The guns are in town as we are nearing Saturday's Healthy Kidney 10k. I had a chance to talk to Olympian Abdi today which was great fun - thanks again Abdi!
Stay tuned for a long Fam and Tadese Tola interview tomorrow!
What’s your favourite workout?
My favourite workout is a ladder. 3*Mile, 3*1200, 3*800, 3*400, 3*200. Rest is half the distance, easy jogging. With this workout I determine my fitness. The mile is at about 10k pace and then you work down.
Are you doing any crosstraining?
No, not really. Even when I’m injured I don’t do any crosstraining. I do lift weights though, abs and stuff.
What do you bench?
135 lbs.!
Is that max?
No. I never max.
We want to hear it though.
Well, I do like 8 at 135, so I guess my max would be 160 maybe. Well, I think I can do that three times, so it’s probably more like 180.
Pull-ups?
I can do 10!
Proper pull-ups?
Ya, proper pull-ups. I can even do three sets of 10. So max would probably be like 15 to 20?
Are you doing any running drills?
Na, not really, just running.
You are living in Arizona but you spend some time at altitude in Flagstaff as well. It seems to work for you.
Yes, it does. Even if it is not a physical thing, it makes you mentally tough. It’s good for your head.
Do think your top-end speed suffers due to altitude training?
Yeah, definitely. I mean, track workouts in general are hard at altitude. You might be able to do it but the times suffer. You go to altitude to build endurance.
Is hill training important for you?
Oh ya! I do a lot of hills. I want hills all the time. I do like 7-8 times one k uphill on one minute recovery. It’s a five mile uphill and my coach picks me up by car to get back down.
I assume you train with a group.
Yes, I train with Bernard Lagat. Just me and Lagat.
Really? He actually spends a lot of time in my hometown in Germany.
I lived there, too. I stayed in Tuebingen. I really like it. The trails are beautiful. I like the university track.
You met Dieter Baumann there?
Yeah, Dieter, sure.
If you wouldn’t be a professional runner, would you still be running?
I probably would still jog. It’s a hard question. You know, I would like to stay in shape. I would just be a recreational runner and spend more time in the gym than running. I would probably be bigger than right now.
My main goal now is obviously to be a stronger runner and do the strength training for that without getting too big.
You ran the 10,000 at the Olympics and three month later the NYC Marathon where you finished 6th. How do you balance the training for those two distances?
It’s tough sometimes but 10k training is more like a marathon training to me. You always do longish runs. After the Olympics I just did a few really long runs, over two hours.
What’s your focus this year?
I wanna run a good track 10k.
Bruxelles?
Yeah, probably Bruxelles. I just wanna have a good season coming back from injury. It’s been a tough year for me. I lost a lot of training time. So, Healthy Kidney is going to be my first race. I’m not as fit as I want to be but mentally I am where I want to be. Just go out and see what I can do. I never ran here before. The course record is at 28:08 [Ritz in 2007]. But I ran the NYC half which starts on the same course and we went through 10k at under 28:20.
So 27ish on Saturday?
I don’t know, we will see.
I was talking to Tadese Tola who won the NYC half last year, he said 27.
Oh really? Is that what he said?
Yeah
But I have run against him before!
He won the half and you were…
No, no, no! On the track, we both ran 27:15 that year.
Bring it on!
We talk about the race later again. Do you have a particular diet you follow?
I try to eat a lot of pasta and salad. No fried stuff, little junk food. Just balanced, a good diet, healthy.
Do you use any supplements?
No. Just Cycomax for recovery after the workout. But no vitamins and stuff like that. I try to eat fruit and get my protein from real stuff. It’s bad when you depend on something other than natural food.
Is it difficult for you to stay so skinny? Do you undereat sometimes to stay skinny?
No, no, no. In off-season, I get a little bit big. I stay so skinny because I put so many miles in. You train like twice a day, up to 20 miles a day.
So how many miles are you running right now?
90-100 maybe. But quality man, quality.
So you never go easy?
Ya, Wednesdays I usually go easy, like 7:30 pace.
Do you have a block of, say 4-6 weeks per year where you only run easy?
No, not really. I always go hard! But I take two months completely off!
What is that, ‘completely off’? No basketball? No golf?
Just zero running! I do play golf sometimes, though.
What are you doing during that time off? Are you bored?
No, no. I hang out with friends, go to discos, just have some beer. Do what normal people do.
Two month?
Yeah
I’m impressed. Is it hard coming back?
Not really. I just have another month and a half of coming back with base training. I just run but still go out with friends. And after that, you get serious.
Back to racing: how do you manage the pain in a 10k? For most it is like at 6/7k where it is at its worst.
For me it is the first two miles. That’s the worst. Until you get into it. After that you get your breathing right. You get your rhythm right and everything is smooth.
If there is a change in pace, an attack going, do you follow at any cost?
First, it depends who’s making the attack.
Ok, k7, Makau is going at 4 min. pace!
Well, you know your body. You are not just jumping after him. You pace yourself and try to reel him back in when he slows down. Just maintain the gap!
And if the pace falls completely apart, will you push it?
Depends on your fitness.
Let’s say you're in shape and confident.
Oh yeah, then I am attacking the race. If there are fast finishers in the pack, you have to make them hurt.
I looked up your PRs. 2:08:56 in Chicago. But a 4:06 mile.
I can break 4 now!
You should do it before you’re old. You can’t retire on a 4:06.
Well, I ran a 13:13 5k.
I know.
Yeah, that mile back in 02 was a rainy, windy day.
I’m sure you can go faster. But talk is cheap!
Ok, I’ll try to do it!
When’s the 2:08:56 coming down?
Hopefully this year.
In NYC?
Wherever! NY or Chicago, doesn’t matter. I think I have like a 2:06 in me, realistically. Maybe better.
What do you think of Kibet and Kwambai’s 2:04 in Rotterdam?
Those guys run like a 2:04 but I beat them all the time I race them! They had a better day than I had at the marathon. They ran on a flatter course. It just depends on having a good day, better weather, faster conditions.
I really hope you run NYC again. But that’s a tactical race and not for a good time. So if the pace slows down radically, what do you do? Stay with the group or try to secure a good time?
NYC you run for place.
Sure but what about the PR you talked about before?
Well, then next year! I think I’m gonna run more marathons maybe from next year. I’m 30 now. I wanna run two marathons a year.
I’d like to go back to nutrition. What do you eat pre-marathon?
The night before I’d like to eat a good, good meal. Carboload. Pasta, chicken and bread. In the morning you just have a light thing, a bit of bread, some carbs.
How do you manage eating before a track race at night?
Just eat normal. I usually stop eating at 5 for a 9 o’clock race and maybe have a Powerbar before the race.
We get to the last questions. If you wouldn’t be a professional runner, what would you do?
I’d be living in NYC and working in the fashion industry.
Cool!
That’s what I like to do. I’d like to be a buyer for a big brand, like Nike.
Are there gonna be new ‘Black Cactus’ T-shirts?
Yes! Look up the website in a week or two. Also, the website is gonna be better. You’ll be able to by a ‘Black Cactus’ T-Shirt and a ‘Black Cactus’ jeans!
Designed by you?
Yeah! That’s gonna be fun. It’s just something that I wanna do. Maybe something that creates some income when I retire, having my own brand.
I like that.
You only run for that long. I think people would like a cool running brand.
It’s got to be different to the usual brands, something cool.
Yeah, for sure.
Last question: how are you skinny runners getting laid?
Oh man! [laughs] The girls love fast guys. They have the ‘fast goggles’ on [laughs].
So, no matter how skinny, you’re getting laid?
Oh yeah! And you gotta have a game, too. You can’t be a dork and expect to get a girl. You gotta be smooth. You gotta be able to talk to the girl. You gotta tell her what she wants to hear.
[NYRR elite coordinator] Sam Grotewold: “You don’t give away all your secrets man!”
I just give advice man!
My favourite workout is a ladder. 3*Mile, 3*1200, 3*800, 3*400, 3*200. Rest is half the distance, easy jogging. With this workout I determine my fitness. The mile is at about 10k pace and then you work down.Are you doing any crosstraining?
No, not really. Even when I’m injured I don’t do any crosstraining. I do lift weights though, abs and stuff.
What do you bench?
135 lbs.!
Is that max?
No. I never max.
We want to hear it though.
Well, I do like 8 at 135, so I guess my max would be 160 maybe. Well, I think I can do that three times, so it’s probably more like 180.
Pull-ups?
I can do 10!
Proper pull-ups?
Ya, proper pull-ups. I can even do three sets of 10. So max would probably be like 15 to 20?
Are you doing any running drills?
Na, not really, just running.
You are living in Arizona but you spend some time at altitude in Flagstaff as well. It seems to work for you.
Yes, it does. Even if it is not a physical thing, it makes you mentally tough. It’s good for your head.
Do think your top-end speed suffers due to altitude training?
Yeah, definitely. I mean, track workouts in general are hard at altitude. You might be able to do it but the times suffer. You go to altitude to build endurance.
Is hill training important for you?
Oh ya! I do a lot of hills. I want hills all the time. I do like 7-8 times one k uphill on one minute recovery. It’s a five mile uphill and my coach picks me up by car to get back down.
I assume you train with a group.
Yes, I train with Bernard Lagat. Just me and Lagat.
Really? He actually spends a lot of time in my hometown in Germany.
I lived there, too. I stayed in Tuebingen. I really like it. The trails are beautiful. I like the university track.
You met Dieter Baumann there?
Yeah, Dieter, sure.
If you wouldn’t be a professional runner, would you still be running?
I probably would still jog. It’s a hard question. You know, I would like to stay in shape. I would just be a recreational runner and spend more time in the gym than running. I would probably be bigger than right now.
My main goal now is obviously to be a stronger runner and do the strength training for that without getting too big.
You ran the 10,000 at the Olympics and three month later the NYC Marathon where you finished 6th. How do you balance the training for those two distances?
It’s tough sometimes but 10k training is more like a marathon training to me. You always do longish runs. After the Olympics I just did a few really long runs, over two hours.
What’s your focus this year?
I wanna run a good track 10k.
Bruxelles?
Yeah, probably Bruxelles. I just wanna have a good season coming back from injury. It’s been a tough year for me. I lost a lot of training time. So, Healthy Kidney is going to be my first race. I’m not as fit as I want to be but mentally I am where I want to be. Just go out and see what I can do. I never ran here before. The course record is at 28:08 [Ritz in 2007]. But I ran the NYC half which starts on the same course and we went through 10k at under 28:20.
So 27ish on Saturday?
I don’t know, we will see.
I was talking to Tadese Tola who won the NYC half last year, he said 27.
Oh really? Is that what he said?
Yeah
But I have run against him before!
He won the half and you were…
No, no, no! On the track, we both ran 27:15 that year.
Bring it on!
We talk about the race later again. Do you have a particular diet you follow?
I try to eat a lot of pasta and salad. No fried stuff, little junk food. Just balanced, a good diet, healthy.
Do you use any supplements?
No. Just Cycomax for recovery after the workout. But no vitamins and stuff like that. I try to eat fruit and get my protein from real stuff. It’s bad when you depend on something other than natural food.
Is it difficult for you to stay so skinny? Do you undereat sometimes to stay skinny?
No, no, no. In off-season, I get a little bit big. I stay so skinny because I put so many miles in. You train like twice a day, up to 20 miles a day.
So how many miles are you running right now?
90-100 maybe. But quality man, quality.
So you never go easy?
Ya, Wednesdays I usually go easy, like 7:30 pace.
Do you have a block of, say 4-6 weeks per year where you only run easy?
No, not really. I always go hard! But I take two months completely off!
What is that, ‘completely off’? No basketball? No golf?
Just zero running! I do play golf sometimes, though.
What are you doing during that time off? Are you bored?
No, no. I hang out with friends, go to discos, just have some beer. Do what normal people do.
Two month?
Yeah
I’m impressed. Is it hard coming back?
Not really. I just have another month and a half of coming back with base training. I just run but still go out with friends. And after that, you get serious.
Back to racing: how do you manage the pain in a 10k? For most it is like at 6/7k where it is at its worst.
For me it is the first two miles. That’s the worst. Until you get into it. After that you get your breathing right. You get your rhythm right and everything is smooth.
If there is a change in pace, an attack going, do you follow at any cost?
First, it depends who’s making the attack.
Ok, k7, Makau is going at 4 min. pace!
Well, you know your body. You are not just jumping after him. You pace yourself and try to reel him back in when he slows down. Just maintain the gap!
And if the pace falls completely apart, will you push it?
Depends on your fitness.
Let’s say you're in shape and confident.
Oh yeah, then I am attacking the race. If there are fast finishers in the pack, you have to make them hurt.
I looked up your PRs. 2:08:56 in Chicago. But a 4:06 mile.
I can break 4 now!
You should do it before you’re old. You can’t retire on a 4:06.
Well, I ran a 13:13 5k.
I know.
Yeah, that mile back in 02 was a rainy, windy day.
I’m sure you can go faster. But talk is cheap!
Ok, I’ll try to do it!
When’s the 2:08:56 coming down?
Hopefully this year.
In NYC?
Wherever! NY or Chicago, doesn’t matter. I think I have like a 2:06 in me, realistically. Maybe better.
What do you think of Kibet and Kwambai’s 2:04 in Rotterdam?
Those guys run like a 2:04 but I beat them all the time I race them! They had a better day than I had at the marathon. They ran on a flatter course. It just depends on having a good day, better weather, faster conditions.
I really hope you run NYC again. But that’s a tactical race and not for a good time. So if the pace slows down radically, what do you do? Stay with the group or try to secure a good time?
NYC you run for place.
Sure but what about the PR you talked about before?
Well, then next year! I think I’m gonna run more marathons maybe from next year. I’m 30 now. I wanna run two marathons a year.
I’d like to go back to nutrition. What do you eat pre-marathon?
The night before I’d like to eat a good, good meal. Carboload. Pasta, chicken and bread. In the morning you just have a light thing, a bit of bread, some carbs.
How do you manage eating before a track race at night?
Just eat normal. I usually stop eating at 5 for a 9 o’clock race and maybe have a Powerbar before the race.
We get to the last questions. If you wouldn’t be a professional runner, what would you do?
I’d be living in NYC and working in the fashion industry.
Cool!
That’s what I like to do. I’d like to be a buyer for a big brand, like Nike.
Are there gonna be new ‘Black Cactus’ T-shirts?
Yes! Look up the website in a week or two. Also, the website is gonna be better. You’ll be able to by a ‘Black Cactus’ T-Shirt and a ‘Black Cactus’ jeans!
Designed by you?
Yeah! That’s gonna be fun. It’s just something that I wanna do. Maybe something that creates some income when I retire, having my own brand.
I like that.
You only run for that long. I think people would like a cool running brand.
It’s got to be different to the usual brands, something cool.
Yeah, for sure.
Last question: how are you skinny runners getting laid?
Oh man! [laughs] The girls love fast guys. They have the ‘fast goggles’ on [laughs].
So, no matter how skinny, you’re getting laid?
Oh yeah! And you gotta have a game, too. You can’t be a dork and expect to get a girl. You gotta be smooth. You gotta be able to talk to the girl. You gotta tell her what she wants to hear.
[NYRR elite coordinator] Sam Grotewold: “You don’t give away all your secrets man!”
I just give advice man!
You want to know more about Abdi?
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