Jake Riley – Training for the Olympic Trials
[Article by Tait Hearps of Sweat Elite]
A couple weeks ago Sweat Elite founder Matt Fox sat down with three-time Olympian and fellow Australian Lee Troop in Boulder, Colorado. Troop has been based in Boulder for the last decade, initially moving there to train for New York and Boston Marathons in 2008. Now retired from competitive racing, he has a group of athletes running under his tutelage in the mile-high town. Lee and Matt had a wide-ranging conversation and we encourage you to listen to the whole thing here. However, given the results at the US Olympic Trials in Atlanta over the weekend, some very pertinent parts of the discussion centre on Jake Riley.
The All-American Stanford graduate first caught Lee’s attention at the 2012 USATF Club Cross Country Championships. Then 24, he really impressed Troop with his relentless attacks which took him to victory on the day. In an interview with Podium Runner Troop recounts the day: “Jake just obliterated the field that day. I saw a great cross-country runner who attacked up and over the hills, and kept on pressing.” Riley was based in Michigan for a period. He had some solid performances including a marathon debut of 2:13:16 at the 2014 Chicago Marathon, however he failed to build on that success. Amid a number of tumultuous years battling injury and personal struggles, Riley missed qualification in 2016 for both the marathon and 10,000m (placing 12th). He ended up relocating to Boulder in 2017, where he and Troop connected.
After struggling through ongoing heel and Achilles pain and a diagnosis of Haglund’s deformity, Riley took the plunge and underwent surgery in the Spring of 2018. The recovery was agonisingly slow. Three months on crutches and then a protracted period of walk-runs. Eventually he was fit enough to begin to build for a marathon, Chicago 2019 was the target.
Banking some quality training in the leadup to Chicago, Troop – who has a personal best of 2:09:49 – was hoping Jake could pull off something in the range of 2:11-2:12. His expectations were exceeded when Riley finished ninth with a new PB of 2:10:36. Things were looking up. Troop suggests that Riley’s performance in the race and training was in part due to an improved life balance. The unsponsored runner has a busy schedule juggling training with postgraduate studies and teaching.
The outstanding performance in Chicago gave good momentum and a perfect amount of time to prepare for a serious assault on the qualification trials in late February. Averaging 110-120 miles per week, with two quality efforts, Riley’s training went really well according to Troop in the interview the week before trials. He had run some sessions that gave very positive indications for how he could perform in Atlanta. Coming into the race with the fourth fastest PB and the second fastest time in the preceding eighteen months, Riley looked to be more than just an outside contender.
When asked about measures taken for acclimation to the conditions in Atlanta, Troop said that – as there was a good chance the conditions on race day would be relatively cool – they opted to focus on familiarity and comfort leading up to the race. Other than two brief training stints down in Arizona when snow blanketed Boulder and made training difficult, Riley carried out his training on home turf.
Troop detailed two key sessions that had been completed in the leadup to the trials.
One was completed at Teller Farm trails outside Boulder, as follows. 5km warm up. 4 miles of hills out, return and do a 5km press uphill back towards the parking lot. Jake closed the final 5km uphill in 16:45 in windy conditions, which Troop took as a good indication for his preparedness for the hilly course in Atlanta. He said that Jake’s cross-country pedigree would really favour his chances come race day.
The other key workout which Troop uses is an eighteen-mile progression. This should be run eight and then four weeks prior to a race, with a three-hour run six weeks out. Troop aims to simulate race conditions as much as possible. The workout is completed on a three-mile loop, a drinks table is put out to practice taking on fuel. Practice makes perfect.
Three miles easy to warm up, change shoes.
Miles 3-6: 5:55-6:00/mile
Miles 6-9: 5:30-5:35/mile
Miles 9-12: 5:15/mile
Miles 12-18: 5:00-5:05/mile – marathon pace (with a ~5second/mile concession for the 1600m elevation)
Jake ran this workout significantly faster in the leadup to Trials than when he was preparing for Chicago. Troop says he executed the session really well and looked comfortable.
Happy with preparation, Troop said the key things leading into Atlanta were to rest and absorb the training, keep his attention away from media and focus on the things that he actually has control over.
Saturday, 29th February. Riley lined up in sparkling new Nike Alphafly, which stood in contrast to his second-hand sunglasses and singlet from his local team Boulder TC. Riley battled through the windy conditions, sticking to his race strategy, holding back and allowing Abdirahman and Korir to get ahead when Rupp made a move at 15 miles. Fuelling the latter part of the run with decarbonated Coke, he reeled them back in and made his way to the front of the group chasing Rupp. Jake Riley held on and had a final kick to bring himself home in second place, a second ahead of Abdirahman and four seconds in front of Korir who narrowly missed a place on the team. His place on the Olympic Team finally achieved, it was time to celebrate.
Thank you to Lee for all the insight into Jake’s training leading up to such a stellar performance, and congratulations to both of you.
