Q&A: Meb Keflezighi Pushes Past Tough End to Olympic Career
Q&A: Meb Keflezighi Pushes Past Tough End to Olympic Career
Meb Keflezighi's final Olympic appearance was one of the toughest races of his career. Upset stomach problems, seven stops beginning at the halfway point, a
Meb Keflezighi's final Olympic appearance was one of the toughest races of his career. Upset stomach problems, seven stops beginning at the halfway point, and a fall just steps before the finish line resulted in Keflezighi crossing in 33rd place. He even did a couple push-ups after falling to show fans that he was not hurt.
Keflezighi recovered from his challenging championship experience, as the 41-year-old distance legend always does, and reminded audiences why he is the classiest competitor in the game.
FloTrack: You just competed in what you've said is your last Olympics. How do you feel about the performance in Rio?
Meb: This being my last Olympic Games, the performance was not what I had planned. I was hoping to be on the podium, but sometimes it doesn't work that way. That's what racing is. But to wear the red, white and blue one more time was a great honor and to hug my family: my wife, brother, and daughters at the finish was a great experience. And my coach Bob Larsen was there, so the experience in itself was worthwhile. But the performance didn't go the way I had planned, because I had issues with my stomach, and had to stop seven times, and there was the fall at the end. It was something that was not expected, but at the same time I knew I had to get to that finish line even if I was in last place.
FloTrack: Did you ever figure out what caused the stomach issues?
Meb: No. I talked to Amy Cragg and others from the Bowerman Track Club about what they ate because they were there before me. I ate well, but I think it had to be the humidity. I even tried to take my almond butter with me, but the TSA took that away even when I had a small packet. But I drank the water bottles, ate the salads, and ate the fruits that I had -- bananas and things like that. I did everything in my power to get ready and perform, and it just did not fall where I wanted it to be. I wouldn't change any of my training. I think I did everything right. Sometimes you hit it out of the park, and sometimes you don't. Unfortunately, it just didn't happen that day.
FloTrack: Running in humidity is extremely difficult.
Meb: I mean, I sat in the sauna up to 20-25 minutes at a time. I wore extra layers of clothes in training. Just can't figure it out, but it happened.
FloTrack: The stomach problems happened mid-way through the race, how'd you mentally focus on finishing at that point?
Meb: When I focus on a project, I am 110 percent committed. My goal was to finish it and get on the podium. If I can't then top 10, then top 20, but I thought I really had a top 10 shot and an outside chance of getting a medal. When it didn't happen, I had to stop again. I tried to close the gap. I ran 5:08 and 5:04, and then it happened again [had to stop]. Top 10 goal didn't happen and then it happened again [had to stop] and then I thought, just finish. Even if I was in last, I knew I would still get to the finish line. But I wore USA the whole time, remembered my girls, and just focused on the finish.
FloTrack: One of my favorite moments of the Olympics was when you slipped but immediately got up and did a couple push-ups before crossing the finish line. What made you decide to do that?
Meb: Well, I was being extra cautious because it was so slippery and I was going to try and take my hat off in honor of Joan Benoit Samuelson, who took her hat off when she won the gold medal. She's been an inspiration to me and many others. Then the slip happened and I thought, "Wow, I can't believe it. I was inches away from the finish line. Are you kidding me? [laughs]." I struggled to get there, but I was so slow to the ground that I just reacted quick on my feet and did some push-ups to let them know that I was OK, and everybody loved it. The crowd was wild. A lot of people in the U.S. resonated with that, and now a lot of times when someone sees me, they want to do push-ups in my honor [laughs]. It's pretty funny.
FloTrack: I saw that you attended the Air Force Marathon and got a whole group to do push-ups together.
Meb: Yeah that was actually my idea. I asked General Thompson if he would do push-ups with me and he said, "Yeah!" I said "Well, I need help with 26 people and I'll be the 0.2 guy," and so that's what we did. We did push-ups together.
Push-ups are hard, very hard, but having the general and everyone joining you to do them is even harder [laughs].
FloTrack: The Olympic marathon had to have been one of the most exhausting races that you've been through. How did you recover immediately after the race and in the days that followed it?
Meb: The first thing I have is a Generation UCAN shake within the first 30 minutes. I stretch a little bit, very lightly and put on the CEP compression socks. I do a lot of stretching, a lot of therapy, and a lot of days off. Obviously, that was my last race of the year, so I wasn't in a rush to come back for any more races. I could have come back and tried to do the U.S. 20K championship, I could have tried to do another full marathon, but that's not me so I wanted to make sure I did everything that I can from the preparation to the race. Now it's time to recover and get ready for hopefully two more marathons and a few more shorter races.
Stay tuned for part two of the interview set to be published next Thursday.
Keflezighi recovered from his challenging championship experience, as the 41-year-old distance legend always does, and reminded audiences why he is the classiest competitor in the game.
FloTrack: You just competed in what you've said is your last Olympics. How do you feel about the performance in Rio?
Meb: This being my last Olympic Games, the performance was not what I had planned. I was hoping to be on the podium, but sometimes it doesn't work that way. That's what racing is. But to wear the red, white and blue one more time was a great honor and to hug my family: my wife, brother, and daughters at the finish was a great experience. And my coach Bob Larsen was there, so the experience in itself was worthwhile. But the performance didn't go the way I had planned, because I had issues with my stomach, and had to stop seven times, and there was the fall at the end. It was something that was not expected, but at the same time I knew I had to get to that finish line even if I was in last place.
FloTrack: Did you ever figure out what caused the stomach issues?
Meb: No. I talked to Amy Cragg and others from the Bowerman Track Club about what they ate because they were there before me. I ate well, but I think it had to be the humidity. I even tried to take my almond butter with me, but the TSA took that away even when I had a small packet. But I drank the water bottles, ate the salads, and ate the fruits that I had -- bananas and things like that. I did everything in my power to get ready and perform, and it just did not fall where I wanted it to be. I wouldn't change any of my training. I think I did everything right. Sometimes you hit it out of the park, and sometimes you don't. Unfortunately, it just didn't happen that day.
FloTrack: Running in humidity is extremely difficult.
Meb: I mean, I sat in the sauna up to 20-25 minutes at a time. I wore extra layers of clothes in training. Just can't figure it out, but it happened.
FloTrack: The stomach problems happened mid-way through the race, how'd you mentally focus on finishing at that point?
Meb: When I focus on a project, I am 110 percent committed. My goal was to finish it and get on the podium. If I can't then top 10, then top 20, but I thought I really had a top 10 shot and an outside chance of getting a medal. When it didn't happen, I had to stop again. I tried to close the gap. I ran 5:08 and 5:04, and then it happened again [had to stop]. Top 10 goal didn't happen and then it happened again [had to stop] and then I thought, just finish. Even if I was in last, I knew I would still get to the finish line. But I wore USA the whole time, remembered my girls, and just focused on the finish.
FloTrack: One of my favorite moments of the Olympics was when you slipped but immediately got up and did a couple push-ups before crossing the finish line. What made you decide to do that?
Meb: Well, I was being extra cautious because it was so slippery and I was going to try and take my hat off in honor of Joan Benoit Samuelson, who took her hat off when she won the gold medal. She's been an inspiration to me and many others. Then the slip happened and I thought, "Wow, I can't believe it. I was inches away from the finish line. Are you kidding me? [laughs]." I struggled to get there, but I was so slow to the ground that I just reacted quick on my feet and did some push-ups to let them know that I was OK, and everybody loved it. The crowd was wild. A lot of people in the U.S. resonated with that, and now a lot of times when someone sees me, they want to do push-ups in my honor [laughs]. It's pretty funny.
FloTrack: I saw that you attended the Air Force Marathon and got a whole group to do push-ups together.
Meb: Yeah that was actually my idea. I asked General Thompson if he would do push-ups with me and he said, "Yeah!" I said "Well, I need help with 26 people and I'll be the 0.2 guy," and so that's what we did. We did push-ups together.
Push-ups are hard, very hard, but having the general and everyone joining you to do them is even harder [laughs].
Amazing day @AFMarathon! People were doing #mebpushups at finish. I joined this great group that was handing medals pic.twitter.com/hzUlKk1S4p
— meb keflezighi (@runmeb) September 17, 2016
FloTrack: The Olympic marathon had to have been one of the most exhausting races that you've been through. How did you recover immediately after the race and in the days that followed it?
Meb: The first thing I have is a Generation UCAN shake within the first 30 minutes. I stretch a little bit, very lightly and put on the CEP compression socks. I do a lot of stretching, a lot of therapy, and a lot of days off. Obviously, that was my last race of the year, so I wasn't in a rush to come back for any more races. I could have come back and tried to do the U.S. 20K championship, I could have tried to do another full marathon, but that's not me so I wanted to make sure I did everything that I can from the preparation to the race. Now it's time to recover and get ready for hopefully two more marathons and a few more shorter races.
Stay tuned for part two of the interview set to be published next Thursday.