Run to Win

Photo by Jonas WittDespite a bout of tendonitis earlier this year, Asafa Powell has set a new 100 meter world record this weekend in Rieti, Italy.

He won his heat in 9.74 seconds with a 1.7 m/s tailwind, which falls inside of the guidelines set by the IAAF, Track & Field’s international governing body.

“I was nervous in Osaka because I did not compete much this season (before the champs). I forgot how I should have run in the last 40m of a race.

“I will not say today was a revenge after Osaka. There the expectations were too high. I thought too much about the World record, but I have have done a lot of work in the last two weeks. I learnt again to run from the start and to be more relaxed.”

I am happy to see that my prediction on May 30^th this year came true and that he did set a new record this season.

(Sources: IAAF - BBC - ESPN)

This week last year I was still on my honeymoon, so half of the week was spent wrapping up my shoe care tips that I had written before I left. I did discuss when it is appropriate to eat a midnight snack, though.

• The second half of my shoe maintenance series continued with a discussion on rotating your shoes, which can make it necessary to label your shoes. I suggested that you seek help when first choosing shoes, offered some advice on making sure your shoes fit when you purchase them, and recommended that when you find shoes that you like, stick with them! I described the differences between the eight categories of running shoes and suggested the circumstances under which you might want to replace the insoles of your shoes. The series ended after I got home from my honeymoon with a summary of all of the articles that I had published over the previous week.
• In running news, Asafa Powell equaled his own 100m world record (again). I was right about Justin Gatlin losing his record, but I was wrong when I thought that Asafa Powell was going to manage to run under 9.77 seconds. Nobody has managed to do that yet.
• I reviewed a movie called The Long Run, which is about a coach that tries to live vicariously through his athletes. The movie centers around the Comrades ultra marathon in South Africa.
• Two years ago this week, I predicted the record chase between Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin. The Marathon at the World Championships in Helsinki was also run as the meet wrapped up.

This week last year, just like this week this year, involved a lot of preparation for and the running of the Beach to Beacon 10k. At least there was not nearly as many doping scandals this week last year as there were two years ago.

• The Beach to Beacon was won by Tom Nyariki last year, edging out Gilbert Okari, who had won for the three years previously. I did get out of my rut of running the exact same times on the same courses two years running, though.
• After the race, I (re)learned an important lesson about how important it is to hydrate yourself after a race as well as before and during the race.
• I went into quite a bit of detail after being asked, “What is a taper?” I also don’t believe that I have sufficiently revisited the topic and will need to get around to writing more about how to decide what sort of taper is appropriate…
• I reviewed the movie Running on the Sun, about the Badwater ultramarathon. It’s a good watch if you have some spare time. Ultramarathoners are an interesting crowd, which I am getting to learn a little more about now that I am associating with a few of them (and may soon join them.)
• With Justin Gatlin out of the sport for another year, I still wonder if we will ever see two athletes under 9.77 in the same 100m race.
• Two years ago, there were a lot of doping scandals. In business news, Adidas announced that they were going to purchase Reebok.

World record holder Asafa Powell won the 100 meters Tuesday with the fastest sprint in the world this year. Powell led from start to finish to clock 9.97 seconds in his season-opening return from a bout with knee tendinitis at the Artur Takac Memorial meet.

It is good to see that he is back on his feet and has managed to avoid gaining any rust. Having had tendonitis in my knee before, I can sympathize with what he had to go through. Hopefully the tendonitis was not very bad, because he has bounced back quickly and is pretty close to top form. We may even see a new record out of him later in the season.

(Source: ESPN)

I had tendonitis in my knee 7 years ago. I also had a stress fracture. It was no fun, and I hope to avoid that ever happening again.

Unfortunately, it is not the most uncommon injury. Asafa Powell, who is currently the world record holder at 100 meters (pending Justin Gatlin’s appeal regarding steroid use), is out for the early season races this year. He has run 9.77 seconds a few times now, but he may not be able to race for another month or two. He is training at a low intensity, though.

“To put a time frame on it, it’s very difficult,” Asafa’s manager Paul Doyle said on Wednesday. “It could be in a matter of a week, or it could take five weeks.”

(Source: Asafa Powell News)

This week last year concentrated on the wrapping up of the World Championships in Helsinki.

• The World Championships in Helsinki wrapped up, ending with the Marathon. The first cheater was also caught this week last year: Neelam Jaswant Singh.
• I predicted the record chase between Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin. Wilson Kipketer announced his retirement.
• In an attempt to force Antonio Gates to sign a contract, the San Diego Chargers suspended him for the season opener.

There were also a few other small football and running related news items, but nothing worth reporting on.

Asafa Powell has run 100 meters in 9.77 seconds for the third time, this time in Zurich at the Weltklasse Golden League meet earlier today.

“It felt good out there,” said Powell, who led from start to finish, with American Tyson Gay finishing second in a personal best of 9.84. [...] His latest record run came despite an arduous trip from Jamaica, which took three days because of disruptions caused by the alleged terror plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights from London.

He is coming close to setting a new world record. He is consistently matching his current record, which only one other person has managed to run so far. Justin Gatlin broke the record on May 12 in 9.76, but his time was raised by a second after it was discovered that there had been a rounding error. Now, Gatlin stands to lose his record due to doping charges, in which case Asafa Powell will sit alone at the top again.

I expect that we will see a new record by the end of this year. Asafa Powell is absolutely dominating the distance right now. Hopefully he will set a new record and can own it by himself, so that people can mention his feat (which he has owned for over a year now) without bringing Gatlin into the conversation.

(Source: BBC News)

Justin Gatlin and Asafa Powell have dominated the 100 meter sprint for the past few years. Asafa Powell set the bar at 9.77 seconds in June of 2005. Justin Gatlin broke that record in 9.76 on May 12, 2006, only to later be corrected and to have his time adjusted to a record-tying 9.77 seconds. The two were supposed to race each other on June 11^th, but Justin Gatlin has been held up by a knee injury for the last few months. Asafa Powell equaled his 9.77 second performance from 2005 during the meet.

I have been looking forward to seeing a race between the two. I think that if both were at the top of their form, we would see them both go under 9.77 (weather permitting). However, this may not happen now.
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