Ryan Hall's Blog, page 376

Photos: Scenes From The NYC Marathon Expo

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Welcome to the excitement and madness of the New York City Marathon race expo.

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Security is tight getting into the expo. ID checks are mandatory.

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The excitement of getting the NYC race bib.

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The official shirt of the New York City Marathon (men's colors).

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These two guys, Saville and Enrique, hail from the Dominican Republic.

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Some of the official NYC Marathon gear from ASICS.

2013 New York City Marathon Expo

The popular race-day gloves, which have NYC's five borough names written on the fingers, are available in several colors this year.

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The official New York City Marathon edition of ASICS GEL-Kayano 20 in women's colors.

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Runners check out shoes in the ASICS retail store inside the expo.

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The official mascot of the New York City Marathon.

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Rubber pace bracelets with 26 calculated mile splits.

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PowerBar booth staffers fill sample trays non-stop for 10 hours on Friday and Saturday.

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Runners stock up on PowerBar products.

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New York City Marathon hair bands.

2013 New York City Marathon Expo

Runner Christmas tree ornaments.

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Runners relax while testing out Recovery Boots.

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Author Liz Robbins signs a copy of her book about the New York City Marathon.

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Pace team bibs and wristbands for runners who want to keep up with a particular pace group.

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New compression sock styles from Zensah.

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A runner gets some work from The Stick at the expo.

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New Balance hired graffiti artists to custom spray paint T-shirts.

The post Photos: Scenes From The NYC Marathon Expo appeared first on Competitor Running.

Huddle, Willis Capture Dash 5K Titles

Nick Willis breaks the tape ahead of Sam Chelanga at this morning's NYRR 5K. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Course-record finishes light up the Big Apple streets on the day before the New York City Marathon.

NEW YORK — A miler’s kick does the trick.

Such was the case for New Zealand Olympic 1,500m silver medalist Nick Willis on Saturday morning’s NYRR Dash To The Finish Line 5K, which started in front of the United Nations headquarters and finished in Central Park under the traditional New York City Marathon finish line. The 30-year-old, who lives and trains in Ann Arbor, Mich., passed Sam Chelanga just meters before the tape to win in 13 minutes, 46 seconds — breaking the course record of 13:53 by Chris Thompson of Great Britain. Chelanga held on for second, less than a second back, while Colorado’s Aaron Braun took third in 13:49.

MORE: 2013 New York City Marathon Coverage

“We haven’t been doing specific training for this race,” said Willis, who won the Fifth Avenue Mile here in September. “It was a perfect pace and it was hard the whole way. Sam made a move with a mile to go when we entered Central Park and started hitting some of the rolling hills. At the end, I thought Sam was going to respond, and he did a little bit, but thankfully for me I was able to keep the momentum going which was a bit of a surprise to him and he wasn’t able to get his momentum in time to catch the move.”

A large pack of about 10, which also included David Torrence (4th, 13:54), Alistair Cragg (5th, 13:56) and Lopez Lomong (6th, 13:58), among others, remained together through about the 2-mile mark before the group began to separate heading into Central Park. With a mile to go, Chelanga, who ran a personal best 1:01:04 last month at the B.A.A. Half Marathon, made his way to the front, forcing the pace over the rolling hills in an effort to open a gap on the rest of the field.

“I just knew one thing: when you get to the park, it’s going to be hilly,” Chelanga explained. “I know that I don’t have a kick so I have to make these guys tired up those hills and it worked until the last 10 meters and this guy [Willis] passed me.”

Willis, who was battling with Braun and Torrence for position throughout the final mile, couldn’t respond to Chelanga’s hard surge with three quarters of a mile to go, but began to gain momentum with around 350 meters left.

“I felt really fast,” Willis said of his finish. “We’ve been doing a lot of sprint training over hills, which we do about 95 percent of the year, and I was confident that I had something left coming over the final rise before the finish line.”

In the elite women’s race, which started a few minutes before the men, Shalane Flanagan, Molly Huddle and Emily Infeld separated themselves from the rest of the group with a 4:55 opening mile. At 2 miles (9:54), all three women were still together, with Sally Kipyego (4th, 15:49), Kim Conley (6th, 15:55) and Julia Bleasdale (5th, 15:50) chasing a few meters behind.

The 32-year-old Flanagan, who is just resuming her training after taking some downtime following the summer track season, began to fade in the final mile as Huddle, who won the U.S. 5K road championship in September, and Infeld, runner up at last month’s Tufts 10K For Women, battled back and forth in Central Park. With around 300 meters to go Huddle found another gear and sprinted toward the finish, breaking the tape in 15:27 and shattering Sara Hall’s course record of 15:56. Infeld crossed in second less than a second later, while Flanagan held on for third in 15:40.

“I didn’t want to kick until I could see the finish,” said Huddle, 29, the U.S. record holder for 5,000m (14:44.76). “It was a pretty painful pace for me and I just waited to have that [the finish] in my sight before I used what I had left.”

Infeld, who trains with Flanagan under coach Jerry Schumacher in Portland, Ore., tried to cover Huddle’s move, but the 23-year-old couldn’t respond.

“Molly made a surge toward the end and I tried to go with her but I definitely crumbled,” Infeld said. “She had a really good kick.”

 

The post Huddle, Willis Capture Dash 5K Titles appeared first on Competitor Running.

Williams, Suver Share Same Goals For New York City Marathon

Alisha Williams, left, and Mattie Suver, right, speak to the media at Friday's press conference. Photo: Mario Fraioli | Competitor.com

The training partners from Colorado plan to work together as long as possible. 

(c) 2013 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission. 

NEW YORK — Sharing the same goals, training mentality, and confidence, Americans Alisha Williams and Mattie Suver seem poised entering Sunday’s ING New York City Marathon. The Colorado-based athletes have traveled east ready to compete on the roads of the Big Apple as one, hoping to achieve success together.

On the marathon’s start line in Staten Island, Williams and Suver will have at least one advantage over the competition: knowing they have each other. Right now, the plan for both is to work alongside one another.

RELATED — NYC, Take 2: Interview With Alisha Williams

“I would love that, if Mattie and I work together. I think that would be comforting having your training partner and friend out there, and it would make it a great experience for us,” said Williams, with Suver nodding in agreement. “I think you do have that special bond when your all out there running a marathon together. It would be great to run together.”

Speaking to the media less than 48 hours before the race, Suver and Williams seemed excited and confident. In a way, Sunday’s race will be little different from the past few months spent training together under Scott Simmons as part of the American Distance Project in Colorado Springs.

“It’s encouraging because we know we’re well prepared. And so to have your teammate up there with you and your both working hard together, I think it’s just exciting and motivating,” said Williams.

“You feed off each other’s energy,” added Suver. “If one of us is starting to feel a little tired, the other one takes the toll for a little while. You can kind of trade off that way and it feels like you’re working together. I think that’s maybe where the excitement comes from.”

RELATED: Top-5 U.S. Women To Watch At NYC Marathon

On Sunday, Suver expects to lower her marathon personal best by a large margin, possibly even 15 minutes. In 2012 she ran the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon just because she had qualified, finishing 123rd in 2:50:23, with no special preparation.

“I’m hoping to go under 2:35,” said Suver. “We’ve been hitting all our workouts right around that pace. Compared to my training before the Olympic Trials, I can’t even compare it. I was on my own and had no idea what to do, I was just doing the same thing I did for the half-marathon or 10K.”

Unlike before the Olympic Trials, Suver now has someone to work with: an experienced Williams, whose personal best stands at 2:34:58. Williams’s time goal for Sunday is to run low 2:30′s, the same as Suver’s.

Both Williams and Suver enjoy racing in the Empire State, and have seen success here before. This year alone, Suver was the first American (fourth overall) at the Oakley NYRR Mini 10K in 33:11, then first at the Great Cow Harbor 10K on Long Island in September. Williams was sixth at the Great Cow Harbor 10K, the eighth straight year she has finished in the top ten.

“I’m hoping to keep the streak alive and keep running well in New York,” said Suver with a smile.

For Williams, racing the ING New York City Marathon was two years in the making. Last year, she was set to run before the race was cancelled due to Super Storm Sandy. Instead, she ran the California International Marathon one month later in a personal best 2:34:58, despite heavy rain.

“You can feel the excitement in the air,” said Williams. “How many times do you get the opportunity to have a 26.2 trek through one of the best cities in the world?”

This is an opportunity both will share together.

The post Williams, Suver Share Same Goals For New York City Marathon appeared first on Competitor Running.

Photos: New York City Marathon Opening Ceremonies

Central Park was alive with energy on Friday night!

Thousands of runners, their families, fans and supporters flocked to Central Park on Friday night for the opening ceremonies of the New York City Marathon. Check out these photos of the event from our partners at PhotoRun.net.

MORE: 2013 New York City Marathon Coverage

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Fireworks were a big part of the opening ceremony at Central Park.

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Commentators Tim Hutchins and Carrie Tollefson.

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Reigning Olympic and world champion Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda.

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Reigning champions Firehiwot Dado and Geoffrey Mutai "break" the finisher's tape.

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Alexi Pappas.

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NYRR CEO Mary Wittenberg.

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NYRR CEO Mary Wittenberg speaks to the crowd.

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The post Photos: New York City Marathon Opening Ceremonies appeared first on Competitor Running.

The Extra 1%

Yesterday as Sara and I were finishing up a nice relaxing summer dinner with her family we were releazing that we still had some auxiliary training to finish up even though it had already been a long day of training. We joked about the endless pursuit of the many, many little things we do to try and get that little 1% improvement that makes all the difference for a professional runner. Earlier in the day I had already ran 25 miles and driven a couple of hours from Stanford to Santa Rosa so I didn't feel like going back to training. Doing post dinner training is something I generally try and avoid at all cost. I like to have dinner mark the end of my running day when I just relax and enjoy socializing for the rest of the day, but sometimes my crazy day doesn't allow that to be possible.

Last night made me realize how tricky it can be to go after that last 1% improvement. It's tricky because a lot of energy goes into doing all the stretching, strength work, self massage, icing, ect to try and get that extra 1%, which can be mentally draining at times and can lead to burnout if your not careful. The key is always balance and we are always trying to find a way to balance how much energy we have to spend and how to best spend it. We could train all day long if we wanted to, but I don't think that would be wise or that it would lead to improvement. I actually think being a more balanced person makes a healthier, happier, and thus faster person. The question I try and ask myself when I consider whether or not to train more is what is my body craving and what is my body ready to absorb? Sometimes pushing harder is not the answer. It takes self control, confidence, and intuition to know when to train and when to rest, but when in question error on the side of being over rested.

The Training Season

The last week I went on a tweeting drought. All the excitement from being on the road completely died and life became wonderfully simple again. Not much to tweet about. I ate, slept, trained, got my usual doses of therapy, and shared some long meals and teas with friends and family. It was quite a drastic shift from the past three months that have been filled with travel, training and racing. It's always a change when this time of year rolls around. It's a welcomed change from the fast paced life that enables me to train and be fully prepared for the challenge of running a marathon.

I am thankful that there are different seasons in life and training. I have learned to embrace each season realizing how important it is to allow the body, mind and spirit to fully cycle through each. My current season of marathon training is my favorite. I love the simple life of training and going after a goal with everything I have.

My last week of training included one 26 mile day, one 24 mile day, and one 0 mile day. The theme of my training is to make the hard days long and hard and to make the easy days short and very light. I usually slow down anyone I run with on the easy days.

This past week I had the pleasure of training with my little brother Chad. He spent the week with us here in Flagstaff before returning to Riverside to begin his 5th year at UCR. I must say I was impressed with his fitness level. We were able to trade off sharing the pacing duties for our workouts, which was great practice for me in preparation for Chicago, which will be paced for 20 miles or so. Since I haven't run a paced race since 2008 I need to spend a little bit of time learning to settle and run behind people. I was bummed when Chad had to leave yesterday, but I am hoping that its just a taste of what the future holds.

Chicago…The Joy of Running for a Charity

This past week I landed in Chicago upon my arrival back from a 3 week European Track Circuit watching Sara compete in Belgium and Switzerland. I was wondering how I would feel being in Chicago considering this was my first time returning since I watched the race last year after pulling out of the race with health issues. Despite being extremely tired and jet lagged I found that my spirits were at an all time high. Being in Chicago announcing my participation in this years version of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon got me very excited for the next 10 week of training and the race that awaits on October 9th.

It was a whirlwind of a trip to Chicago with various appearances during the 48 hours I was in town. It was so hot and humid that I found myself shaking my head in disbelief of the heart it must take for people who live in Chicago to actually train in the summer months.

I feel honored to be invited back to this years race and see it as a great opportunity for me and for all of us who are running. One of my favorite aspects of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon is how much they promote and support charities, including the Hall Steps Foundation. They are well aware of the potential impact that runners can have on issues varying from cancer to poverty by running the marathon and raising support and awareness in the process. At last years race, I was able to take in the celebrations at Charity Village and the thing that was really cool about it was that even the people who were disappointed with there own races still took joy in what they accomplished beyond the 26.2 miles. I didn't see one down face in Charity Village. I experienced it first hand personally. Even though I was disappointed to not be running I was in Charity Village dancing, when the DJ would play the right song, and pouring beverages on my teammates heads after they finished the marathon for the first time. The joy of running for something more than yourself is contagious and totally satisfying, not to mention tremendously motivating in training. I am both excited and honored to take part in a race that realizes that it really is more blessed to give than to receive.

Spread My Ashes Here

"I want my ashes to be spread here," I thought to myself, my heart pounding harder than usual for running so slowly. My hands and forearms were bright red. I was ill equipped for the brisk air at 8,000ft after being forced to make a split decision on what to wear when the tram operator told me the last tram down was in 32 minutes. Seeing that I was planning on running at least 30 minutes for my afternoon run, I quickly striped off my pants and jacket opting for a short sleeve and running shorts. A couple of minutes later I would find there was a reason why, even though it is late July, I am running by patches of snow.

Despite the cold temperatures a huge smile was plastered on my face. There was no one else around except those in the gondola passing by a nearby ridge on the way to one of the many summits in St. Moritz, Switzerland and the huge gopher looking creatures scurrying all around me.

Never have I been in a place that has so captured me as in St. Moritz over the past week. The scenery is indescribable. The mountains are epic with trails winding wherever you would like to go. It seems like with every new run I find myself saying to myself this is my new favorite run of all time. Yesterday afternoon Sara and I took a tram to the top of a different peak and ran 50 minutes along a ridge that was like running on the rim of the world with stunning views the whole way. Afterward, we caught a local bus to a nearby village that had a huge spa with many different mineral baths throughout. After about an hour of soaking I was ready for bed I was so relaxed and warm, but we still had dinner waiting for us at our hotel. For dinner I enjoyed smoked Kangaroo for an appetizer, Kangaroo medallions for a main course, followed by a scoop of nut and mocha ice cream. Its days like this I believe I have the best job in the world.

The training for an elite athlete in St. Moritz is unreal. There are 100s of miles of flat trails if we want to stay flat, even more miles of adventurous single track and mountainous trails, a track, pools, asphalt 5k loops, mineral baths, physio, ect. Today, Sara and I ran on typical sender trail to a nearby glacier that was spectacular. There is not enough time to explore all this mountain has to offer. Tomorrow, Sara and I head to Zurich before catching a flight back to the states. I will miss this place, but Ill be back before I am ashes.

Crossing St. Moritz off the Bucketlist

I've been having lots of flash backs to my days as a track runner over the past week spent in Leuven, Belgium. Everything from the tiny cups of coffee that I have to order 3 or 4 of before a big workout to waiting for hours on end for races to finally roll around. They are good memories that I recall even though I never hit one of those magical European summers that my Stanford teammates would always gloat about when they would hit up the European track circuit and then return to our pre-season cross country camp. I always heard that you just couldn't help but run fast over here. Unfortunately, that was never my experience. All my personal best have been run in the US.

Leuven is a great home base for training and racing. Its ease of access to tracks, trails, and races makes it ideal for a summer European track base camp. For a while there were so many Americans here it felt like a summer running camp. Those were the good ol' days of the legendary Leuven 800 when our coaches/agents all met for a classic 800 meter run for our entertainment (check out flotrack for the video), but since the recent economic turn in years past the numbers of runners in Leuven has decreased significantly.

The only downside of Leuven can be the weather. The first couple of days Sara and I were here it was beautiful, but then it turned to rain which kept us feeling pretty cooped up. Regardless, we enjoyed the sun while it lasted.

As I write now Sara and I are on an 8 hour train to Zurich, where we will stay tonight before heading up to a place that has been on my bucket list for years: St. Moritz. St. Moritz, from what I've seen, is much like the Mammoth Lakes or other resort towns in California that I call home. Its picturesque mountains look stunning. I can't wait to breath in the crisp thin air and hit some trails. Sara and I haven't been in the mountains since we left Flagstaff two weeks prior to the Boston Marathon. We are both itchy to get our mountain fix. There is nowhere else I'd want to be, especially in the summer!

Sara has gotten off to a good start racing in Europe. Getting off the plane and racing is always a bit dicey inside the first week but she got in a solid 1500 and 5,000 meter runs regardless. She will race a 3,000m steeplechase on the 21st in Switzerland. My training is going well after taking a bit of a recovery period this last week. I'm staying healthy, learning, and making progress towards what I am hoping will be an exciting fall. That's all the writing I can do for now. Got to take in these views on this beautiful train ride.

Reflections on Peachtree

Last week, on the 4th of July, I ran in the Peachtree 10k. I love to celebrate our countries Independence Day by running, and apparently so do the other 60,000 runners that competed today. As I write, I am on a plane traveling back to Palo Alto taking some time to think about freedom and why I am thankful for those who have paid a price so I could live in freedom today.

Well, Peachtree race wasn't my best. While there are many factors that I have been considering as I try to piece together my sub par performance I am more concerned with practicing what I preach by taking away the positive aspects of the race (like the fact that I ran my fastest 5k in years over the first downhill portion of the course) forget the negatives (like the fact that I came through 10k much quicker during my first 10k of the Boston Marathon), and learn from my mistakes (like going outside my comfort zone during the first half of the race).

I really enjoy traveling back the same day as my competitions and not just because I get to sleep in my own bed that night but also because it forces me to take sometime to process the race and move on. Over the years I have depended on my coaches to help me process poor races, however, as I have gotten older I am learning to process with others (like my wife or other friends and family) as well as taking some quality time by myself to go over things.

When I look back at a race I look at it first through the lens of a scientist and then through the eyes of an artist. What factors contribute to my performance? What things can I tweak or try out next time out? What good things were reinforced? What felt tired? What workouts do I need to do to be better prepared? How were my thoughts out there? Did I enjoy the race? These are all questions of the scientist.

The artist in me looks back at the race and asks how does this race fit into the larger picture being painted? What things about my performance do I not understand? Did I do a good job of fully expressing me with whatever energy I had to give on the day? What new strokes can I try out next time?

There is always in tension in running between the scientist who wants to have an explanation for everything and the artist who is ok with not understanding all the mysteries of running, knowing that perhaps the next great performance may come from thinking outside the box. I have found that both the scientist and the artist are necessary in becoming a complete runner and processing the good, the bad, and everything in between on race day.