Track & Field

Splitting up your 20k training and taking a break in between will require you to get used to that break and test out different recovery strategies such as ice baths, Normatec boots, or getting into a river or ocean. Massages can also be beneficial.
 
Transcript: "I think this is pretty much been asked and answered but the way it's going to affect your training, not much other than getting used to that break. So probably like your tempo workouts like a hard 16k or 10 mile workout you might stop halfway through and then take a 45 minute break and then test out some different recovery strategies, see what works the best which is kind of a standard for anything that you're trying out. Anything new that you want to try out in training you want to try it many times and see what works best. So you know try ice baths, try that those Normatec boots if you have access to them. You know I like I train near the water usually so I like you know dipping up to my hips in a river or right now the Long Island Sound. Getting a massage if you can you know and then quickly getting into your next you know next part of the workout. That's really what you need to do. Those are some things for recovering but that's really what you need to do in training. It's pretty standard 20k training but take a break and then split up the workout and recover in between."

It was a cool experience to be a Big 12 Athlete of the Year candidate, as it was a great opportunity to reflect on all of my accomplishments and to represent my university.
 
Transcript: "Hi, thank you for the question of what did it feel like to be the Big 12 Athlete of the Year candidate. I thought it was really cool, especially trying to make my resume and talk about what I've done. It was really cool just to reflect on everything that I was able to accomplish, but also how much the Big 12 was able to give to me. I mean, the conference is pretty strong and I feel like I went through some good years and some bad years, so it was nice to be recognized for that. But also just to be picked, like the only Baylor athlete, or I guess each school picks an athlete, but to be the representative for my university was really cool, so I feel like that was special in itself."

Despite suffering from an infection, I ran a personal best and qualified for the Olympic team in the 2011 New York City Marathon.
 
Transcript: "Hi, Greg. I suffered in 2011 New York City marathon. I left-- unfortunately, my BreatheRight not on my nose, but on my foot, and I have to deal with it through the race. I suffer every step of the way, and got infected. But despite, I ran a PR and still made the Olympic team. Thanks."

Yes, it is possible for the person to win a medal at this year's World Championships, provided they are healthy and firing at the right time.
 
Transcript: "Can hug her win a medal at this year's World champs? Yeah. Absolutely. You know, he has he has a world-class kick as it is. He has a world-class PR and 331 and he will have the, you know, Eugene crowd back at him. So I think those three things considered a formula to win a medal. No doubt. So he also has to be healthy and he has to be firing at the right time. But, yeah, I think he definitely can medal this year."

No, I was never tempted to try the 100 meters because I would not have been able to run fast enough to become an Olympic champion.
 
Transcript: "Was I ever tempted to try the 100 meters? So I ran the 100 meters a few times during my career but never took it seriously. You think about sprinting and track and field, it's really difficult to be world class in one event. I happened to be world class in two, the 200 meters and 400 meters. Which are two races that traditionally did not complement one another. So that was one of the things that made my career so unique. So adding a third event, the 100 meters, would have been probably out of the question. You just can't do it. No one's capable of doing that, and I certainly wasn't. I could have run faster in the 100 meters had I really focused on it, but I never would have been able to run fast enough to be an Olympic champion. And that's what I was focused on, so that's why I stuck to my events, the 200 meters and 400 meters."

When I got my prosthetic leg, I was excited to go for a jog but quickly realized I was way out of shape and had to turn around and walk back. Now, after years of training, I'm able to sprint without anyone knowing I have a prosthetic.
 
Transcript: "Sam, that's a great question. And I'll tell you a funny story. When I went to go get my prosthetic leg, my process was like, OK, you just have to trust the blade. It's going to be there. You just have to trust it. So I was like, all right, that's fine. I'm just going to go take off. And it's going to do what it's supposed to do. And it did, which was surprising for me. And it felt fairly natural. And so I was super excited. I took it. I went home. I'm like, Dad, let's go out for a run, haven't been able to run for years. We get to go do this thing. And so we get out, get down the driveway. And we're jogging down the road. And in our mind, we're going to go for 20-, 30-minute jog. And I get 3 minutes down the road. And I can barely pick my leg up off the ground. I'm so fatigued. I'm out of shape. My muscles aren't used to working in that way. The blade took a lot of time getting used to. And so we ended up turning around and having to walk back to the house. And halfway there, we called mom. I was like, just come and grab us. This is not what we expected. But that was it. That was the beauty of the journey, right? It started off. And it was really difficult. But now I would say that when I run on prosthetic, if you see me sprint and you see me just from my hips up, you don't know that I have a prosthetic on. And so it's been a long journey and 10 or 11 years of training to get to that point. But yeah, at the beginning, it was tough. [CHUCKLES]"