RM: How has your training been leading up to the 25k championships? Is this the BIG race that all of your training has been geared towards or just a stop on the way? Why is that?
BS: My training has been going fairly well. I was in a slump from about January to early March, and although I haven't been hitting any barn-burner workouts, I seem to be coming back a little. This is one of the big races this year. My wife is due with our baby June 2, so racing far away in the next few months will probably be limited.
RM: When training for the 25k, do you train more like a marathoner, more like a 10k runner with some long runs or something different all togther? Why is that? BS: We do marathon style workouts, but with a "go" at the end. We focus on pace, but also add an element of running at a harder level the last mile or two of most workouts. The marathon is all about pace, but in the 25k and lower, you have to train to hurt a little more.
RM: What would have to happen for you to walk away from the 25k championships with a sense of satisfaction or contentment? BS: I would like to run at or close to the time I ran in 2005. I won the US championship that year and went on to run well in Helsinki at the world
championships. So running a good 25k would put me in a good position for
the Olympic Trials.
RM: Why did you choose to come race the 25k championships? BS: The 25k fell on a good date for me, and the longer the distance, the better for me. I attempted to pace the 10k at Hillsdale last week at 4:32 pace and could only hold that for 2 miles. I think (hope) that I am strong right now, just not real fast.
RM: What will be the winning time this year and will an american win the overall race once again, like what happened last year?BS: I think an American will win again this year, since there is a good field of Americans. Ryan Shay is coming off a 28 minute 10k, Cabada is the American Record holder, and there are at least 5 other guys that have a chance of winning, so I think it will be pretty tough. I would say winning time will be in the 1:14's.
Thanks for the great interview Brian! (Interview conducted by Nick Cordes)
