Jim Walmsley is going to be a problem

Coconino Livestock Herder wrote:

Holy hell...Jim Walmsley might actually have a shot at making some noise in the Trials. His training the last month is absolutely insane. On track for his 5th week in a row over 150 miles. Did two crazy workouts today...4x2 mile @ 9:45 this morning, 10x500 in 1:27 in the afternoon. 27 miles total on the day. That type of day is not something that I can imagine many pros trying.

Pace work for the trials. Not too crazy. I could see any competitor doing it. Guys running 2:12 or faster can do Those workouts pretty reliably.

27 miles and all that mileage is special.

I am really curious to see how this goes in the trials if he stays healthy.

His taper must absolutely launch him.

nope

There's a couple dozen USA men and a few Kenyan women who can do these workouts

Hardloper wrote:

There's a couple dozen USA men and a few Kenyan women who can do these workouts

I don’t doubt that most marathoners can run 4x2 mile at 9:45, but doubt any are running 150-175 miles consistently and doing two workouts in a day. It will be interesting to see how this all comes together for him, because Scott Fauble really doesn’t do any workouts that are all that much more impressive and tops out around 110 per week.

Coconino Livestock Herder wrote:

Holy hell...Jim Walmsley might actually have a shot at making some noise in the Trials. His training the last month is absolutely insane. On track for his 5th week in a row over 150 miles. Did two crazy workouts today...4x2 mile @ 9:45 this morning, 10x500 in 1:27 in the afternoon. 27 miles total on the day. That type of day is not something that I can imagine many pros trying.

Is 4x2 mile at slower than HM pace (well Rupps marathon . pace) really considered an insane workout? What about running 10x500 at like 10k (again slower than Rupps HM pace) pace?

And do people actually care about this guy or is it just his burner accounts posting all these threads?

dadsfadsfdasfdsafdas wrote:

Coconino Livestock Herder wrote:Holy hell...Jim Walmsley might actually have a shot at making some noise in the Trials. His training the last month is absolutely insane. On track for his 5th week in a row over 150 miles. Did two crazy workouts today...4x2 mile @ 9:45 this morning, 10x500 in 1:27 in the afternoon. 27 miles total on the day. That type of day is not something that I can imagine many pros trying.

Is 4x2 mile at slower than HM pace (well Rupps marathon . pace) really considered an insane workout? What about running 10x500 at like 10k (again slower than Rupps HM pace) pace?And do people actually care about this guy or is it just his burner accounts posting all these threads?

context context context

Hardloper wrote:

There's a couple dozen USA men and a few Kenyan women who can do these workouts

How many are ACTUALLY doing them?

Coconino Livestock Herder wrote:

Holy hell...Jim Walmsley might actually have a shot at making some noise in the Trials. His training the last month is absolutely insane. On track for his 5th week in a row over 150 miles. Did two crazy workouts today...4x2 mile @ 9:45 this morning, 10x500 in 1:27 in the afternoon. 27 miles total on the day. That type of day is not something that I can imagine many pros trying.

Those intervals would be easy for a 29:00 10K guy and the big mileage won't help him. Don't some of the top U.S. marathoners run up to 140mpw, anyway?

I don't know much about Wamsley, but aside from the volume, which is impressive, my guess is that he should concentrate more about his speed. Less volume and more / faster training. I mean 4x2m at 9:45 pace...there could be an 8 mile stretch in the trials at that pace with no interval. Good luck to him but work on your weakness rather than your strength.

Holy hell...Jim Walmsley will actually make some noise at the trails.
That's for sure.
What ever happens will be epic.
Just don't expect him to win a Olympic ticket.

oldfastguy wrote:

I don't know much about Wamsley, but aside from the volume, which is impressive, my guess is that he should concentrate more about his speed. Less volume and more / faster training. I mean 4x2m at 9:45 pace...there could be an 8 mile stretch in the trials at that pace with no interval. Good luck to him but work on your weakness rather than your strength.

This. Not sure what Wamsley's goals are for the OT marathon, but if he wants to take his best shot at being top three and actually making the team, he needs to be doing less mileage and higher quality. My guess is he wants to put up a respectable performance at the trials but knows in his heart he doesn't have a chance at top three. Thus, he is really looking past the trials to some later ultras (which he can win) and is trying to strike some sort of balance in his training between the two.

Just to be clear, Walmsley himself has not made any noise. With this whole Olympic thing he's repeatedly said he's not nearly as fast as the fast guys and has stuck with a "just happy to be there" kind of approach.

Noiseless wrote:

Just to be clear, Walmsley himself has not made any noise. With this whole Olympic thing he's repeatedly said he's not nearly as fast as the fast guys and has stuck with a "just happy to be there" kind of approach.

"But yeah I need to be ready to run fast and do it and as of now I need to start planning how to try to run 2:11:30 at the Trials to to get that standard. And who knows, maybe even still, they let me go and I run on the best day 2:12 and get a top-three spot and I’m the guy that gets snubbed because I didn’t have the qualifier. Whatever, that’s like the coolest middle finger I could give to the marathon community and walk away. It would be equally as epic."

This is why I don't like him

noisey wrote:

[quote]Noiseless wrote:
"But yeah I need to be ready to run fast and do it and as of now I need to start planning how to try to run 2:11:30 at the Trials to to get that standard. And who knows, maybe even still, they let me go and I run on the best day 2:12 and get a top-three spot and I’m the guy that gets snubbed because I didn’t have the qualifier. Whatever, that’s like the coolest middle finger I could give to the marathon community and walk away. It would be equally as epic."This is why I don't like him

He’s wasn’t wrong for saying that. They had just changed the standard. Before top 3 was good enough.

UltraDude wrote:
Thus, he is really looking past the trials to some later ultras (which he can win) and is trying to strike some sort of balance in his training between the two.

Yea, he's racing Comrades this year and the trials can actually act as a really good build-up race for that. He knows what he's doing.

All of this "trying to make the team" hype is coming from LetsRun and similar, not from Jim.

The rules have changed since that interview, so top 3 qualifies regardless of finish time at the trials. If he gets top 3, he won't be middle fingering anyone. He'll be celebrating.

zzzz wrote:
The rules have changed since that interview, so top 3 qualifies regardless of finish time at the trials. If he gets top 3, he won't be middle fingering anyone. He'll be celebrating.

What are the rules now? Does the standard matter at all?

First 3 across the line go to the Olympics now. The IAAF had a rule change last March that created the 2:11:30 standard, which was rightly seen as unfair, coming late in the process (the real point of the potential middle finger). Only two men had the standard at that point, so it was threatening to make the Trials a non-event. LR was helpful in highlighting that and getting the USATF to lobby the IAAF to make the trials a Gold Label event. Gold Label means the top 5 in the race meet the Olympic standard.

https://www.letsrun.com/news/2019/07/fantastic-news-us-olympic-marathon-trials-granted-gold-label-status-top-3-finishers-will-go-to-olympics/

he'll simmer down a bit. they might actually dope test at the trials.
remember this is a guy that got kicked out of air force for cheating

Noiseless wrote:

Just to be clear, Walmsley himself has not made any noise. With this whole Olympic thing he's repeatedly said he's not nearly as fast as the fast guys and has stuck with a "just happy to be there" kind of approach.