Avinash Sable had a season that swung between two extremes of highs and lows. A Paris Olympic berth in steeplechase and two medals at the Asian Games came after the shocking exit in the heats of 3000m steeplechase at the world championships in Budapest.
The Budapest race still rankles the Armyman. It is not the timing (8min 22.24sec) that he is worried about but unable to switch his tactics during the slow race that has made him throw a hard look at himself. Come Paris Olympics and Sable wants every aspect covered. A tweak in training regimen is what he feels is needed to prepare him better for Paris.
Sable has been training at the Colorado Springs for the last two seasons but this time he wants to spend a few months in Morocco — the country of Olympic and world champion Soufiane El Bakkali, already a legendary name in 3000m steeplechase. Sable has earlier trained in Rabat for a short stint.
“There you can train in high altitude in Ifrane and then come down to sea level in Rabat, which is 200km away, for short stints. I think for steeplechase it is important that you are doing such training in cycles. I have trained in Rabat and the facilities and conditions are good for steeplechasers,” says Sable.
“The training period at Colorado Springs was very beneficial and I can go there again. With Paris Olympics in mind, I want to base myself in Europe, that will make it easier to train and compete. I will discuss the plans with the federation and decide.”
One of the other things that he wants to focus on is the tactics of the race. Whether it was Oregon Worlds or in Budapest this time, both races were slow and picked up sudden pace late in the final stretch. El Bakkali topped both and Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma came second; their finishing kick was too fast for the rest of the field to catch up. Sable realises the importance of managing his race.
“You make your strategy before going into the race depending on the field, and then you have to tweak it on the spot and that’s the most important part. When you see a slow race, you feel you are in the race until it becomes too late to pick up pace. That split second thinking of when to change the gears during the race is important.”
“I have been comfortably running at my pace all the while, breaking national records but in the mix of a world class field with everyone running with their strategies, you have to think quickly to be in control. I need to work on the tactical part and I realised that in Budapest. I have put so much of hard work this season and I know I am better than what I performed there. So, I have to be better prepared.
The best thing for Sable is that he has made the cut for Paris Olympics at the Silesia Diamond League clocking 8 minute 11:63 seconds (qualification mark is 8:15.00).
“El Bakkali and Girma have been ahead of others but if you see the rest of the field, it’s quite open. I am not taking any break this time like I did after CWG. I am going to start training soon and utilise the time well to gear up for Paris Olympics,” says Sable.
