How has your training gone since you won the U.S. 10-mile championship?Training went well after the 10-mile. I went back to Flagstaff and things have come along real well.
When you look at where you are right now with your fitness, can you compare it to where you were at this time last year before New York?
I'm way ahead of any marathon I've run before. This year, I've had more time to train. I've had a few solid months of marathon training instead of coming from track and having just a month or two to get ready for the marathon. I wasn't coming off the World Championships or the Olympics like I was last year. I have had three or four months of structured marathon training, which was great.
Is this the first time that you've had that?
Yeah. Before that, it was tough to train for the 10K and then comeback two months later and train for a marathon. The schedule always got distracted a little bit.
Last year, when did you get back from Beijing and when did you pick up your marathon training?
I stayed in Beijing until the Closing Ceremony and then I took some time off. I only had about a month, a month and a half to train for the race.
When did you decide that putting in fulltime marathon training for New York was something that you wanted to do?
Right after the 10,000m at Nationals in Eugene. When I didn't do as well as I wanted, I said, ‘You know what? This could be a good outcome because it will give you more time to focus on marathon training without worrying about anything else.' I thought that was great. July 4, I started training for the marathon.
From a personal standpoint, was it difficult for you to turn down the racing and earning opportunities on the European circuit over the summer?
It was a sacrifice that I had to make. Sometimes what you want to do and what's best for you are two different things. I did what I thought was best for Abdi. If I do well in the marathon, I will be well rewarded.
Did competing for the U.S. marathon championship in New York influence that decision?
It was a part of it. But to be honest, I just want to run against the best. New York always puts together a great field. I was excited when I heard the names of who is coming here to run. The defending champion (Marilson Gomes dos Santos) is coming back with Martin Lel, (Hendrick) Ramaala, and then Ryan Hall. You don't get many chances to run against those guys. Plus, it's the U.S. championships. If you win the race, you get the U.S. title and you win the New York City Marathon, which is a big bonus. That's world class. So there were a few motivators.
A year after running so well at the Olympic Trials, what was the feeling like this year when you didn't run as well as you would have liked in Eugene?
To be honest, the feeling wasn't too bad because I knew what I went through to get there. After the fall, I was injured the whole time and I didn't start training until May. I didn't train that well and had only about a month of training going into the race. I thought I could do better, and it was a little disappointing and sad. Being a competitor, the outcome wasn't what I expected, but that motivated me to work a little bit harder in my marathon training. Right now, I am where I want to be, and even better than where I expected to be. I'm excited for the race.
When you look back on how you ran in New York last year, what stands out as being the biggest positive and what are some of the things you would want to improve this time around?
The way I'm approaching this race is that I want to be competitive. I was excited last year and in pretty good shape, but the marathon can fool you sometimes. You think you are in marathon shape but you really are not. You're maybe in 20 mile shape. That's definitely what happened to me last year. I went out and did most of the work early on. I was pushing the pace from the beginning instead of relaxing. I used all of my energy in the first 13 (miles) and was tired for the last 13. This year, I'm going into the race more focused. I'm going to stay relaxed and let the race come to me instead of me chasing it.
Do you think your approach and result last year was a product of you being overexcited?
Yeah, I was definitely too excited.
When you say that sometimes you think you're in marathon shape and are really only in 20 mile shape, how do you know when you are in 26-mile shape?
It's just all about the work you put in. Last year, I didn't have many long runs. This year, I've got two-, two-and-a-half hour runs in every day which makes me feel stronger. That's when you know you're in good shape and ready to go over the whole distance.
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