What do you do after a podium finish in the storied Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games in New York City? A post-race workout.

About an hour after the conclusion of the race, Edward Cheserek, coached by Stephen Haas, stepped back onto the track for a post-meet speed session. King Ches followed up his 3:53 runner-up finish in the Wanamaker Mile with 8 x 200 meters, taking about a minute rest between each interval.

Cheserek’s workout: 8 x 200 @ mile pace w/60s rest
Splits: 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 27, 27, 26

The workout is an additional mile of work at essentially the same pace as his mile race. King Ches looked effortless in this one.

While Cheserek smoothly cruised along the banked 200 meter Armory indoor track, Nike Oregon Project athlete Clayton Murphy was loosening up preparing for his own post-race workout. Murphy, coached by Pete Julien, finished 3rd in the race, just 0.01 seconds behind Cheserek. Murphy’s workout was 3 x 200, plus 5 x 300 with roughly 2-3 minutes of rest which included light jogging. As with Cheserek, Murphy ran at his mile race pace.

Murphy’s workout: 3 x 200 @ mile pace / 5 x 300 @ mile pace w/2-3 mins rest, including light jogging
Splits: 28, 28, 28 / 41, 41, 40, 41, 39

Finally, as Murphy began his 300 meter intervals, his NOP teammate and 2019 Wanamaker champ Yomif Kejelcha began his workout under the watchful eye of his coach Alberto Salazar. Kejelcha, just over an hour earlier, became the 2nd fastest man in indoor mile history. His thrilling race had the crowd on its feet loudly cheering the world record attempt. Kejelcha’s time of 3:48.46 was just 0.01 seconds off Hicham El Guerrouj’s record set in 1997. More of a 5k/10k specialist, Kejelcha ran a standard 6 x 800 workout with 400 jog recoveries. The first three intervals were run in the customary counterclockwise direction, but Salazar directed him to run clockwise on his final three.

Kejelcha’s workout (click link for video clip): 6 x 800 @ 5k pace (first 3 counterclockwise, last 3 clockwise) w/400 jog recoveries
Splits: 2:07, 2:07, 2:07, 2:06, 2:06, 2:03

Entering Kejelcha’s 3:48 mile result into the McMillan Running Calculator yields an equivalency estimate of 13:11 for 5000 meters, a pace of 4:15 per mile, which was roughly the pace in this workout.

Post-race workouts can be a beneficial means of getting in extra work and volume after racing short track distances. This also plays into the training methodology of making hard days hard and easy days easy. In the past, Salazar has also mentioned that the athlete has a unique metabolic profile immediately following a race which can be used beneficially with these workouts. I find it similar to striking while the iron is hot.

See also our full 2019 NYRR Millrose Games meet roundup.

Categories: Alberto Salazar, Indoor track, Millrose Games, Nike Oregon Project, Wanamaker Mile, Wanamaker Mile