Pre w800

[Half Miler]

Was anyone else disappointed my the "passive" races of the American's (except for Chanelle Price. They all want to sit back, and go through in 60.

I wish that Price would trying becoming a track runner rather than a time-trialist. She could easily have done 2:00.x if she did not go out so hard.

This is a good debate, and one that I've had frequently (back in the day) with myself and my coaches. I really think it depends on the individual athlete. Some runners do better with a fast first lap; others need to keep it more even paced. I'm not convinced that either way is best for all half milers.

[Marlow]

This is a good debate, and one that I've had frequently (back in the day) with myself and my coaches. I really think it depends on the individual athlete. Some runners do better with a fast first lap; others need to keep it more even paced. I'm not convinced that either way is best for all half milers.

I agree - despite her callow youth, I think she knows what's best for her and executes it well. I love her tactic, cuz it not only puts pressure on the others, but it's excellent anaerobic training for her system to run at such a high level the whole way. She'll be the one most used to pushing from the get-go at the Trials. I don't (yet) expect her to make the team, but she sure is ahead of the curve for her post-HS career. She might even be able to 'go pro' after this year, but this is one case where I would like to see her mature in the collegiate system first, although who knows what the short- and long-term future has in store for her.

[Bruce Kritzler]

Alysia Johnson, CAL, likes to lead from the gun, so the Trials should be interesting (and fast)!

[nevetsllim]

Isn't Schmidt usually a front-runner too?

[26mi235]

We (and probably she) have no idea what Price would be like in a high-level race where she did not go out super fast -- she has never ever done that. Why? I do not think that her tender age (with a non-trivial amount of experience, I will grant, but always with the same strategy) she knows enough about her capabilities. I would not be surprised if every second faster than 59 that Price goes out she costs herself 0.5 seconds in total time, although that might be an over-estimate (but if she was not having to break the wind at 16mph for so long (i.e., if she drafted), it might be correct).

Rowbury did run 2:02 earlier this spring.

The race did not go out that slowly, with Price racing after the rabbit and leaving a gap to everyone else. I am not sure what Price's splits are, but they might be 28/29/30/34.5, which is a lot of slowing down at the end. Maybe she is setting up to confuse her opponents for the Trials where she will run differently and they will not know what she can do.

Also, I cannot run the video because it requires installing MS's Silverlight; I cannot do that at work and am reticent to do that at home as well, as MS has been messing up my computer and I cannot now use the some of the software that came with it because they auto-update things that then require getting additional permission from them in an unacceptable manner (one that, if anything goes wrong, can result in you essentially losing our computer and it happens even to MS Board members).

[Half Miler]

I would not be surprised if every second faster than 59 that Price goes out she costs herself 0.5 seconds in total time

By this formula, then, Earl Jones would have run a few 1:41s had he gone out more slowly.