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Q + A with FASIL BIZUNEH Interviewed by Mario Fraioli & Dave Milner 11.11.06 Fasil Bizuneh attended Arizona State University, where he was a 4-time All-American TR: First of all, congratulations on your fifth place finish (2:18:12) at Twin Cities and for qualifying for the trials. How did you feel about your debut at the marathon distance? FB: Thanks. Well I was really hoping to run a little faster, actually, but my hamstrings started cramping up pretty bad right after 20 miles. I was running in the top five and felt pretty comfortable through 20. We hit 1:41:30 I think, which is 2:12 [or 5:04-per-mile] pace, and my breathing was still fine but my hamstrings cramped pretty bad shortly after that point. They say when you hit 20 miles in the marathon, you’re only halfway there, and I think that’s pretty accurate. When I run [the marathon] again, I think I’ll run considerably faster. TR: But overall, you enjoyed the experience? FB: Yes. I really want to thank the race director and the organizers for having me, and for putting on such a great race. It was a good opportunity for U.S. runners to go head-to-head in a championship environment and come away with a good payday. TR: What do you think happened at 20 miles to cause the cramping? FB: I think I was probably a little bit dehydrated. I was only taking about one or two ounces of water at a time, and I probably should have been taking closer to five or six. I ended up running much slower for the last six miles — I think it was 5:47 pace. I think my training was adequate. I did eight 20 milers leading up to the marathon, and one 22 miler with the last three at 5:00 pace after running 5:30s for the first part. Running Twin Cities was kind of a last-minute decision. Originally we were planning to go to Hungary for the World [20K] Road Running Championships and then run the Chicago marathon, but those plans fell through. TR: Did you have any sort of time goal going into the race? FB: No, not really. We were cautious of setting a time goal because you never know what can happen out there. The main goal was just to be competitive. Jason Lehmkuhle and Ryan Shay were right around me at the U.S. 20K Champs [in New Haven, CT the previous month], and I figured I could be right in there with those guys, even with the extra distance to cover. There was no pressure, though, I was just going to try and mix it up, but be patient. I was hoping to feel good at 20 and then make a move, but it didn’t happen. TR: How, and when, did you get started running competitively? FB: I started running in the summer before 8th grade with the local high school cross country team’s summer conditioning program. My brother was a senior on the team and talked me into coming out with him every day. I won my first 5 races and so decided to stick with it. TR: You then went on to attend Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. What kind of FB: times did you run as a high schooler? TR: And how did you end up at ASU? FB: I visited Iowa, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Stanford and Arizona State. My decision came between Wisconsin and Arizona State and I chose ASU on the following basis. As you know, there are no guarantees in life. I asked myself, “where would I want to go to school if I could no longer run?” And ASU seemed like a place where I could get better at running and still enjoy my college experience simultaneously. Also, I was one of three Foot Locker finalists in ‘97 that were in the incoming freshman class. TR: What kind of times did you run while at ASU? FB: I got the 10,000m school record of 28:43, and ran 5000m in 13:51. As a freshman, I made the U.S. team for the World Junior cross-country championships in 1999. I placed 24th and was the top American finisher. I was a 2-time All-American on the track, my best placing being 6th at the 10,000m in 2001, and I was a 2-time All-American in Cross Country, placing 19th(1999) and 22nd(2001) TR: And then you moved to Monterey, CA to be a part of the Big Sur Distance project and be coached by Bob Sevene. You left Monterey, earlier this summer after Sevene announced his retirement. And now you’re living in Bristol, TN with Fernando Cabada, and training under Scott Simmons. How did that come about? FB: Well, I left Monterey on July 3rd, spent 4th of July in Indy with my family, and then arrived here in Bristol on July 5th, and have been living with Fernando in a two-bedroom apartment next to Steel Creek Park. It’s a pretty nice place and a great area for running. It’s working out great so far. TR: Why Bristol, Tennessee to train with Fernando and Coach Simmons instead of say, Boulder, Eugene, Flagstaff, or some other distance running mecca? FB: Well, Fernando and I actually talked and hung out quite a bit at different meets and races this year, and on my way out to the 25K at Grand Rapids I found out that Big Sur wasn’t going to renew our sponsorship because Sev was retiring. Fernando and I roomed together at the 25K and he talked to me about maybe moving out to Bristol and training with him. I told him I’d think about it and that I was also thinking about maybe heading to Boulder. At U.S. track nationals in Indy in June, I spoke with Coach Simmons and he talked about a plan for me leading up to Twin Cities. He showed me a calendar mapping out my long-term progression. It included the workouts I would do and races I would run heading into the marathon. He thought Fernando and I could do great things training together, and he would have me in the best 5k and 10k shape of my life heading into the marathon. Last week, [at the 5k championships] it came through. He was right. Coach Simmons just really impressed me with what he had to say. I moved out here to run and there’s not much to do out here but run. It’s a good situation. TR: In Monterey you guys had Sev’s undivided attention, whereas Coach Simmons also has his team at Virginia Intermont College to tend to. Have you found that to be a tricky situation? FB: No, not really. Coach Simmons will meet with us in the morning and then coach the team in the afternoon. Sometimes I run with the team, but not often. TR: Two weeks before Twin Cities, you ran a great race at the CVS Downtown 5K, which also served as th U.S. Championships. You finished third overall in a road PR of 13:55. Can you tell us how that race shook out? FB: Well, at first I wasn’t sure if I was even gonna make it there! I had a 7:00am flight the day before and I didn’t make it so I had to buy a new ticket. I was able to get a 6:00pm flight and I got to the hotel after midnight. Luckily, the race didn’t start until 11:00am, so I got enough sleep. My workouts leading up to the race were going well and I was running them faster than ever before, so I was feeling pretty confident going in to it. We went out at 4:23 in a big group, and everyone was a little apprehensive and nothing happened. I only ran 14:27 and finished 17th the year before, so I didn’t feel confident to be the one to make the first move. TR: How many miles a week did you log (on average) in your build-up for Twin Cities Marathon? FB: I averaged around 120. The highest week was 125. TR: What were some of the key workouts leading up to the marathon? FB: Well, my last hard workout before Twin Cities was on the track: 25 x 400 on a two minute cycle. I averaged 62 to 64 for each one, so I had about 55 to 58 seconds recovery between each. We also have this workout called the predator run, which is basically a progression run that helps to simulate the feeling you’re going to get in a race. For example, we did a longer run where we started off running 5:36 pace, worked down to about five-minute pace for a few miles and finished the last mile in 4:40. Usually, the predator runs are between 9 and 11 miles. TR: Is the 25 x 400 workout a staple of Coach Simmons’ training plan? FB: Yeah, pretty much. It’s something we always do, just a question of when. In Monterey we were always running a lot of miles, especially throughout the fall. Sev used to tell us that we were building up the engine. All that [mileage] was great preparation for the stuff I’m doing now. At the U.S. 25K Championships [in May], I was able to average sub-5:00 pace and I felt pretty good. My body just seems more naturally suited to the longer races. TR: What were your longest runs and workouts in training leading up to the race? FB: I did 22 two weeks out and practiced taking fluids every four miles. It’s tricky. I used some races as long workouts. I did the Parkersburg Half Marathon in Virginia, where I ran 1:07:25 and was the first American [Bizuneh finished 11th overall], but I didn’t race well. Then at the 20K Championships, I ran 4:53 pace and had a good race there. I was just absorbing all the work from over the summer and I believed I was in the best shape I’d ever been in. TR: What did you to to recover after Twin Cities? FB: Well, I am hoping to be picked for the Chiba Ekiden Relay team, and we’ve got eight weeks until that. I took the day after Twin Cities off, and the next two days I ran 35 minutes pretty. I started feeling better every day, but I didn’t start doing any real workouts until a few weeks later. TR: Do you and Fernando run together pretty much every day? FB: Yeah. On easy days we might go on our own but we do all our workouts and harder runs together. We do the long runs a lot faster here than we did them in Monterey. We run on the Virginia Creeper Trail. It’s really well shaded,which was great in the late summer. We did a lot of long, steady runs where we were clipping off 5:40s. Having Fernando to run with definitely helps. He ran the American record for 25K so he’s got to be doing something right. He runs hard, and I run hard to stay with him — it helps both of us. TR: Are you working at all or just focusing on training and racing for the time being? FB: No, I’m not working. I had a couple part-time jobs in Monterey, but here I’m focused completely on running. Chris Layne of Total Sports Management is my agent and we recently worked out a deal with New Balance. My parents and family have been very supportive and I’ve done well enough at races that I’ve been able to support myself. TR: What are some of the biggest differences between Coach Sevene’s training program and what you’re doing now with Coach Simmons? FB: Well, when I left Arizona State, I hadn’t actually graduated yet. It was Sev who pushed me to go back there and get my degree. He kept my spot on the team, sent me gear, and flew me out to races while I was finishing up my studies. I wasn’t very excited about doing it but I’m glad I did and really appreciated that he did that for me. With Sev, he always used to say that the fall and winter were for building up the engine and then in the spring it was time to fill it up with gas. We were always running a lot of miles — I think I averaged 120 a week in the two and a half years I was out there — which I think has helped me out a lot now. But I was never race ready, which I think is the biggest difference. Now, with Coach Simmons, well, he doesn’t believe in peaking. We’re constantly building, filling that engine. I’ve hit the track at least once a week for the last eight weeks, and the track is something we never touched during this time of the year with Sev. There’s more to it than just science. Coach Simmons did his undergrad in psychology and is a great motivator. He just came out with a book called Take the Lead. A lot of what we do is outlined in there. TR: You’ve already qualified for next November’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, and when we talked last week, you mentioned that Coach Simmons likes to have a working long-term plan in place. What does that plan consist of at this point? FB: Well, I think I qualified for the Pan Am Games in August as well, but we’re still waiting to hear on that. If I make that [team], that will be the next big focus. The [marathon] Trials are three months later, so that should give us plenty of time to get ready. I’ll go to Flagstaff for altitude training in December to prepare for the U.S. Half Marathon Championships in Houston, and then to Boulder,CO to get ready for the U.S. Cross Country Championships in February which will be held right there [in Boulder]. I’ll probably do a few other U.S. road championships in the spring, like the 8K in late March. I’d like to try to get my 5K and 10K PRs down in the summer too, and maybe even head over to Europe for a few races. TR: So you’re not abandoning the track for the marathon just yet? FB: No, not yet. I think I can run much faster for 5K and 10K. I truly believe that training for the marathon will make me a better runner over all the distances. I hope to never abandon the track throughout my running career. I just want to keep improving over all distances, and it’s good that coach Simmons encourages us to get out there and race a lot. It’s all part of the training. The London Marathon is pencilled in for April. I will be hoping to lower my marathon PR there. So my track season may get pushed back a bit. TR: Any other goals for 2007? FB: Well, I’ve been off the international map since 1999, when I finished 24th at World Cross Country Championships as a junior, so that’s the main goal: to represent my country and just improve. I’d like to run a fall marathon every year and focus on improving to the point where I’m competitive and consistently a favorite. At the U.S. 5K championships, I showed I can run with those top guys, and it helped me to believe in myself. I know things are just going to keep getting better. TR: Having the American 25K record holder for a roommate must make it a little easier to find the motivation to get out there and train. Any drawbacks, though? FB: He likes to run hard, and we’ve done some smoking long runs right around 5:30 pace. But that has definitely helped me to raise the level of my performance. I wouldn’t say there’s a bad part about any part of my life right now. Things are going so well for me, that I have a very high level of acceptance of all things that happen to me. A resistance to reality is a cause of stress that I just don’t need. For example, my car got towed in Phoenix last week and I had to pay $100 to get it out. Anytime over the past 3 years that would have represented quite a hit to my financial stability; but now, not so much. Life is good. What do you do to relax between runs? FB: I read, watch movies, or play guitar, and there’s a non-smoking pool hall downtown that I’ll go to about once a week. Who’s the better pool player? You or Fernando? FB: Haha! Definitely me. But he really doesn’t play much. He doesn’t have the patience. |
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