Run to Win

Last year, Tim Montgomery was sentenced to 4 years in prison for his role in a bank fraud scheme. The former Olympian had already had his medals stripped from him, and was convicted of laundering $775,000 through phony checks.

His latest set of woes was set in place by his guilty plea last July to distributing heroin in Virginia. His recent hearing in that case resulted in an additional 5 year prison term once he finishes serving his current 4 year prison term.

I’m not sure what I can add to that story, other than that I hope that he can find something useful to do with his life after nearly a decade in prison. It’s a long fall for a former world record holder, which all began with having to cheat in order to attain that record.

(More Info: ESPN)

This week last year was centered on my preparations for the Boston Marathon.

• I began the week by discussing my taper and race goals, which wound up not being feasible no matter how realistic they may have began as.
• I quickly began to wonder whether the Boston Marathon would be rained out or not. This led to the very relevant question, is it possible to run a PR at a race like Boston? Obviously, that is going to depend on the individual’s level of training and their previous personal best, but this article delved into some of the factors that might make it easier or more difficult to run a good time in the race.
• For a bit of a history lesson, I explained where the name “Heartbreak Hill” came from. It doesn’t actually refer to the difficulty of the hill, because let’s be honest, it isn’t that impressive. The first time that I ran in Boston I didn’t even realize I was on it and had to ask when we’d get to it.
• With 1 day before the marathon the weather forecast began to improve. It looked as though the Nor’Easter was going to go through before the race and only make things miserable while everybody waited around in the athlete’s village. I republished an email from the BAA about how to avoid Hypothermia for anybody that might be interested in the kinds of conditions that had been expected originally.
• In running news and completely unrelated to Boston, I also wrote about how Tim Montgomery was looking at jail time for his involvement with steroids.
• This week 2 years ago, I saw a dumb woman at the gym try supersetting a leg press with a calf press. That strikes me as a quick way to hurt yourself. I also continued through the New Rules of Lifting by discussing the tenth) and eleventh rules.

Tim Montgomery was banned by USADA back in 2005 after allegations that he was involved in the BALCO scandal and had used their designer steroids. Now it is looking as though he will be doing some jail time after admitting to bank fraud.

Montgomery, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of bank fraud. [...] Montgomery was charged last year with his coach Steven Riddick and 11 others over an alleged conspiracy to deposit $5 million (£2.5m) in stolen, altered or counterfeit cheques. The athlete allegedly deposited three bogus cheques worth a total of $775,000. He was accused of helping Riddick deposit others, and is reported to have accepted a $200,000 fee for his role.

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This week last year got away from the football theme and concentrated more on news that impacts athletes or athletics and the Red Sox. I also started my new animated how to series, which has been neglected since I got married and has not started up again because my photographer moved away.

• I began my animated series on how to do different exercises a year ago. The series began with how to do dumbbell shrugs.
• I reviewed the McMillan Running Calculator, which can be used to project different goal paces based on the distances you have already run. It works pretty well.
• A community in Texas instituted a mandatory sports training program for parents of children who wanted to participate in the sports in that community. They were tired of parents getting out of line and misbehaving at games and practices.
• I talked about how tough Washington’s anti-smoking laws are.
• Tim Montgomery and Chryste Gaines were both given 2 year bans for doping after being implicated in the Balco trial. In the comments, john y and I disagreed about whether these were bad bans or not.
• The Australian swimming team staged some mock executions in an attempt to motivate the swimmers.
• The Red Sox decide not to hire a new general manager, and city counselor John Tobin wanted to bring a minor league team to Boston because Red Sox games cost too much to bring the family to. I have been lucky enough to always live near some minor league markets. In other baseball news, Cuba was barred from the World Baseball Classic (temporarily, at least).

Justin Gatlin is in the news again. This time, Gatlin set a new world record in the 100 meter dash. Despite how early in the season it is, he ran a 9.76 at the Qatar Grand Prix.

“I am the best of the best because I am the Olympic champion, the world champion and the world record holder now,” Gatlin told reporters. “I thought I would do it and I kept my word. I am a man who likes challenges and my acceleration today was phenomenal.”

Olusoji Fasuban and Shawn Crawford followed Gatlin across the line, 0.08 seconds and 0.32 seconds respectively.

The record has only been improved upon 6 times since 1990 (Tim Montgomery’s record was taken off the books due to his connection with Balco). I fully expect that we will see it drop again later this year. There are some good races coming up, including a showdown between Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin at the Gateshead Grand Prix in just over 4 weeks from now.

Tim Montgomery and Chryste Gaines have just been handed two year bans from the US Anti-Doping Agency for alleged use of drugs provided by Balco. I completely disagree with these bans, and with stripping their medals and records from them. First, the disclaimers:
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