Author: Marius

year), Mark Carroll (who beat me in Oslo), Said El Wardi (13.04) and Driss El Himer of France….so I knew my only shot was to get through on time. The top 5 got through automatic, plus the top five best times in the heats (two of them/15 total to Final).

The tactics was to go out at a steady pace, and lead the field. So I did, going out hard and running from the front. I got company with Mark Carroll after about three laps, and we alternated laps for a while (he told me when he came up to me “Bakken, lets go together”). That helped alot. I passed the 2000 meter on the 13.20 pace we had planned the night before, leading. But I could feel the altitude (668 meters/2000 feet), to my surprise. The other runners said the same after the race – it was really hard to breath even that “low”. Appearantly when Brendan Foster, GB was on his top, he came to this track in 1978 after running abour 27.30 at sea level and did 28.13 up here….came down again and did 27.30 in Prague…

The field caught up with me at around 2500 meters and at 3700 meters, the field with Sammy Kipketer passed me. So I just had to stay in there. I was ninth with one lap to go, and passed a Spanish runner at the line and El Wardi with 300 meter to go. The time of 13.32 was fast enough to go through – so all as planned. It was a HARD race, and extremely hard to stay in front and get the pace going. But I am glad I did it. It paid off and now I am in Fridays Final together with only 3 other non-Africans by birth. I think the altitude took a couple of the other Europeans down. Adam Goucher looked really strong in the second heat and will have a good shot in the Final. He has the advantage of living at altitude in Boulder.

I have four days to rest now. And I will need it – four or five times during the race I had to pull myself together to stay in there. But luckily something happened that challenged me all the times that came.

So all well from Edmonton 🙂

Marius

plus the five best times overall will go through. A total of 15 in the final….

My shot to advance is to get through on time. It will be really tough, and I both have to be running my best and be lucky. I am well aware of this, and will run as hard as I can. Then I will have four days until the final on Friday, so plenty of time to rest.

Well, people. All fingers crossed Monday at 09.35 Canada time/17.35 Norwegian time. I need all good thoughts I can get,

Marius

Marroccons. The Ethiopian 5000 meter runners were doing 400s in 57-58 with really long recoveries, the Kenyans were doing 300s in 44-46 also with long recoveries. While Haile Gebreselassie was doing 100 meter sprints with his group. Rumours in the Athletes Village say that he is in really good shape after the operation he had in November and has been training almost fully since January. But I am not sure. Both Frank and I thought he did not look as sharp as before (he is a 12.39/26.22 man…) – but more like last year when he won in Sydney (and did not look as smooth as usual…but still won :))) ). I think it will be a great race. Also, it will be fun to see how Abderrahim Goumri will do. The Maroccon athlete is still a member of BUL in Oslo, and ran the Holmenkollstafett this spring. I know him well (he used to stay in Norway over the whole summer and fall to train), and I talked with him yesterday. He is ranked 4th with his 27.26 in the 10000 meters.

You see so many well trained athletes here, it is unbelievable. Strong, exlosive, trained bodies just ready to go out there. It just shows that nothing comes easy. Talent is not running fast without training, it is running faster with training.

I am still feeling fine. I am looking forward to racing. With one World Champ down (in 99) and one Olympics, I feel much more relaxed in this atmosphere. I know when to focus, when to relax and what to do in training. All the little details that can easily be forgotten about the first time you are in this kind of a Championship to compete. Until now all has been smooth – Frank has taken care of things I need, and even run most of the easy workouts with me to keep me in company (poor guy, he almost died after the second session with me today…in 30 degrees C and gradually getting faster 🙂 ) Also, the organization here is EXCELLENT. No problems at all with anything.

All well from the “camp” – three days to go,

Marius

atmosphere is really great. Almost all the athletes at the same place, and most of them professional athetes from all over the world. It is so laid back – people are really friendly eachother.

My body feels fine after my first sessions here. The training stadium we train at (there are three of them..), is only 10 minutes away and from there on you can go out and run on the endless cinder paths in the park system around Edmonton. Once you get close to such an important event, it is good to get away from all the stress and just run through some quiet areas and you got plenty of those here. I also went to see the main Stadium, the Commonwealth Clarke. It was big, with room for over 50 000 people.

4 days until the prelims. I hope and think I am ready 🙂

Marius

around me, but no stress around running, as most of them are retired York runners.

I will leave from here on Wednesday and fly into Edmonton. Then I will have five days there before the prelims (heats). That should be enough to relax and get used to the atmosphere and get into the racing mind needed for a good performance. Right no it seems so far away – but as soon as I step into the racing focus a few days before I will be ready.

Training has been going well lately. I am still treating my groin muscle injury the best I can, and it should not be bothering me. I just have to be careful and I am. I had some floating repeats at my anerobic treshold (AT) yesterday, and I could feel the altitude training still in my body. Just like I want it. Then it will start to get lighter and lighter all the way until the racing period. At least that is the plan 🙂

All well from Chicago,

Marius

(that means sleeping alot and only easy jogging for workouts) but now I am well into the final preparations. Because I started racing so late this year, I still feel fresh and ready. Not like I usually feel, when I compete from late April and feel tired and out of it in August.

I see that the teams for different nations is getting ready now. The Kenyans and Ethopians will be strong this year ! First of all, they (for once) managed to qualify their best athletes….second, they are using altitude camps before the Championships. That makes them even better then what we see in most competitions. My guess is that the Africans are ready to kick back at the Arabs (Marrocco/Algeria/ex-Maroccons), by getting some more structure into the preparations. It will be interesting to see.

Really not much new from here. Some small tests will come in the next few days. Will give me a good indication on where I am at,

From Chicago, Marius

(he has 100 high school guys out for their volentary summer cross country program at the age of 73). It was great to see him again and he seemed very happy :)))) He had tried to call me for some time, after he realized that I was in the US. But I was not suppose to go to Chicago….I decided that just a few days ago. The problem was that Salt Lake at 1240 meters altitude might have been just a little bit too high for “sea level” preparations. So we needed somewhere else at sea level. And what better place then Chicago. Where I know the people ( I stay with the same family as I lived with in 1995), have lots of friends, got my old coach, and all familar places to run. Plus really close to O Hare airport to fly out to Edmunton.

Mr. Newton was doing really well. He was himself like always. Really excited, and enjoying what he was doing. I have so much respect for that man. He has coached since 1963 ( I think) at York, and have had an average of 100 guys out to run each fall….and he makes each and every one of them feel like “a million dollars” (quote 😉 ) And runners always come back to see him and talk about him. That goes for the really good runners like Donald Sage 5th at the NCAA 1500 m. for Stanford this year with a 3.39 as a freshman (he was there today actually, and seemed to be doing well – we had a nice talk), and the nr. 99 on the team. When you talk to Mr.Newton he makes you feel like the most important person in the world. It is good to have those people around you – especially now that I am about to get ready for the World Champs !

In 1984 Sebastian Coe went to Chicago in the summer to prepare and taper for the L.A. Olympics. He lived with Mr. Newton and Mr. Newton followed up all his workouts. It is the only time Mr. Peter Coe (dad and coach) has ever let his son prepare for something without him. But like Mr. Coe told me himself : “The only person that could give Seb the mental strength needed at that time was Joe (Newton). Seb needed to get away from England, all the uncertainties and doubt. Joe was the right man.” I can see why. Just the little talk I had with the man this morning, made my training today super light this evening 🙂

So all well from Chicago (Elmhurst). I will stay here for at least another week to train well and prepare myself.

Marius

extremely tough there ! This year, we do not have so many athletes from 12.55 and down (fastest so far is 12.58), but there is a great depth around 13 minutes. In addition to that, many athletes have prepared quietly for the Worlds (like the Ethiopians) I have do run extremely well do advance there….I not only have Africans, but also ex-Africans now running for European nations plus strong athletes like Mark Carroll and Adam Goucher (recently running low 7.30s in the 3000 meters) to struggle with. I would say at least 10-12 Africans in the final. What a challenge to get there ! 🙂 I am looking forward to it, because I know I have to be at my best. That is a part of the game and what I am striving for.

Frank is back in Norway now for a while. But he will be in the US soon, after getting some things done in Norway. Poor guy, back and forth over the Atlantic 🙂

I will run my last couple of hard sessions at 3000 meters altitude tomorrow. My body is getting ready for some rest now, I have trained very hard for the last week after Bislett. I am breaking my body down, to build a new peak for Edmunton. Hopefully it will work like planned.

All well from Utah,

Marius

and they were right below the lactate treshold like I expected. It is nice to know that you can hit that right on, even at that kind of an altitude.

Tomorrow I will just run easy to recover. I feel strong and in shape up here, but at the same time balance is important this time a year. Mistakes cannot be done in the racing season.

The world champs is only a few weeks away. I feel ready to race there, but at the same time it will be extremely hard. Kenya, Ethiopia and Marrocco all have three great athletes on the team, and then you have Algerians and ex-Marroccons (like Mouhrit). So not much room for others in a finale. But we will see. I will prepare and do my best. That is for sure.

All well from the US

Marius

drive up to 3000 meters (where we do most of the work) and down to 1700 meters (where we do some track work)

Today I did a series of 8×1800 meter runs uphill with short recoveries…..Frank put me on the workout, and it was brutal. On the warmup down to the startingpoint, I passed two signs saying : “Attention : Strenous uphill return” 🙂 And it sure was. Going from 1900 meters up to 2500 meters is no fun. But it will pay off. I know it, and Frank knows it.

Now I am heading up to 3000 meters for a set of longer repeats – at the flat areas up there. It is high, but still not bad since I am used to altitude training.

We have decided that this coming week will be a “full focus one”. If I get through this time of “boot camp” the endurance will last for the rest of the season, and I can continue to run fast and taper the training. So I am just closing my eyes and doing the hard work it takes. 2-3 sessions a day and all the rest I can get.

Interestingly, we met Jim Stray-Gundersen here today. He is an expert in altitude training (“high-low” studies) and is employed by the Olympiatopp in Norway. So he showed us some even better places to run, and the practical details around. He is on holiday with his family, and we ran into his wife when she was out jogging.

Time to hit the training site now – on the edge of the mountainsides looking over Utah.

All well from Deer Valley !

Marius