Sounds like an injury from back to back races in China (4:04 and 4:04 in May) may have derailed some great fitness. Pre and The US Championships were poor races because of a foot injury. She did PRP prior to the US Championships, but the recovery didn't happen until after the Championships. She was leading the US in early June, can't wait to see her next year. I think she is finally coming into her own.
https://www.dyestat.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=news&&news_id=582437
Editor's note: Here is what the article said about her being in 4 flat shape.
"Instead of being able to demonstrate her PR-level fitness, and workouts indicated four-minute-flat shape, she grappled with trying to get the injury solved before nationals."
Efraimson Bounces Back from Injury to Finish 3rd at the Pan Ams - Her Workouts Indicated 4 Flat Fitness
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She needs to move on from her hs coach -he has done a good job but it’s yime to step up and be coached by a professional
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Bajab wrote:
She needs to move on from her hs coach -he has done a good job but it’s yime to step up and be coached by a professional
lol has her best year ever and you think she should leave NOW? Get out of here. -
LOLOL This is probably her high school coaching starting this thread.
/end thread -
She hasn't run a PR in four years as a pro. That is a long time to stay with a coach and not show progress.
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She should join NOP. 1:57/3:57 within a year. Olympic medal.
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Bajab wrote:
She needs to move on from her hs coach -he has done a good job but it’s yime to step up and be coached by a professional
You may be right, I know nothing about her coach, but I think it's worth pointing out that Ajee Wilson has stuck with her HS coach as well, and look how that's turned out for her. -
She needs to develop a real kick if she's going to stick with the 1500. In her best races, she's right there with 150 to go and typically gets out-kicked. If not, time to move up to the 3k/5k.
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Kick? wrote:
She needs to develop a real kick if she's going to stick with the 1500. In her best races, she's right there with 150 to go and typically gets out-kicked.
Or she can go the Koko route, and get strong enough that can wind it up earlier and run away from the kickers.
Whatever she does, it's worth remembering that Efraimson's only 22. When Shelby Houlihan was 22, she was not Shelby Houlihan. When she was 22, she got Houlihaned in the NCAA finals by Rhianwedd Price, who ran her down on the homestretch. -
Kick? wrote:
She needs to develop a real kick if she's going to stick with the 1500. In her best races, she's right there with 150 to go and typically gets out-kicked. If not, time to move up to the 3k/5k.
I'm not sure how one develops a kick. To kick, you need something left in the tank. Efraimson would have a great kick off of 4:10 pace and no kick at all off of 4:00 pace. Virin always had a great kick, but he was also the best runner in the race. -
She's still got time wrote:
Kick? wrote:
She needs to develop a real kick if she's going to stick with the 1500. In her best races, she's right there with 150 to go and typically gets out-kicked.
Or she can go the Koko route, and get strong enough that can wind it up earlier and run away from the kickers.
Whatever she does, it's worth remembering that Efraimson's only 22. When Shelby Houlihan was 22, she was not Shelby Houlihan. When she was 22, she got Houlihaned in the NCAA finals by Rhianwedd Price, who ran her down on the homestretch.
But Houlihan went from 2:07/4:26 at age 18 to 2:01/4:09 at age 22. She was constantly improving.
That's not the case with Efraimson. -
SDSU Aztec wrote:
Kick? wrote:
She needs to develop a real kick if she's going to stick with the 1500. In her best races, she's right there with 150 to go and typically gets out-kicked. If not, time to move up to the 3k/5k.
I'm not sure how one develops a kick. To kick, you need something left in the tank. Efraimson would have a great kick off of 4:10 pace and no kick at all off of 4:00 pace. Virin always had a great kick, but he was also the best runner in the race.
Was about to write exactly the same thing. Efraimson got fantastic natural speed, and is very strong anaerobically. Her 200s/400s workout were comparable with Mary Cain who was probably the speediest HS distance runner (54-55s 400m speed).
The problem is in a fast race, she needs to use her anaerobic energy just to stay on the fast pace, and got nothing left in the tank at the end. It has to do with muscle fibers, she got a lot of FT (fast-twitch) fibers.
Her coach is a great guy but lacks experience. He isn't ruining her like Salazar did Cain, but he also isn't really helping her achieve the next level. At this time she should just join NOP, or at least BTC she is mature and it could really be the one missing ingredient for her to let her talent shine and finally show what she is capable of. -
I appreciate the thoughts and concerns. As coaches we all have philosophies of training and racing, which change over time. It was a year of high's and low's for sure, as she was leading the US in early June, after back to back 4:04's. Not sure how many women in US history have run two 4:04's within 3 days. Would be interesting to know?
4:04.53 Shanghai, China on May 18, 2019
4:04.06 in Nanjing, China, on May 21, 2019
s she had only been injured once in the past 8 years, I believed that she would be fine with this two day recovery period. Additionally, I thought it would be a good preparation for the World Championships.
Training this year:
Best 10 mile threshold this year by 15 seconds per mile.
Best 3 x 800m workout this year by 6 seconds per 800m.
Best 5 x 1000m workout this year by 4 seconds per 1000m.
Best 100m fly repetition this year by .2.
The past year has been spent improving aerobic power, her training has had a major focus on VO2max, speed and power up until then, with attention paid to aerobic development and threshold running as well. Top end speed peaks out between 19-22 (with small gains coming after this age), VO2max progression slows down around 22 as well, so now is the appropriate time to focus on aerobic power. The process cannot be rushed or the athlete suffers in long term development if these parameters are not acknowledged.
Last years major focus on aerobic development left her flat at the US Championships, which was may fault. It's challenging when you try new things, but the end results was success, as she ran 8:52 (PR) for 3k, 4:24 (PR) for the mile in Berlin on the track, and 4:20 (PR) for the mile on the roads at the fifth avenue mile race.
Major Influencing Coaches: Vigil, Coe, Salazar, Conner, Messer, Christiansen, Dellinger, and many high school coaches.
For the record, I have coached at the following levels: middle school, high school, junior college and NCAA DI (Big Sky, while I realize this is not a Power 5, it is competitive).
My only focus is on helping Alexa win a medal. For some of you it may appear like we are a great distance from this goal, but I feel like we are closer than you think. Thanks for your time and thanks to all of you who believe in Alexa. -
Coach Mike Hickey wrote:
I appreciate the thoughts and concerns. As coaches we all have philosophies of training and racing, which change over time. It was a year of high's and low's for sure, as she was leading the US in early June, after back to back 4:04's. Not sure how many women in US history have run two 4:04's within 3 days. Would be interesting to know?
4:04.53 Shanghai, China on May 18, 2019
4:04.06 in Nanjing, China, on May 21, 2019
s she had only been injured once in the past 8 years, I believed that she would be fine with this two day recovery period. Additionally, I thought it would be a good preparation for the World Championships.
Training this year:
Best 10 mile threshold this year by 15 seconds per mile.
Best 3 x 800m workout this year by 6 seconds per 800m.
Best 5 x 1000m workout this year by 4 seconds per 1000m.
Best 100m fly repetition this year by .2.
The past year has been spent improving aerobic power, her training has had a major focus on VO2max, speed and power up until then, with attention paid to aerobic development and threshold running as well. Top end speed peaks out between 19-22 (with small gains coming after this age), VO2max progression slows down around 22 as well, so now is the appropriate time to focus on aerobic power. The process cannot be rushed or the athlete suffers in long term development if these parameters are not acknowledged.
Last years major focus on aerobic development left her flat at the US Championships, which was may fault. It's challenging when you try new things, but the end results was success, as she ran 8:52 (PR) for 3k, 4:24 (PR) for the mile in Berlin on the track, and 4:20 (PR) for the mile on the roads at the fifth avenue mile race.
Major Influencing Coaches: Vigil, Coe, Salazar, Conner, Messer, Christiansen, Dellinger, and many high school coaches.
For the record, I have coached at the following levels: middle school, high school, junior college and NCAA DI (Big Sky, while I realize this is not a Power 5, it is competitive).
My only focus is on helping Alexa win a medal. For some of you it may appear like we are a great distance from this goal, but I feel like we are closer than you think. Thanks for your time and thanks to all of you who believe in Alexa.
Thanks for responding. Alexa was running in HS about the same time as me so she's one of my favorite athletes to watch. I hope she does well, and its nice to see the long term focus. Best of luck in the future! -
Coach Mike Hickey wrote:
I appreciate the thoughts and concerns. As coaches we all have philosophies of training and racing, which change over time. It was a year of high's and low's for sure, as she was leading the US in early June, after back to back 4:04's. Not sure how many women in US history have run two 4:04's within 3 days. Would be interesting to know?
4:04.53 Shanghai, China on May 18, 2019
4:04.06 in Nanjing, China, on May 21, 2019
s she had only been injured once in the past 8 years, I believed that she would be fine with this two day recovery period. Additionally, I thought it would be a good preparation for the World Championships.
Training this year:
Best 10 mile threshold this year by 15 seconds per mile.
Best 3 x 800m workout this year by 6 seconds per 800m.
Best 5 x 1000m workout this year by 4 seconds per 1000m.
Best 100m fly repetition this year by .2.
The past year has been spent improving aerobic power, her training has had a major focus on VO2max, speed and power up until then, with attention paid to aerobic development and threshold running as well. Top end speed peaks out between 19-22 (with small gains coming after this age), VO2max progression slows down around 22 as well, so now is the appropriate time to focus on aerobic power. The process cannot be rushed or the athlete suffers in long term development if these parameters are not acknowledged.
Last years major focus on aerobic development left her flat at the US Championships, which was may fault. It's challenging when you try new things, but the end results was success, as she ran 8:52 (PR) for 3k, 4:24 (PR) for the mile in Berlin on the track, and 4:20 (PR) for the mile on the roads at the fifth avenue mile race.
Major Influencing Coaches: Vigil, Coe, Salazar, Conner, Messer, Christiansen, Dellinger, and many high school coaches.
For the record, I have coached at the following levels: middle school, high school, junior college and NCAA DI (Big Sky, while I realize this is not a Power 5, it is competitive).
My only focus is on helping Alexa win a medal. For some of you it may appear like we are a great distance from this goal, but I feel like we are closer than you think. Thanks for your time and thanks to all of you who believe in Alexa.
That of course gives us a completely different picture - we don't have insight into her workouts, all we see is that she ran 4:03 in 2015 and wasn't able to make the jump to the next level.
With her massive improvements in workouts, it's just a matter of time until she gets in the right races with the right form and peak and shows us what she is currently capable of.
The aerobic development doesn't always show quickly, but once it does she will be much stronger. I agree that it was absolutely necessary to lay down this foundation for her in the last year and look forward to her next races. -
Coach Mike Hickey wrote:
I appreciate the thoughts and concerns. As coaches we all have philosophies of training and racing, which change over time. It was a year of high's and low's for sure, as she was leading the US in early June, after back to back 4:04's. Not sure how many women in US history have run two 4:04's within 3 days. Would be interesting to know?
4:04.53 Shanghai, China on May 18, 2019
4:04.06 in Nanjing, China, on May 21, 2019
s she had only been injured once in the past 8 years, I believed that she would be fine with this two day recovery period. Additionally, I thought it would be a good preparation for the World Championships.
Training this year:
Best 10 mile threshold this year by 15 seconds per mile.
Best 3 x 800m workout this year by 6 seconds per 800m.
Best 5 x 1000m workout this year by 4 seconds per 1000m.
Best 100m fly repetition this year by .2.
The past year has been spent improving aerobic power, her training has had a major focus on VO2max, speed and power up until then, with attention paid to aerobic development and threshold running as well. Top end speed peaks out between 19-22 (with small gains coming after this age), VO2max progression slows down around 22 as well, so now is the appropriate time to focus on aerobic power. The process cannot be rushed or the athlete suffers in long term development if these parameters are not acknowledged.
Last years major focus on aerobic development left her flat at the US Championships, which was may fault. It's challenging when you try new things, but the end results was success, as she ran 8:52 (PR) for 3k, 4:24 (PR) for the mile in Berlin on the track, and 4:20 (PR) for the mile on the roads at the fifth avenue mile race.
Major Influencing Coaches: Vigil, Coe, Salazar, Conner, Messer, Christiansen, Dellinger, and many high school coaches.
For the record, I have coached at the following levels: middle school, high school, junior college and NCAA DI (Big Sky, while I realize this is not a Power 5, it is competitive).
My only focus is on helping Alexa win a medal. For some of you it may appear like we are a great distance from this goal, but I feel like we are closer than you think. Thanks for your time and thanks to all of you who believe in Alexa.
Coach for the win! -
Coach Mike Hickey wrote:
I appreciate the thoughts and concerns. As coaches we all have philosophies of training and racing, which change over time. It was a year of high's and low's for sure, as she was leading the US in early June, after back to back 4:04's. Not sure how many women in US history have run two 4:04's within 3 days. Would be interesting to know?
4:04.53 Shanghai, China on May 18, 2019
4:04.06 in Nanjing, China, on May 21, 2019
s she had only been injured once in the past 8 years, I believed that she would be fine with this two day recovery period. Additionally, I thought it would be a good preparation for the World Championships.
Training this year:
Best 10 mile threshold this year by 15 seconds per mile.
Best 3 x 800m workout this year by 6 seconds per 800m.
Best 5 x 1000m workout this year by 4 seconds per 1000m.
Best 100m fly repetition this year by .2.
The past year has been spent improving aerobic power, her training has had a major focus on VO2max, speed and power up until then, with attention paid to aerobic development and threshold running as well. Top end speed peaks out between 19-22 (with small gains coming after this age), VO2max progression slows down around 22 as well, so now is the appropriate time to focus on aerobic power. The process cannot be rushed or the athlete suffers in long term development if these parameters are not acknowledged.
Last years major focus on aerobic development left her flat at the US Championships, which was may fault. It's challenging when you try new things, but the end results was success, as she ran 8:52 (PR) for 3k, 4:24 (PR) for the mile in Berlin on the track, and 4:20 (PR) for the mile on the roads at the fifth avenue mile race.
Major Influencing Coaches: Vigil, Coe, Salazar, Conner, Messer, Christiansen, Dellinger, and many high school coaches.
For the record, I have coached at the following levels: middle school, high school, junior college and NCAA DI (Big Sky, while I realize this is not a Power 5, it is competitive).
My only focus is on helping Alexa win a medal. For some of you it may appear like we are a great distance from this goal, but I feel like we are closer than you think. Thanks for your time and thanks to all of you who believe in Alexa.
Nice update. Thanks coach. -
Coach Mike Hickey wrote:
I appreciate the thoughts and concerns. As coaches we all have philosophies of training and racing, which change over time. It was a year of high's and low's for sure, as she was leading the US in early June, after back to back 4:04's. Not sure how many women in US history have run two 4:04's within 3 days. Would be interesting to know?
4:04.53 Shanghai, China on May 18, 2019
4:04.06 in Nanjing, China, on May 21, 2019
s she had only been injured once in the past 8 years, I believed that she would be fine with this two day recovery period. Additionally, I thought it would be a good preparation for the World Championships.
Training this year:
Best 10 mile threshold this year by 15 seconds per mile.
Best 3 x 800m workout this year by 6 seconds per 800m.
Best 5 x 1000m workout this year by 4 seconds per 1000m.
Best 100m fly repetition this year by .2.
The past year has been spent improving aerobic power, her training has had a major focus on VO2max, speed and power up until then, with attention paid to aerobic development and threshold running as well. Top end speed peaks out between 19-22 (with small gains coming after this age), VO2max progression slows down around 22 as well, so now is the appropriate time to focus on aerobic power. The process cannot be rushed or the athlete suffers in long term development if these parameters are not acknowledged.
Last years major focus on aerobic development left her flat at the US Championships, which was may fault. It's challenging when you try new things, but the end results was success, as she ran 8:52 (PR) for 3k, 4:24 (PR) for the mile in Berlin on the track, and 4:20 (PR) for the mile on the roads at the fifth avenue mile race.
Major Influencing Coaches: Vigil, Coe, Salazar, Conner, Messer, Christiansen, Dellinger, and many high school coaches.
For the record, I have coached at the following levels: middle school, high school, junior college and NCAA DI (Big Sky, while I realize this is not a Power 5, it is competitive).
My only focus is on helping Alexa win a medal. For some of you it may appear like we are a great distance from this goal, but I feel like we are closer than you think. Thanks for your time and thanks to all of you who believe in Alexa.
This is awesome. Takes a fair amount of courage/conviction to lay everything out like that when everyone (even if they are all anonymous) is slamming you. Seems to show a pretty standard letsrun problem, which is jumping to a conclusion based on a few data points without knowing the bigger picture. I wish more coaches would do this sort of thing, but I understand why they don't. Regardless, it seems like you definitely have the ship pointed in the right direction, and I'm excited to see more great results going forward. -
[i] Editor's note: Here is what the article said about her being in 4 flat shape.
"Instead of being able to demonstrate her PR-level fitness, and workouts indicated four-minute-flat shape, she grappled with trying to get the injury solved before nationals."
I get sick of statements about an athlete saying they were XXX time shape. Especially when its a time they haven't run close to. You're only as good as your performances. No one else cares what your workouts say you are. -
Back in the day my rep workouts indicated potential 5k in 14:15(according to todays calculators). I never broke 15:15.
