I’m torn. I grew up in Wisconsin and now live in Minnesota. Being bordering states, there can be quite a rivalry at times; Packers/Vikings, Badgers/Gophers, Leinie’s/Grain Belt, etc.
While I try to stick with my current Minnesotan roots, sometimes it’s hard not to cheer for both sides. So when former Badger Matt Tegenkamp ran 13:04.90 for 5K yesterday, I couldn’t help but get excited. When you’re already running 13:25 and you’re able to drop your PR by 21 seconds over the course of the season, it’s pretty amazing. Tegenkamp’s post-race thoughts can be found here.
Yesterday’s race moves him into 4th on the all-time U.S. list;
5000 METERS
12:58.21 Bob Kennedy 1996
12:59.29 Bernard Lagat 2005
13:01.15 Sydney Maree 1985
13:04.90 Matt Tegenkamp 2006
13:10.00 Adam Goucher 2006
13:10.86 Alan Webb 2005
13:11.77 Tim Broe 2005
13:11.77 Meb Keflezighi 2000
13:11.93 Alberto Salazar 1982
13:12.91 Matt Centrowitz 1982
13:13.32 Abdi Abdirahman 2005
13:13.49 Bruce Bickford 1985
13:14.80 Bill McChesney 1982
13:15.06 Marty Liquori 1977
13:15.33 Ian Dobson 2005
13:15.44 Doug Padilla 1985
13:16.02 Dan Browne 2004
13:16.03 Ryan Hall 2005
13:16.61 Dathan Ritzenhein 2006
13:18.50 Nick Rogers 2000
Teg’s run must have inspired me because I had a great group workout last night. It was fairly similar to last week’s workout; 25 minutes of hill repeats and 3 x 1 “mile” repeats. We did change the hill portion up a little, so instead of doing 3 hills in 25 minutes, we ran 2 longer hills.
I will admit I took it a little easier on the hills this week, but not much. Last week my “mile” repeats averaged 6:07. This week’s weather was warmer, yet I still ran 6:04, 5:59, 5:59. Again, I felt controlled the whole time. I kept telling myself to back-off and just run relaxed and I still kept hitting 90 seconds per lap. It was, by far, the best I’ve felt since before my injury.
Speaking of which, I gave a quick update in a comment the other day, but I thought I’d post something here too. My leg is feeling fine. It’s not bothering me at all. I’ve put that injury behind me and am on to my next one. It’s amazing how much time slows down when you’re injured and you think you’re never going to get healthy. But you do eventually heal and before you know it you’re training as if nothing ever happened.
Quote of the day;
“I realized that I didn't come here to puss out and not give a real effort, so I made the decision that no matter what the pace was, I was not letting the lead pace get away from me.” – Matt Tegenkamp
7 comments:
Dude if your born in Wisconsin you better never and I mean never root for the Vikings over the Packers.
I mean I can understand if you attend Minnesota, rooting for the Gophers. But not the Packers. :)
I was actually born in Michigan - just to confuse things even more.
Ten of those times in the top twenty were set in this Olympiad (2004-2006.) Half of 'em. That's actually pretty impressive. Of course, the Kenyan list probably turns over completely every decade, so they don't have *any* times from the 1980s left... but still, it's obvious that it's not as though nobody's running fast.
See! I knew it!! Parents DO have favorites!!! HOW?!
damn zeke..how do you come of being injured to ramping up so quickly to running 6 flats!?! Nice.
Hey- i finally picked up a copy of "running with the buffaloes"- that is a great read...I can't believe how those guys train...they always seem to be right on the verge of injury. I guess you need to push the limits at that level
Maybe I'm just the most cynical person around, but the first thought that springs into my mind when seeing such an improvement is EPO.
Not that I know anything about Matt Tegenkamp. It's just my way of thinking.
Parker, yeah it's great to see some recent times on the list. I would be curious to see how often the Kenyan list turns over.
RR, I don't want to call her my favorite. How about less-emotional?
Mike, sometimes you just gotta crank it up. Throw that 10% "rule" right out the window. While 6s are nice, maybe I should be running 5:40s. Who knows? It's all relative.
Thomas, normally I'm with you and I think all world class athletes (not just runners) are juiced. However, as Tegenkamp pointed out in another article, he was primed to run 13:20 a couple of years ago, but got hurt. Had that not happened, his progression would not seem so out-of-line.
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