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NYC HALF MARATHONMarch 16, 2012Meb KeflezighiNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Q.  It gets bigger and bigger each year that you're actually walking around our city and you're seeing your own big picture all over the place. First time that happened what did you think? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: First time it happened I was here for a photo shoot I guess in January or February‑‑ a little bit after February. Not late February but early February, and we were staying at my friend Johnny D's house. It got late. We were going to go get a pizza, and he's on my right, and we go by the stop sign and there's my picture with Skechers. Like hey, just kind of stumbled a little bit. It's hard to believe in New York. You can see it somewhere else. I've seen it somewhere else, but to be in New York, people just dream to be in New York. And to be able to win New York and to be able to run so many races in New York and to have your picture is pretty special. New York has always been special to me, and there's a promotion for the half marathon and then the Skechers "go Meb," it's an awesome feeling. A year ago at this time I was like trying to scramble. I have to run the race of my life almost for the shoe sponsor, being here, making the Olympic team, switched, but we've just got to be patient for the light at the end of the tunnel for things to turn around. In life you always go through ups and downs, ups and downs, but if you're patient enough to wait then good things will happen. Q. I asked this of Desiree yesterday, but it's a different position than usual when you're a track guy or something to actually know that in January you're an Olympian and it's six months away. It's really a very long period of just knowing one thing way down the road that you have to focus on. Does that remove some pressure in some ways? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: It removes a lot of pressure as soon as you finish that cross line you're going to be on the team. But it's just a big weight off the shoulders, and especially for me because of my age, and in 2008 I didn't go to the Olympics, which I thought I was at my pinnacle peak to be able to do something great to be on the podium, and I didn't even make the cut just because I had a pelvic fracture. In athletics you have to understand that you don't disappear like this if you have the motivation, but I have the motivation every day, day in, day out. I work as hard as I can, but I'm human. I get injured because I push my body to the limit, not because I'm sitting on the couch. It was what happened in 2008 unfortunately. It was a discussion of what happened can be explained. But I couldn't walk. I couldn't put weight on my hip, and to overcome that and to have the sponsors that I have, that I'm honored to have on my jerseys. New York runners never give up on me. Q. And can you now go through a period where you don't really have to‑‑ can you just go back to certainly a base training phase before you have to really start to do the hard stuff again? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Yeah. I mean, getting ready for the trials I only had 48 days. The weather in Mammoth was so nice that it was hard to hold back because I just started training. But it's a fine line, you use strategy in race, you also have to use strategy in preparation because my goal was to just stay healthy through the trials and make the team, and I got more than that. I got PR, won, and made the team, so it can't get any better than that. But you have to strategize a little bit. And then I came back for this race I think a week and a half or so off and it came back fast. Probably in May or so I would take four or five days off and then start going again, because six months is a long ways, and I'm not in the best shape I've ever been, and I wouldn't want to be right now. I'm just kind of testing the waters, seeing where I am, and at that tempo ‑‑ if I was in Mammoth I'd do a 12‑mile tempo, and why not come here, compete, go beyond the threshold and see what happens. Q. You have an Olympic medal and you've been on three Olympic teams. Was it important for you to win the trials or were you just‑‑ if you were in the top three would you have cared that much about how things shook out at that point? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: I really thought in 2007, 2008 that was my chance to really have my first marathon win, and I worked very hard, extremely hard, to be able to do that. But it's not what you want. I wanted to win when I was running the New York City Marathon. People thought, okay, he's getting too close to that and is he going to make the team. During the race I was thinking of winning the race, of the trials. So going into Houston I was saying, I want to have a marathon trial champion under my name. That's something that nobody was ever going to take away from me. I had two 10K trial wins, and that gives you confidence because in 2007 I ran 2:15 on one leg. But if I'm 100 percent, I know I can run fast. That's the kind of confidence I have. But if I didn't win I would still be happy as I am right now just because I'm on the team. As long as I was top three, that was goal No.1. Q. You're not the only past New York City Marathon champion here. Does that make returning to New York that much more special? And with those other marathon champions in the field, does it raise‑‑ MEB KEFLEZIGHI: New York made us. Winning the New York City Marathon, the biggest marathon in the world, is an honor. Like I said earlier, people just want to visit New York, and to have what we did out there, we won the New York City Marathon, which is a big honor, celebratory going to the Empire State Building and all that stuff, you get treated like a king. It's beautiful, and I'm honored to have‑‑ Marilson won it twice. It's a great feeling, and we don't feel like we have to prove anything. A lot of people know what we are and they just want us to compete the best we can as always. Q. Do they recognize the faces on the billboards, too, when you come here? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Sure, yeah. Somebody sent me a text or whatever to my phone saying we see you all over on the boards. It's nice. The New York Roadrunners do a great job, the competition, but also to promote the athletes to the maximum possible. They do a lot for the sport. I'm just thankful to be part of it for probably 2002 or so is when I first came here ten years ago with the 8K and then this year will be my first half marathon in New York since 2002. They've done a great job to promote and help us out financially, promotionally and everything they can to have recognizable names, and they've done a great job. Q. You said that knowing you were already going to London removes a lot of pressure, but when was the last time you had this much time to prepare for a single race where everything was geared towards it? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Probably New York City Marathon 2009 I would think maybe, because I was invited to come here in 2008, but if I'm not 100 percent, I'm not going to be‑‑ jeopardize that chance. But yeah, in 2004 also it was February to August, those two things, but they went really well. I'd have to do a 10K and other things, shorter races, but I can focus on the mile and if something doesn't feeling right I'm going to back off. Q. What did those two experiences of having all that time teach you for this year? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: You know, the Olympics is the Olympics, New York City Marathon is the New York City Marathon. It's going to happen. You know the date, you work toward that goal, and I'm not going to prepare any differently than I did for New York or Boston or London, it's just I have the time and I can kind of pick and choose the races and see what happens. As long as I can do that and stay healthy, it's going to be fun. I look forward to it. It's a challenge. I know it's going to hurt at one point, but the preparation is the key. If I can just cover my 26 miles, long runs, tempos, it's no difference. The gun goes off the same way it goes off anywhere else, and at 26.2 hopefully I can do it at maybe a PR. That would be nice. Q. When do you actually go to London? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: That we haven't figured out yet. Q. Will you be in Mammoth beforehand? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Trying to decide Mammoth or in Europe to prepare for the time change. Q. Will that likely be St.Moritz? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: St.Moritz and there's another one in Italy or Spain. Q. You and Abdi have been running against each other since Bill Clinton was president basically. MEB KEFLEZIGHI: That's for sure. Q. And not too many people‑‑ he was pretty much ignored in the pre‑race speculation this time. Did you have enough contact with him to think that he was going to be a factor in this? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Yeah, I tell my wife that any time you never count Abdi out. He's dangerous. I know which guys to watch out for just because I have been on the other side of it. But talent never goes away. Dathan was running his first marathon, I said, his body is recovered. He will be there as long as he's healthy. And if we're healthy and we're ‑‑ we don't have to start a 12‑week program or 15 weeks or two months preparation, you just need the key workouts and get healthy because it'll start coming back really fast. No, I was not surprised by that. Top five probably were the way I expected. Q. What about the presence of Mo Trafah? What does that mean to you? He was a real mystery guy and he managed to stay up there for half the race. Are you aware of every single guy that's in that pack? Were you worried about him at all? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: I'm always aware of who is breathing or who's doing or what strategy they're using when they're there, and you have to use‑‑ I let him take the lead, I knew he was hurting at mile 6. I said, I want to get it down to three people or four people and then get it down to two people and give it a shot at winning. Concentration and strategy changes depending on who is there and what they're going to do, and that's what a coach cannot teach you. You have to use‑‑ sometimes I refer to it as you have to be the quarterback there, kind of see what's going on around you and make the decision quick or be patient, to be able to make changes happen or what are people going to make when. They have to predict what their strengths and weaknesses are and how they can react to it and make a decision instantly and hopefully come out on top. Q. Would you like to talk a little bit about Coach Larsen who you've known since you were a teenager? I know he's more than just a coach to you and he's been through all these ups and downs with you. MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Yeah, I'm happy to talk about Coach Larsen. I spent a lot of time with him. Sometimes I know what's going to come out of his mouth before he says it. It's like a marriage. It's just give and take, and he's been through the ups and downs for me, and he drives from‑‑ he lives in LA and comes to Mammoth and he'll spend a week and a half or two weeks. Usually he's there for the crucial workouts but also he kind of lets me have freedom of what I want to do. He's suggesting a workout and I'm like, okay, I'd like to do this. I know what my body needs. I feel strong endurance wise or I feel strong in speed, let's do some other stuff. But no, he's been more than a coach, as a friend and almost father figure and a lot of advice not just about running but just about life in general. Q. If you hadn't been playing soccer in Balboa Park on some fateful day when they had the Kinney Cross Country Championships and you hadn't been watching that, is it possible this whole running career never would have happened? Or do you think you would have discovered it some other way? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: You know, it's two things that happened, or three things. One, opportunities, and two, PE classes. If there was no PE class I probably would not be where I am. I want to get good grades, and I actually saw Coach Dick Lord last week. He just turned 76, and I'm still in touch with him he was my 7th grade PE teacher. He gave me a hug and called my high school coach and said this guy is going to be something really special. If that link was missing, he wouldn't have the high school coach contact or running opportunities. So yeah. But at the same time, I knew sport was‑‑ running was a sport through the Kinney, yeah. Sometimes I have to pinch myself, or I wouldn't have the opportunity to do something great because if I was in Eritrea I don't know if I would have been alive. I probably would have been a soldier and whatever else and none of this would have happened. Things happen for a reason. I'm a believer. Sometimes I wonder why did God choose me to do that, and I try to be a positive person running community as I can. Q. What was the distance in the PE class? Was it a mile? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: He had three things. The funny thing is last week, Monday, this week, the kids was running like it's been there for 31 years. These guys are not doing it right. So what he used to do is run 600 meters, on Friday alternate it, then next Friday run six minutes, see how many laps you could do around the baseball field, and then the following Friday would be do a mile, and everybody knows how far a mile is, but he didn't want you to walk, he wanted you to jog, and if you make progress‑‑ let's say somebody runs 7 minutes and runs 6:55 and runs 6:30, he would get an A because he or she made progress accordingly, whereas somebody ran 6 minutes and went slower and started walking around is not putting in the effort. He's just like I need to do this or be able to do this. But as the budget cuts goes on, they're probably getting rid of physical education, which is a horrible thing to do because look what 40,000 training for the marathon are doing, because it's consciously good for the mind, away from work that you can be therapeutic, think clear, and most importantly healthy lifestyle. We should increase it; that's why hopefully after my full‑time running is done the Meb Foundation will be able to give back, to give inspiration to run a mile or week or two miles a week to make that progress happen, because it will make them study. I ran into somebody on Tuesday this week, he's an 83 year old UCLA alumni, and he's still walking, and he said the reason, if it wasn't for that one person that introduced him‑‑ he was academic strong but he was a walk‑on at UCLA, told him to come, and he ended up being the No.4 guy on the team. But if it wasn't introduced from somebody in high school he wouldn't be where he is, and he's walking, still enjoying being outdoors and enjoying the life every day at 83 years old. I don't know his last name, but his name is Tom. Q. You might have mentioned this already, but do you plan to race at all for shorter distances before the Olympics? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Yes, I will do a few 10K or shorter races or half marathons, a couple, besides this one. Q. If you do some training or you do go to altitude in Europe, do you think it's predominantly in Europe where you'll be doing the trigger races? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: I have to be in London as of right now five days before my race to check in and all that process. I feel comfortable in Mammoth with the therapy and the ice baths and my family and doing the routine. But Coach Larsen has figured out the last‑minute study has worked in terms of coming from altitude. I'll maybe be here to six days before and just fly over and go check in. Q. You're not going to go to opening ceremonies? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Less likely the opening ceremony right now unless I'm going to do go to altitude camp in Europe and then opening ceremonies. If I'm going to be here I'll probably skip it because I want to‑‑ it's my last Olympics, I want to give it everything I can, 110 percent. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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