The Mike & Ira Show

Episode #5

mikeandirashow@gmail.com (Patrick Wales-Dinan) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:22:00 +0000

EPISODE #5 LISTEN

In Episode #5 of the Mike & Ira Show, we discuss the London Marathon and how Ryan Hall has solidified himself as one of the greatest American runners of all-time. We discuss if he is better than Frank Shorter or if Shorter's gold keeps him on top.

We get an update from Brendan O'Keefe and Caroline Cretti of Zap Fitness down in North Carolina. Caroline tells us about her upcoming race: The Olympic Trials Marathon. We preview the women's marathon trails in Boston and give our predictions.

We discuss Chris Derrick and his amazing 13:55 5k this past weekend. We debate as to where that ranks among the high school greats.

We talk to Arianna Lambie the former Stanford star about her future plans and post collegiate life. We ask her to tell us about the process of finding an agent and choosing a sponsor and coach. Finally we ask her our 6 off topic questions.

We finish up with our 10 questions and or top performer and flop of the week.

Remember to e-mail us at mikeandirashow@gmail.com and check out our website mikeandirashow.blogspot.com. Thanks again to Arianna Lambie, and the folks at Zap Fitness. Until next time, keep running!

E-Mail of the Week

mikeandirashow@gmail.com (Patrick Wales-Dinan) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:23:00 +0000

This is an e-mail sent to us regarding the London Marathon. It brings up some good points that we will discuss in episode 5 of the Mike & Ira Show.

"Thoughts on London? First off, Ryan Hall is undoubtedly one of the best runners in the world right now. I also think he has risen the highest of the class of 2001. For all his accomplishments, Ritz will never, ever (ever) run a 2:06 marathon and lord knows he's not going to be competing for medals on the track. I think the Webbster is just too much of a head case for the pressure of the Olympics or World Championships. I honestly think that a top-5 finish at London is harder to accomplish than an Olympic or World Championship medal. With their money, London can assemble the best field with the best pacemakers, etc. Compare with Athens (or Beijing): you have 4 (?) Kenyans chosen by some fraudulent bureaucrat, 85 degree heat, a hilly course... the race becomes a total crap shoot. Whereas in London, Ryan Hall is competing against an army of the very best Africans money can buy on a flat course in ideal conditions. Championship runners like Baldini, Abera, Meb, etc just aren't good enough to hang with a 14:23 opening 5k - that takes insane fitness, and Ryan Hall clearly has it. That said, Hall clearly cleaned up at the Olympic trials with lots of pace changes, hills, etc so I think he may be able to do well at the Olympics too. I really hope he 1) recovers well and 2) does the same things before Beijing that Meb and Deena did before Athens like acclimating to the weather, pollution, wearing ice-vests before the race, going out easy, etc. (Not doing those things killed Radcliffe and Tergat in Athens, methinks). Finally, Terrence Mahon - the guy clearly is an amazing coach with a master plan. All of Ryan's preparation seems to center around running well in a single marathon; his races leading up to the marathon hardly seem to matter.

(Finally, I caught mistake on your last podcast: Webb didn't make it out of the first round in the 04 Olympics and made his crazy sprint tactic at WC's in 05 )"

Episode #4

mikeandirashow@gmail.com (Patrick Wales-Dinan) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:58:00 +0000

In this episode of the Mike & Ira Show: Listen Episode #4

A discussion of Kenenisa Bekele and his impressive victory at the World Cross-Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Our second episode with "sound bites" featuring Jeremy Wariner, Matt Withrow, Ian Dobson and Tim Harris.

We have an interview with New Zealand's Kim Smith. She talks with us about her current season, how she ended up at Providence and about her plans for Beijing. Thanks Kim!

A discussion of Alan Webb and his season thus far. We talk about if we feel US 8k and Carlsbad are going to be a problem for Alan later on this season.

We have a new segment called "Story Time with Bruce Hyde". The recent 3:55 miler joins his old high school teammate Ira for some discussion of track and field and a great Abdi story. You can check out his whole interview on our website later on this week.

Finally, we read some e-mails from listeners give our top performer and flop of the week and finish it off with 10 questions.

Remember to e-mail us at mikeandirashow@gmail.com and listen for our next episode soon. Thanks again to Kim Smith for taking the time to talk with us, as always keep on running.

Episode # 3

mikeandirashow@gmail.com (Patrick Wales-Dinan) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:45:00 +0000

In episode #3 of the Mike & Ira show we recap NCAA Indoor Track Championships, touch on the US 8K championships, discuss the future of Shalane Flanagan and Jorge Torres and more. Join us as we introduce 2 new segments called "sound bites" and "hand off". Also vote in this weeks poll about the NCAA outdoor 10k. Listen...

Episode # 2

mikeandirashow@gmail.com (Patrick Wales-Dinan) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:45:00 +0000

In the second episode of The Mike & Ira Show, we discuss: US Cross results, US Indoor results, banked vs. oversized tracks, the collegiate scene and more...! Check it out right here: Listen