Kenyon Neuman KWIK-E

February 20, 2009

Colorado Buffalo senior Kenyon Neuman has already logged himself a provisional qualifier for the National Championships in the 3K, with a time of 8:02.42 and an auto in the 5K with his 13:41 this past weekend. Let's see how he does to finish up this indoor season.

You just ran 13:41 indoors. How'd that feel?

It felt pretty good. I was happy with it. I was expecting to run something fairly fast, but it was a nice PR and it was a really good day.

With some of the times that are being run already this indoor season, do you feel like there's not much more you can do or can you get much faster?

I don't really feel like that at all. I like the idea that so many people are running so fast. There are a couple of guys who look like they're out of range. But I like that everyone is running so fast. It forces you to open up your mind and understand that you can compete with these people and you can run those kinds of times. It makes everyone faster. Even though I ran 13:41, I feel like I can do some improving and get faster.

From your perspective...what the hell is going on with American distance running right now?

I think there's a real good freshman class that came out of high school last year. I don't know if people are starting to work harder or get more serious or what. But people are just running real fast and training hard. They're probably training smart. I'm not really sure why everyone is all of a sudden running so quickly. Maybe distance training is catching on a little more with the younger people in our country. It's all happening pretty quickly I guess.

What's it feel like to be a part of that?

I don't know if I have that feeling right now that I'm part of some sort of revitalization. I've just been training the way I have been for a while. I've expected improvements and sometimes they come and sometimes they come a little harder. I don't really have that feeling yet. Maybe if this whole thing continues and people keep running fast times then I'll feel like there's some big revolution going on. I'm just doing my thing I guess. I haven't really thought about it much.

Speaking of you doing your thing. Can you give me a detailed training week for you?

It obviously changes from week to week and from different parts of the year. We do our long run on Sunday and we have another kind of longer day on Wednesday. I think a lot of what we do is a lot more aerobically directed. I think that's a good thing. I'm a believer in it. It's more of an emphasis on the aerobic aspect of things, especially this time of year or over the summer and in cross. I guess that's why our program is a little bit different than others. We get on the track and we run fast too a little further down the road.

What kind of mileage do you hit in your base phase for XC and what do hit for mileage right now?

It changes from week to week. I'll run a few weeks over 100. Before my 3K, I didn't really back down at all. This last week, for the 5K, we wanted to make sure that I'd get into the National Championships, so I backed down to about 85 miles...I think. I don't know, I haven't added it up yet. It changes from time to time, but ultimately several weeks over 100.

How does your body respond to those over 100 mile weeks?

Yeah. I get tired sometimes. Last year I had a little anemia problem. This past fall I got a fracture, but generally my body has responded well. It all has to do with a balance of the volume and the intensity. I think I can handle the volume, but I've got to keep some sort of balance with what sort of intensity I'm doing. I don't want to find myself in a hole or injured.

Early on in your running, you ran a lot of miles and ½ miles. Now you're running 100 mile weeks. Would you say your body is more geared toward the longer stuff or the shorter races?

I'm focusing on the 5K right now. But I definitely think I can run a fast mile. I think I could run a fast 800. Maybe not something that could compete with a lot of the guys in the NCAAs, but I think I could run a time that would do well at our conference meet. I haven't really directed much of my training toward the 800 in a long time. With my volume and stuff, I feel like I still run a pretty fast mile. I've actually been trying to for a couple of years, but I have trouble getting into the right heats in the 1500. I'm always either winning the heat in a slower time than I'd like to run—I got second in a 15 last year—but I did a lot of leading. When you don't run it that much, it's hard to get into a fast heat. I'm confident that the volume, well, I'm confident I haven't lost any speed. The volume helps the mile or the eight, or whatever you want to be running.

Do you have any good shots coming up? (at the mile)

I don't think I'm going to run a mile indoors, but I'm definitely going to try to run one outdoors. I'd like to get in a fast heat. I don't know if I'll run at Mt. SAC or where, but I'd like to get in a fast heat and run a fast time. That's a race where I don't think I've really run to my potential. I think I ran 3:45 last year at the Stanford Meet and I just felt like I was in shape to go 3:43 at least. I ran a 3:49 on our track here in Boulder and I just feel like that generally converts to something faster. Like 3:45...I've just got to get in the right heat.

Is it still the case that no one has broken four minutes for the mile in Boulder, at altitude, right?

At altitude? Yeah. Last year at our conference meet, both Leo (Manzano) and (Stephen) Pife(r) both ran a really fast time on our track. I'm not exactly sure what the times were...it could be 3:42 and 3:43 or 3:41 and 3:42 or something. You'll talk to some people and they'll say that altitude conversions are a joke and that you don't get five seconds from coming down from altitude. But those times, they kind of blow my mind because Leo and Pife ran those times. I've run some 15s up there and I generally gain about six or seven seconds—even more. I've gained more coming down from altitude and I've trained up there. Leo doesn't (didn't) train at 5000 feet and he ran 3:41 or 3:42 up there or whatever. That race effort converts to something fast, I don't know what it is. I just know it's something fast. Pife's time has to convert to something real fast as well. Something that's probably faster than our school record, but he didn't get it.

Are you setting any goals for this indoor season?

I don't really have any goals. I just want to compete at NCAAs. Go and race and if my racing and training leads to where I think it's going to lead, then I think I'll finish fairly high. The first goal is to score points at conference for the team and stuff. But the National Championships, I think (Galen) Rupp and (Sam) Chelanga are out of the picture. So, I guess third would be an ideal place. But who knows. Like you said, everyone is popping big times right now so who knows who will do what at these last chance meets. I think somewhere between third and fifth might be within my reach. I'm going to go out there and race and hopefully I run well and finish up fairly high in that race.

What are your hobbies outside the sport of running?

Well, right now all I do is run and eat and sleep. I don't know, I've got a lot of hobbies but I haven't been doing much of them in the last year. I guess road biking and cycling. When I was hurt with my fracture, I was doing a lot of road biking. Going for some long rides in Boulder and stuff. It's a great place to ride your road bike. There's phenomenal cycling around here. I enjoy that stuff and I used to be a tennis player, I used to snowboard, played a lot of soccer, but mostly now it's a lot of running. I do some photography from time to time. When I find that I have the time to do it.

Can you swim at all?

I was in the pool a lot when I was hurt this past fall. I was doing a lot of swimming and I never really thought I was a very good swimmer. I improved a lot. During the time that I was swimming. The object of that season was ride my bike for as many hours of the day as I could and get in this Swim-X thing we have and I'd water jog. Then I'd go and swim at the rec center. I found that both with cycling and swimming I did fairly well. Better than I expected, you know? I never raced anybody. I'd do some workouts and stuff. It's fun stuff. I think the aerobic aspect of running, I think you generally find you've got a bit of talent in those arenas as well. Cycling and swimming, you can do it for much longer over these aerobic, base oriented things.

So we're not going to see you in a triathlon any time soon?

I don't think so. I'm focused on the running right now. Later on maybe...just for fun. I think I could do fairly well in some tris...it's hard to tell. I've never raced anyone in the pool, but I've raced with some decent riders to see how I stacked up.

Can you give me a crazy running related story?

One day we left the field house—a bunch of us...maybe Billy Nelson, Brent (Vaughn) and Pife, quite a few other guys—and see this dog once we leave the field house. Billy and a couple other guys start calling to the dog. The thing just started chasing us and started running with us. We thought it was funny at first, then when we got about 800 meters down the path, the thing wasn't stopping...it was running with us. We were like “shit, the owner's probably freaking out.” He continued running with us for about 10 miles. He just kept going with us and just kept cruising. We named the dog “Panone”. There's another guy on our team, Chris Panone, we named it after him. I don't know why, but he got pretty upset about it. Billy had to call the owner and meet him at Starbucks the next day to return the dog.

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#12	Chris November 14 at 5:15am You interview like a pro cousin! reply
#11	Foon Fu March 20 at 3:20pm Good stuff Kenyon. reply
#10	Poormartha February 24 at 7:01am Was it really that bad? reply
#9	Ihatemartha February 22 at 1:46pm martha, your joke caused me physical pain. I literally winced when i read your comment. May God have mercy on your soul. reply
#8	Liza February 21 at 2:12pm way to follow your heart kenyon... great interview tony! reply
#7	Tony February 20 at 4:23pm I have heard a number of running dog stories like this. Back when I was a grad student at UF, I knew a former runner and we were both officiating for the xc and track teams. A guy named Randy Hollinger who ran at UF had the same thing happen on a run. Little scruffy mid-sized dog followed him for 12 miles at about a 6 min clip. He tried to find the owner, then gave the dog to the guy I officiated with. One night at the track, the dog was following him around and he offered the dog to me. Said it was a great training partner (he didnt even own a leash) but he just couldn't keep it. My apt complex wouldn't let me have that dog, but i would have loved it. I think they called him stank ass or something cause he was so dirty and stinky when Randy first acquired him. reply
#6	Tyson Jex February 20 at 2:06pm Another great interview! reply
#5	Mrs. Doubtfire February 20 at 11:35am Aw that was so sweet of Billy Nelson to keep the dog over night and make sure he got back to his owner. Is he still doing steeple? reply
#4	Martha February 20 at 10:53am Do they like Buffalo wings at Colorado? Just wondering. reply
#3	Fan February 20 at 10:14am go buffs!!!! reply
#2	Anonymous Coward February 20 at 7:58am Do a Tri but don't let it fool you, transitioning from swimming to biking is tough and then biking to running makes your legs heavy. Its a blast and I'd recommend it to everyone, but just don't think it would be a breeze because we run so much. reply
#1	Anonymous Coward February 20 at 5:59am Wow finally a good running story. I think he should try a tri when he graduates. Love the Buffs. reply