Bookworm: "14 Minutes" by Alberto Salazar and John Brant

While much of the press on Alberto Salazar's incredible new autobiography, "14 Minutes," has been focused on Salazar's much known faith and his brush with death, that spawned the title of the book (spoiler: he was pronounced dead for 14 minutes), I took away a different set of realizations. Those nuggets of information from the man himself were the confirmations of many rumors that had been floated in circles and message boards for years, but were never really confirmed to the public.

Here are a few of those:

1. Salazar had a hand in the hiring of Vin Lananna
While there's no real confirmation that he was against Martin Smith, he did present to the athletic director that Rupp would attend the University of Portland, unless certain things changed. Most importantly, he had Phil Knight's blessing, to the tune of "I guess you'll just have to fix it." He then goes on to state that after this was remedied, that "Galen joined the Ducks fold, and soon Oregon's distance-running tradition was restored." That certainly can not be argued with, as since Rupp came aboard, Oregon won the NCAA Cross Country title twice and has produced stars like Rupp, Andrew Wheating and Matt Centrowitz.

2. Salazar was not happy with Alan Webb's insubordination
As many distance fans recall, Salazar's goal with Webb was to rebuild him from the ground up; a goal that in his mind, would require Webb to "spend an entire year away from world-class competition." As Salazar puts it "Alan grew impatient and wanted to run some major meets. I told him let's hit some singles and doubles before we swing for a home run, but Alan resisted." Salazar's attention to detail is notorious and while it may not work for all, it certainly has produced World class results.

3. Salazar faced much ridicule for his stance on Prozac
In the mid 90's, many recall that Salazar said that Prozac helped him run faster and break through a plateau. People took issue with this, including a competing Adidas Elite team at the 1994 Hood to Coast Relay, who had a sign on one of their vehicles reading "We Don't Run on Prozac." Salazar was happy to help his Nike team to victory and has always stood by his taking of Prozac ("only for a few months") to help battle depression, which ultimately helped him run better, due to his elevated mood.

4. Salazar was the liaison for Michael Johnson and the Dream Team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
Being "Charles Barkley's bodyguard" is one of Salazar's favorite jobs, as one of his first duties with Nike after his professional career was tending to Michael Johnson and the Dream Team in Barcelona, the Olympiad in which Johnson faltered (only to return in 1996 to dominate) and Barkley and the boys ripped through the international competition, in the first year where pros would compete for the US team.

Salazar graced the cover of Sports
Illustrated during his 3-peat of NYC

5. Salazar won his first of three New York City Marathon titles while still attending the University of Oregon
While many people likely knew this already, this was news to me. It was exciting when Luke Puskedra ran an excellent half at Houston this year, but the idea of an American collegian running a competitive World Class Marathon now seems almost unimaginable.

Much of the information that is discussed in this excellent book is confirmation of Salazar's incredible drive and work ethic, and no question is left unanswered. He discusses his upbringing from elementary school on and talks of the Nike Altitude house, his missteps with Dathan Ritzenhein's form, his coaching of Rupp and the Gouchers and his relationship with Coach Bill Squires and Bill Rodgers. "14 Minutes" is a must for any distance fan. A very quick and informative read form one of the best coaches (and runners) of our time.

Learn more about the book at http: 14minutesbook.com and pick up a copy of the book at Amazon.com

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Road to Houston: 5 Questions with Houston Half competitor and Oregon Duck, Luke Puskedra

The twelfth and final 5 Questions with interview for the "Road to Houston" series is with the University of Oregon's Luke Puskedra. Puskedra won't be running the trials tomorrow, but will be debuting in the Half Marathon on Sunday.

Luke Puskedra has had an excellent college career, and he's not done yet. After finishing in the top ten in Cross Country in three of his four seasons as a Duck, he's gearing up for his final semester in Eugene. He'll change is up this Sunday, where he'll be stepping onto the roads of Houston. Follow him on Twitter here.

5 Questions with Luke Puskedra

1. Writing About Running: You're running the Half-Marathon in Houston on Sunday. What led you to this decision?

Luke Puskedra: My coaches and I sat down and decided that running this race would se me up to contribute to the big team goals we have for the Track and Field team this year. I started my training for Cross Country late because of an injury. Training has been coming along well, so it made sense to take a break in my training after this race.

Puskedra came up big in 2008 to help the Ducks
to the National Championship in Cross Country

2. Writing About Running: How have your workouts changed leading up to this race? and who have you been training with?

Luke Puskedra:  My workouts haven’t changed much. I have always worked best off of more volume in my training, so I only had to change a few key workouts. I stayed in Eugene for a bit longer over the break, to avoid possible weather issues in my hometown, Ogden, Utah. We had a few guys stay in Eugene, so I had a good group of guys to workout with. Believe it or not, I meshed a few workouts with team members who focus primarily on the 5k/10k, all the way to ones that focus on the 800, specifically. That’s the thing that attracted me to Oregon from high school, there is so much talent on the team and all the members are willing to work hard.

3. Writing About Running: Are you planning on running indoors?

Luke Puskedra:  I still have to sit down with the coaches to discuss if running indoors will set me up to be a contributor to the big goals that we have as a team this year in outdoors. It is an exciting time in Eugene right now, with everything going on. Watching the hard work the whole Track and Field team is doing is exciting. Walking to practice everyday, I see the throwers practicing technique and the sprinters moving it along on the track. I’m excited to compete with these guys.

Puskedra is looking to go big outdoors

4. Writing About Running: You had an excellent Cross Country career at Oregon. What are your goals for outdoor?

Luke Puskedra: I feel that I have underachieved on the track compared to results in Cross Country and the workouts I’ve done. I’d like to run fast in the 5000 and 10,000 and win some team titles, whether it be Pac-10’s etc., to finish off my college career.

5. Writing About Running:  What are you hoping to get out of the race Sunday?

Luke Puskedra: I hope just to have fun. I’m doing the race to keep things loose and fresh. I’m going in with no expectations, just hoping to run to my abilities. I know it will be hard and I am excited for the challenge.

Next up will be my picks to make the team, which will publish later this evening.

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Battle Royale: 2011 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships are Monday

Tomorrow is the 2011 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, which are held in Terre Haute, Indiana (home course for Indiana State). The event will be broadcast at noon eastern on NCAA.com and will once again, be packed with many exciting individual and team battles.

Here's a few that stand out:

Men's Individual Contenders
-Arizona's Lawi Lalang has not lost this year. He truly hasn't been challenged. He is a freshman though, so it may not be as easy to win this one as some people think. Expect some competition from the guys below.
-Iona's Lenny Korir was fourth last year. He was four seconds behind Oregon's Luke Puskedra. He should challenge Lalang and won't be afraid to inject some speed in the pace, if it dawdles.
-Puskedra has been top five twice and has run well all year. Expect top ten at the absolute worst. Like Korir, Puskedra is not afraid to push it, if needed.
-NC State's Ryan Hill has had an excellent season and has only lost to one person. That man is Lawi Lalang. Hill finished second to Lalang at Griak and at Wisconsin, before winning ACC's and the Southeast Regional. Hill can kick with the best of them and should go top five (Disclaimer: he was my top pick in my fantasy draft. 5th overall).
-Stanford's Chris Derrick has always been consistent. Similar to Puskedra, he's seasoned and ready to go. This year, an individual title is on his mind and expect him to lay it all out there.
-BYU's Miles Batty is great over every distance. Coach Ed Eyestone has him raring to go, and like Hill, he can kick from far out.
-NAU's Diego Estrada runs excellent with a chip on his shoulder. He'll look to throw down one more good one in a field of strong competitors tomorrow and will be the dark horse of the group.

Can the Cowboys make it three in a row?

-The big enigma is Oklahoma State's German Fernandez. He's run excellent all year and a conference  title should give him the confidence to go for it. He may be conservative with a team title on the line, but you never know what's coming, which makes him intriguing.

Men's Team Contenders
-Oklahoma State has won two in a row and is primed for a third win. Fernandez has run strong all season. Colby Lowe has been excellent as usual. Tom Farrell will lead the rest of the group to a potential three peat.

-Wisconsin has looked effortless all season. Will their pack finish far enough towards the front to give the Cowboys a run for their money? Mo Ahmed will lead the way with Maverick Darling, Ryan Collins, Reed Connor and Elliot Krause all needing a strong race for the Badgers to have an honest chance.

Women's Individual Contenders

-Villanova's Sheila Reid is the favorite to repeat here, as she has looked untouchable once again this year. She may get some competition from Oregon's Jordan Hasay and North Carolina's Kendra Schaaf, but she'll be hard to beat down that last straightaway.

Who will leave smiling tomorrow?

-Hasay has beaten Reid before and can beat her again. Will she have it today? When she's on, she's one of the best. It'll likely come down to that last 500.
-Schaaf has been here before and she looks the most ready this year to make a run at the title. Unlike previous years, Schaaf has been hanging with the pack and running reverse splits from the first 3k to the second 3k, consistently. Expect her to make a move mid-race as being in a kicker's duel with Reid and Hasay won't be in her best interest (Disclaimer: she was my top pick in my fantasy draft. 3rd overall).

Women's Team Contenders
-Florida State has been dominant all year with a minimal spread. Expect Karen Harvey's women to improve on their runner-up finish last year.
-Villanova will have the benefit of getting the low stick from Reid and from the always excellent coaching from Gina Procaccio. Expect them to make Florida State work hard to take the title belt from them.
-Georgetown may be the hottest women's team right now. Have they been racing too hard? Emily Infeld will lead the Hoyas to a podium finish at minimum.

As with Cross Country, expect the unexpected. It should be a wild ride. Stars will emerge and some will buckle under pressure. Let's hope for some great weather and some honest races!

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