I have always maintained the secret to running fast times is
to race. This is what happened yesterday when the American record in the 10 K
was broken. Just race baby, just race - If you run to win then the times will
come as the competition improves.
Still on an adrenalin high,
Solinsky was remarkably fresh after the end of his 25-lap race. “I really
didn’t come here to run a fast time,” he said to the gathered media. “I
came here to win. I knew the time would take care of itself.”
A side stitch which came shortly before the halfway point caused him some
anxiety, but after six or seven laps of deep breathing, the situation abated,
“and with a mile to go, I knew I would finish.”
“I had no idea of what would happen tonight. I felt that a time between
26:55 and 28:00 was possible for me. I’m still really a 5K guy. I’m just
dabbling with this at the moment.”
The affable Solinsky was quick to pay tribute to those who had gone
before. “The old American record by Meb was really a solid one. As
I traveled here, I was telling myself I would be quite content to run a 27:20,
especially as a newcomer to the event. But all of this would never have
happened without Galen and the pacemakers. I know I’ll take a lot of heat
for letting Galen do all the work and then kicking at the end, but, as I said
before, I never chase times. I just try to win. That’s our group’s
philosophy.”
Training under the tutelage of Jerry Schumaker ever since his student days at
the University of Wisconsin, Solinsky has made an American 5000m record attempt
(12:56.27) the big goal for this season. “I plan to run the event in Oslo
in early June just to ‘get the kinks out’. But the big race is planned
for the (Prefontaine Classic) in early July. The mission is to run a
sub-13 on American soil.”