Cain returned to racing today in Central Park. She won the Japan Run - a 4 miler in 21:50.
According to McMillan, a 21:50 4 miler is equivalent to a 16:48 5000 and 4:28.5 1500.
Update on 5/13: We've written an article on a recent training stint for Cain to Mammoth Lakes, CA.
More about the race below.
Those conversions are worthless - hilly road race where she was presumably alone in the rain. Glad she’s back to racing and hope for some good track performances this summer.
Good to race wrote:
Those conversions are worthless - hilly road race where she was presumably alone in the rain. Glad she’s back to racing and hope for some good track performances this summer.
They're not worthless. Combine them with what you added about the race and they are more promising. Thanks for adding your part!
Glad she is back and hope she finds the joy of running again. Hit the roads and have fun!
This is actually a solid result, I was out there racing today as well and it was pouring rain and quite windy, plus those west side hills are serious. Just checked the results and she beat an Ethiopian guy who went 67:15 at the NYC Half this year. It’ll be exciting to see what she can do on the track.
I have spoken with her a few times and found her to be bright and pleasant so I hope she can be active in our sport for a long time.
Tom
runn wrote:
Good to race wrote:
Those conversions are worthless - hilly road race where she was presumably alone in the rain. Glad she’s back to racing and hope for some good track performances this summer.
They're not worthless. Combine them with what you added about the race and they are more promising. Thanks for adding your part!
Lmao. Of course they're worthless.
Very solid result: 4th overall (no male within 20 seconds of her either way), 1st female (by over 90 seconds). Abu Kebede Diriba finished 25 seconds behind her, and like a previous poster said, is about a 1:08 half marathon guy currently (although he may have jogged it in if he wasn’t having a great day); Jacob Adams, who beat her by just under a minute, ran a recent 32:39 road 10k in Central Park and ran 16:09 at the Abbott Dash to the Finish 5k last November.
She’s not all the way back, but this is a good start. Getting in some relatively low-key 1500s and 5000s (meets like the Boston Twilight and/or East Coast Track League series, Portland Track Festival, etc) would be a good next step. If that goes well, seeing her qualify for USAs and compete well (which doesn’t even mean running near her PRs) in some more mid-tier meets (Morton Games, some of the smaller Belgian meets, etc) later this summer would be great.
Good to race wrote:
Those conversions are worthless - hilly road race where she was presumably alone in the rain. Glad she’s back to racing and hope for some good track performances this summer.
This. Do you do a "conversion" for men who haven't raced in a while? What's the point of even showing us that. We don't know if this was a tempo, if this was all out, if there was competition, etc. Someone like her is probably a stone's throw away from being at least in 4:15-ish 1500 shape. Clearly she got burnt out & went through some growing pains. If she wants to mount a comeback, I support her. If she wants to train for fun and win races like this, I support her. It'd be great to see her get on the track this summer!
NewtotheSouthSide wrote:
Good to race wrote:
Those conversions are worthless - hilly road race where she was presumably alone in the rain. Glad she’s back to racing and hope for some good track performances this summer.
This. Do you do a "conversion" for men who haven't raced in a while? What's the point of even showing us that. We don't know if this was a tempo, if this was all out, if there was competition, etc. Someone like her is probably a stone's throw away from being at least in 4:15-ish 1500 shape. Clearly she got burnt out & went through some growing pains. If she wants to mount a comeback, I support her. If she wants to train for fun and win races like this, I support her. It'd be great to see her get on the track this summer!
So she's not really "BACK!" at all.
Is her plan now to be an age group champ and live a normal (non-elite runner) life?
A friend said to Alberto Salazar before he started coaching Mary Cain that Mary Cain could be in the Olympics someday, and Salazar replied that is a given, He Knows Talent, having coached Rupp from scratch, Houlihan and Cain will be over the next decade like Simpson and Rowbury were for the last decade.
Does anyone know who holds the course record there?
Since Mary Cain made a comeback, it begs the question. Can Herman Cain make a comeback?
One problem though. Winning a small, no pressure race like this is a big difference from competing in the big races where she froze up. As soon as she gets into a race with a big spotlight, she's going to either show that she has conquered those demons or she'll be in the same predicament. Her biggest issues have always been more psychological than physical.
runn wrote:
Good to race wrote:
Those conversions are worthless - hilly road race where she was presumably alone in the rain. Glad she’s back to racing and hope for some good track performances this summer.
They're not worthless. Combine them with what you added about the race and they are more promising. Thanks for adding your part!
Good for Mary :).
Fact King wrote:
runn wrote:
They're not worthless. Combine them with what you added about the race and they are more promising. Thanks for adding your part!
Lmao. Of course they're worthless.
OK- you they're worthless. To me, I see a positive result and hopefully she can enjoy a career on the roads.
The weather was rainy and there was some wind but mostly a headwind for the first 1.5 miles and much of that is blocked by trees, rocks, etc. The hills on the west side, whereas they are real, are net downhill and the wind would be at her back. There are two tight turns on the course--going from 102nd St transverse on to west side and going from the west side to the 72nd St. transverse, those turns kill momentum.
Solid time on a well worn course, she has the fastest 4M by a female for the year.
bartholomew_maxwell wrote:
One problem though. Winning a small, no pressure race like this is a big difference from competing in the big races where she froze up. As soon as she gets into a race with a big spotlight, she's going to either show that she has conquered those demons or she'll be in the same predicament.
Her biggest issues have always been more psychological than physical.
runn wrote:
They're not worthless. Combine them with what you added about the race and they are more promising. Thanks for adding your part!
You're a psychiatrist and you've met with her? In HS she ran very fast and was competitive in any situation. Since then, it's been difficult her and it's likely that there has been some type of change in her psyiolology that has nothing to do with pressure or demons.
She's like everyone else; if running fast feels easy, she'll run fast and if running slowly feels hard, she'll run slow times.
Go Mary wrote:
This is actually a solid result, I was out there racing today as well and it was pouring rain and quite windy, plus those west side hills are serious. Just checked the results and she beat an Ethiopian guy who went 67:15 at the NYC Half this year. It’ll be exciting to see what she can do on the track.
You can't go off that guy.What if he had a virus, or was just jogging the race, or was just jogging in because of injury? Are you implying that she is in better shape than someone who runs 67:15? So therefore, if Joe hobby jogger is running a 10k and he passes a Kenyan running packing it in, he is better than him?