Jeff Riseley Interview: International Reflections

RT:

JR: I’ve finished the year with season bests of 1.44, 2.16, 3.33 and 3.52. So I guess if you looked at the numbers alone you would say it’s been a pretty solid season. But in reality I choked in Daegu and failed to be competitive in many of the big races. So as I sit in New York airport getting ready to head home I’m still not sure what to make of the season. I definitely had bigger expectations. Maybe that was the problem, I just need to relax and enjoy it a bit more. There’s a lot I need to work on for next year that’s for sure.

RT: The Daegu world champs were obviously a bit of a disappointment for you. What do you take away from it?

JR: You can’t show any signs of weakness or you’ll get exposed badly. Daegu is still something I’ve got to sit down and discuss with my people and see where we went wrong. I’m still struggling to explain it; I’d hadn’t missed any training and was in good shape. I had no excuses. Might have been all mental. Maybe I was lacking confidence and when the pressure was on in the last 100m I tightened up badly. One thing I did learn was from watching Matt Centrowitz. He just seemed to have this confidence that no matter what the race threw at him he would know where to position himself and always stayed calm. I think the college system is incredibly beneficial for teaching people how to race in many different ways. All I learned this year was to get in line, go through 800m in 1.52 and try and hold on. So really, basically nothing!

RT: Your 800m times have been amazing; especially you’re run of 1:44.64 in Rieti. Tell us about that race and what it was like to be in a race that was won in 1:41.33?

JR: All I can remember from the race was seeing 48.2 as I went past 400m and 1.14.3 at 600m. The rest was a blur, I was just following Lewondowski and thinking just hang in there, keep his back. Two days earlier I ran 3.39 in Zurich and I was flat out, off the back from the start and giving everything. Not exactly a great confidence booster going into Rieti. But I got a couple of text messages from Sonia O’Sullivan and she basically said magical things happen in Rieti and she had been in bad shape there before and run very well. That really helped me, I knew I was in good shape and it was just that the travel from Daegu was very tough so I just had to get in there and be tough. Thankfully things turned out well otherwise mentally it would have been a huge blow. I wasn’t in the greatest of places after Daegu and then followed that up with another poor performance in Zurich. Had I not run well in Rieti there would have been a lot of doubts heading into next year and a lot of things to fix and sort out. I guess it reaffirmed in my mind that I can still do it, however again I finished 7^th and lost by over 3secs.

RT: Have you and Nic Bideau sat down and discussed whether or not you will switch your focus towards the 800m for the London Olympics?

JR: Since Daegu I’ve been in Europe while Nic has been back in Australia so we haven’t had a chance to sit down and discuss the season. I only really ran three 800m races this year and I ran 1.45.02, 1.44.64 and 1.45.57. It has definitely crossed my mind because I have really failed to nail a 1500m this year. For some reason I haven’t been able to run on really strong in the last 200m of my 1500’s this year and that’s something we have to address. I’ve been given some great opportunities and I’ve put myself in good positions but not able to nail it. Oslo is one that comes to mind, I was right there behind the leader with 300m to go and just couldn’t go with them the last 120m and they put 2 seconds into me. I still think I have good potential over the 1500m and I want to keep working on it. Both the events compliment each other though.

RT: The Olympic year is traditionally not a good year for athletes to break records, as the focus is obviously more on the Olympics and not chasing fast times. However, we all obviously want to see Ralph Doubell’s Australian record of 1:44.40 fall. Do you think 2012 can be the year?

JR: I think given the right race I am more then capable of it. I think there were probably a few stages this year that I had the ability to do it. After Ostrava I was in very good shape and then obviously in Rieti. Had the World Champs not been in Asia then Rieti may have been a different story as the travel after a major champs is deceptively hard. I had a lot of fun running a few 800’s after Daegu. The 800m is an event I have no real expectations for because I concentrate on the 1500m, so I probably don’t analyse it as much and just get in and race. If I want to be successful in London 2012 in either event then I’m going to have to run faster than Doubell’s record.

RT: What is it like to train with fellow Aussie Ryan Gregson. You are both once in a generation athletes and Australia is extremely fortunate to have you both competing in the same era. Does Ryan’s achievements and talent motivate you that little bit extra?

JR: It’s good because I get to train with one of the best young milers in the world. However Ryan and I are very different athletes. He’s got a much bigger aerobic capacity, where as I have a lot more raw speed. So while we train together quite often, I can’t do threshold or longer 1k or mile reps with him because he kills me. On the other hand when we are on the track doing lactic gut busting sessions I’m the one pushing the pace. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to be in good shape at the same time. 2010 Ryan had a great year while I sat on the side lines and this year I had a good year and he had his injury problems.

Hopefully we can both get it together for next year. We are good for each other because we both can never afford to slack off because you know the other is working hard. But I think we both realise that there are ten other guys in the World that we also have to beat.

RT: In the week prior to the 800m race in Rieti can you provide us with what you did for training during the 7 days leading into the race?

JR:

Sat: 5x800m (1min rec) 2.18, 2.15, 2.17, 2.13, 2.17 & 3x400m (4min rec) 53.2, 51.6, 50.8
Sun: 60min
Mon: Travel to London
Tues: 40min
Wed: 30min
Thurs: Zurich 1500m 3.39
Fri: AM: 30min      PM: Travel to Rieti
Sat: Rieti 1.44.64 PB

RT: Lessons learnt during your latest European tour?

JR: Just when you think your starting to get on top of things and figure this game out you fail at a major champs and then have some blow out results afterwards. Your always learning, I guess that’s the hardest part. You’ve just got to keep persisting because eventually you’ll get there. I guess if it was that easy everyone would be winning, but there can only be one winner.

I hope this is not a depressing read, I guess it is just the end of the season and a lot of analysing is being done.