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2002 (ed. note: when I left Khalid after talking with him Sunday morning (9/8) he was running into the shower so he could be out in time to watch the New York Jets football game at 1PM and then the Agassi-Sampras tennis match following. It is funny that Khalid is still at the top of his game while two tennis players his age are considered practically over the hill.) Castel Buono This is about an 11K race on a 10 lap course through the streets of this small town in Italy. It was an important race for me coming off a bad race in Japan. I needed to do better here. What makes this a nice race is the way we are hosted in this small community. This is a big race for them. I didn’t know the who was going to be running and it was a big surprise to find such a strong field. I hadn’t been focusing for such a competitive race. But I guess the way the race went I was satisfied with fourth place. It was close until the end. That showed me that the race in Japan was just a matter of jet lag and a long trip. The race in Castel Buono gave me renewed confidence to keep training and focus. The race is run in loops so it is like running on the track. The crowd is great. Everyone took turns taking the lead. The winner, Benson Barus, came straight from Kenya the day before to win the for third year in a row, proving to us all he was the best that day. I want to thank everyone in Italy for their hospitality. Falmouth The dream of the organizers and the crowds was that an American would win. I feel a little disappointed that I couldn’t do it. I feel good about the way that I ran. I don’t feel confident in my finishing kick-it is not what it was in past years when I was fresh, it is totally different. The marathon training keeps one from having that finishing speed. I think that if I concentrated on shorter races I could recapture that finishing kick, but that’s not my focus anymore. We stayed as a group for a long time, then Ramala made a move with a half mile to go. We followed him. Koskei was the fastest that day and won the race. He has had a great season, winning many races. He has the rhythm and speed to win a race down to the wire. These were the exact same results from two years ago, third overall and first American, except in 2000 it was my first time as first American. That was followed by the American marathon record in Chicago, so maybe this is a good omen. Our host family here in Falmouth has been great to us the last 4 or 5 trips here. We went fishing after the race. Sandra caught a shark. We caught two scrod and two flounder. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a camera. The Altitude Room As some of you know, Sandra and I have been living at high altitude here in Ossining, New York. At first we had installed an altitude tent, but that proved too small and uncomfortable. It barely fit a mattress and the equipment. So we had the room sealed and the oxygen level now simulates about 3000 meters. I have been staying in the room for about 10 hours a day for the past four weeks. The idea is that living at high altitude while training at sea level would be better than training and living at high altitude. The noise of the machine is a little disturbing, especially for sleeping. So far the benefits I’ve noticed is that I am recovering quicker from my workouts and that I am stronger in training. We haven’t seen any changes in blood values that we have been told to expect. I will continue at high altitude until about a week before Chicago. Usually, when I travel to Albuquerque I come back more than a week before a race, so I will do the same. It is all an experiment. We’ll see… Khalid
talked
about
his
visit
to
Japan In the race, for 5K I stayed with the leaders. But the pace felt too fast for me, even though it was a reasonable pace-14:27. I’m sure a lot of people got worried about my physical condition, I got lots of calls and emails. But don’t worry. It was just the day. It was pouring rain, but I’ve run like that before. It was very disappointing because the race is broadcast all over Japan and I would have liked to do better. Next we will go to Italy for an 11K race I have won before, four years ago. Two weeks later is the Falmouth Road Race. It will be my seventh time there and my last time to get some speed in before a half marathon or 20K in September, then Chicago for the marathon. I’ve been first there twice, second once and third once, so I will be shooting for fourth. After Japan, that will be an improvement. Actually, I would like to win. It brings a lot of confidence to win and you realize your training is going well. I will put a lot of solid training in between Falmouth and that next race. I would have liked to do Beach to Beacon, but I didn’t want to lose more training. We have a great time there, it is a great race and I’m sure I’ll go back. |
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