SANTA CLARA – Twenty-nine-year-old running back Frank Gore discussed his two-a-day work load and his feelings about finally having to compete with so many talented running backs for carries. Here’s what he said.
Q: Harbaugh said you’re doing what you always do – coming in at 6:15 a.m., getting your sweat on. What do you do in that hour?
GORE: I do about 30 minutes on the elliptical and then I lift. The schedule isn’t how it used to be – no more two-a-day practices.
Q: So you make your own two-a-day?
GORE: Yeah.
Q: You started that last year?
GORE: Yeah.
Q: Who else is in there with you?
GORE: Carlos (Rodgers), Tarell Brown. That’s about it right now.
Q: Could you have always been cool with so much competition in the backfield?
GORE: Yeah, I’m a competitor. I could have went to any school in the country coming out of high school, but I decided to go to Miami, and they already had three good backs (Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee and Najeh Davenport).
Q: They say running backs slow down when they turn 30 years old. Are you looking forward to that challenge and proving those naysayers wrong?
GORE: I train hard. I feel that as long as you train, you’ll be fine in this sport.
Q: A couple of years ago you were working on your break-away speed in the offseason. Is that still something you do?
GORE: Yeah, I work out with a speed coach.
Q: Were you frustrated at all last season that you didn’t break away from more touchdown runs?
GORE: No, we were winning. I’ll take last year over any year in my career so far.
Q: What have you noticed from Alex Boone so far?
GORE: It’s still early. It takes time. Whoever ends up in that spot (right guard), I’ll get a good feel for him.
Q: Last year you almost caught more passes in two playoff games than you did the entire regular season.
GORE: That was a product of me not getting out (of the backfield). A lot teams were blitzing during the (regular) season. The Giants play zone a lot – they weren’t really coming – so I got a chance to get out more.
Q: You’ve always been around 40 or 50 catches.
GORE: I know, but when I had those catches, look at our record. I’d rather take less catches with a better record than a lot of catches and a sorry record.
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