Bob Kennedy running the 5000m finals at the 1996 Olympic Games

 Here is a race that has been "missing" from Youtube for quite a while, so watch it in case it disappears again. This the the 5000m finals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. American Bob Kennedy, who was one of only a few bright American running stars in the 1990s, shows the grit to succeed as he takes the lead with 800 meters to go in the Olympic finals. The crowd appreciates the efforts of the first non-African to go sub 13 minutes in the 5000m, but it was not to be for Bob in the end.



Here is a video from the stands of the same race when Bob Kennedy takes the lead and the crowd yells in appreciation and support. This is all you used to be able to find of the race on Youtube.

Galen Rupp vs Bernard Lagat

I have fnally found a video online of Galen Rupp's 2 mile indoor American Record set last weekend which broke Bernard Lagat's previous record. Strangely enough, just minutes before, at the Millrose Games Bernard Lagat broke Galen Rupp's indoor 5000m  American  Record.





Matt Centrowitz looked very smooth in winning the 1500m race at Millrose.

Running the Show: week 5

If you missed the Boston Indoor Games this year (I was there!) or didn't see the ESPN2 broadcast, then a quick recap of the meet highlights start of this weekly edition of Running the Show as presented by Athletics Now. Then there is a loss by marathon world record holder Patrick Makau in a Spanish 1/2 marathon to a local runner. The next highlight is the Beppu Marathon in Japan, before moving back to Spain for a track meet and two Cross-Country races. It ends with a high jump competition in Germany. I enjoy watching the weekly athletic highlights from around the world.

Training Miles

A solid week of running last week. I feel like I am training. It might be slow and ugly, but training is the mindset where you get out there when you don't want to do to being tired or sore. That was my running last week. Each run was a struggle to get started and a struggle to complete:

Monday: 5 miles Treadmill
Tuesday: 5 miles Treadmill
Wednesday: 5 miles Treadmill
Thursday: 3 miles Treadmill
Friday: 8 miles outdoors (good to get off the treadmill)
Saturday: 8 miles outdoors
Sunday: 8 miles outdoors (and 4 minutes faster than the previous two days)
Total 43 miles (most post surgery)

I have lost about 13 pounds in 3 weeks by eating light and healthy with no snacks or desserts.

I am mixing up my running between the SKECHERS GO Run (as seen in the Super Bowl and on Meb Keflizhigi's feet  in his recent first place USA Olympic Marathon Trials race). I can only say these are very interesting and comfortable shoes.



I am also trying out the Altra Instinct cushioned minimalistic shoes with the zero drop sole and a wide forefoot to let the toes spread out.  I am also experimenting with both shoes using my orthotics and witihout  using my orthotics.

"Running-The Show" The week in running #4

Here is another weekly video update reviewing the international running and racing scene. Thanks to AthleticsNow.



The first race is the fantastic Dubai Marathon. I watched this one live over the internet while it was being contested. There was a huge pack of runners that eventually whittled itself down as the pace picked up until the final astounding kick towards the finish by a young Ayele Abshero of Ethipia who finished in 2:04:23 (the 4th fastest time in marathon history in his debut race). In the women's race another Ethiopian, Aselefech Mergia, led three women under the 2:20 barrier as she finished in 2:19:31. The winners in each race picked up a cool $250,000.

The next highlighted race was the Osaka Women's Marathon held in Japan. Five hundred elite Japanese females were vying for a win in this Olympic selection race. They went out so fast that a 5 km the lead pack had only 6 athletes in it. A relative unknown, Risa Shigatomo took the title in 2:23:23.

At the Aviva International Match in Glascow, Scottland we get to see Mo Farah defeat Augustine Choge in a 1500m race. On the other hand, at the 1st US Open Indoor Track Meet in New York City we see American Bernard Lagat defeated in a mile race by Silas Kiplagat. We also get to see a few sprint races including a Lolo Jones win in the hurdles.

At the Adelaide Track Classic in Australia we see two sprint wins by Sally Pearson.Who knew there were meets in Europe just for the high jump? Well, we learn about the High Jump Gala in Antwerp Belgium and the  Moravian High Jump Tour in the Czech Republic. I guess I should pay attention as my daughter's middle school track coach wants her to try the high jump this spring.

New Balance Indoor Games

Last week's mileage was nothing (well almost nothing). I spent the week letting my body fight off the nasty cold that everyone else in my family got. I felt run down all week, but somehow escaped without getting hit with it. Last Tuesday my new shoes finally arrived in the mail. I got an extremely comfortable pair of Altra Instincts. I hopped on the treadmill to try them out and only got in 1.3 miles as I was just feeling exhausted. Then I couldn't run from Thursday to Saturday due to another round of trigger-point injections. My left glutes are fine now. They do not seem to tighten up after runs at all.

This week I had 3 shots in my left hamstrings. I had noticed that any stretching (even if very light) I did on the hamstrings on this side was throwing that side off for a day or so. I also asked about my right glute (if the left were so filled with trigger points-why not the right). She found a couple points to inject. It all sounds so mysterious, but you sometime feel these knots immediately release as soon as they are injected. The right glutes were no way as bad as the left side had been, but my right side had become tighter than my left. I finished the week without another run, until I ran the Freeze Your Buns race on Sunday. Despite limited mileage this week, I improved my time from the previous two races finishing in 23:16. I guess the previous week's mileage and weight loss paid off. I never imagined that my recover from hip surgery would take so long after the quick start I got back to running post surgery, but I feel that each week I am slowly making positive changes on various imbalances and biomechanical problems that I am very happy for even a slow recovery. I keep telling myself that it took years to put myself into such bad compensation-filled running patterns, so I should expect a longer time of recovery as muscles and mechanics change for the better!

Saturday night I attended the New Balance Indoor Games in Boston and thoroughly enjoyed all the races. I got to see Jenn Suhr set an American Record in the pole vault (not the first time I have seen her do this in Boston), Maggie Vessey win a photo finish 800m, the Ethiopian greats Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar destroy their competition while avoiding racing each other, an interesting mens mile where Mo Farah got tripped and went down in the first lap and still recovered for 4th place, and other interesting races. Here are a few videos I took with my cheap video camera from my front row position in the cheap seats.

Jenn Suhr one leap before setting the American Record!



Tirunesh Dibaba almost about to lap the entire field in the 2 mile.



Meseret Defar destroying the field in the 3000 meters.



Last lap of the mens mile

.

Good Form Running

This comes from New Balance and Good Form Running. Good Form Running breaks down running into 4 elements: posture (running tall), a mid-foot strike, high cadence, and a forward lean. The athlete in the video is Grant Robison who represented the USA at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 1500m race.