a long way.

Track Mafia wrote:

Gags works miracles. As much as I respect Oregon as a prolific producer of milers, how is it that Alexander has improved SO MUCH since graduating just one year ago. His transformation over the last 12 or 13 months to where he is now is just something that doesn't happen that often.

GAGS THE GREAT!

Colby took a big leap within 4 weeks of graduating from Oregon. Not saying he hasn't improved since leaving Andy's coaching, but Colby finally put it together in a big way shortly after the 2015 NCAAs.

Didn't Gags couch the Farm team year's ago? Anyone know why it folded?

Speaking of peaking at the right time: how in the world did Steve Holman not make the U.S. Olympic team in 1996 ???

Gvl wrote:

Gags has never been the best at getting his athletes to peak lately.

Why would he want them to peak late...right on time is better!

We all know there's a difference between a one shot race and a 3 round meet, right? AND who were they beating at OT? Centro? Andrews? Blankenship? Who's off?

I mean, one of them did beat both Andrews and Blankenship last night, so........

Jersey Shore wrote:

We all know there's a difference between a one shot race and a 3 round meet, right? AND who were they beating at OT? Centro? Andrews? Blankenship? Who's off?

Exactly. Good point. After reading about Colby on these boards it becomes apparent why he "only" took 7th at the Trials yet put a whoopin' on a comparable, if not better, field yesterday.

This thread has pointed out that Colby is a low mileage guy at this point in his career. Race once and his talent allows him to run fast and compete well at the highest of U.S. levels.

Make him run 3 races in 4 days and he has no legs left by the last go 'round.

He was in great shape with 350 to go in the Olympic Trial final but had no kick over the last 350. He was probably fried by then.

He's young and if they can build up his mileage over the next few years, he could be a real threat to win a Trials final in 2020.

Moved to Oregon with Vin. Renamed Oregon Track Club

The new coach at Stanford did not care about post collegiates.

ClonedDuck wrote:

To Merbers credit, he was injured long time and racing against the recovery clock time going into the trials. Couple extra weeks of fitness can go a long way.

I hope this next Olympic cycle finds Merber out of the "if only he wasn't injured so much" group and into the "he has had an amazing injury free stretch " group.

I've had the privilege of being a Merber fan since he was a HS underclass man.

If you want to see the heart of a champion go find a video of his 2011 Ivy League/Heps hypothermic 8Km XC run.

The real answer is probably because they didn't need to get the standard today so there was no pressure.

Also not having two prelims in the legs probably helps too.

Not an issue of having guys in shape at the wrong time. Your fitness doesn't change that much in a month, just your mental approach.

Low mileage? 3 races in 4 days? He lost badly to a college kid on his 6th race

Dat truth wrote:

The real answer is probably because they didn't need to get the standard today so there was no pressure.

Also not having two prelims in the legs probably helps too.

Not an issue of having guys in shape at the wrong time. Your fitness doesn't change that much in a month, just your mental approach.

Also, there was a rabbit yesterday and he did a good job.