Webb in USA Today - 2:15.3 time trial 1000m

Niiiiiice. 2:15. Can't wait.

"I'm totally looking forward to all this for a variety of reasons. Number one, I'm excited about doing well. Number two, the pressure is kind of off. I've had such a great year already." -- Alan Webb

He feels like the pressure is off?? If I were Alan Webb, I would feel more pressure now than ever before. Having run the fastest 1500m time in the world this year, and having just smashed the AR in the mile, I would feel a tremendous amount of pressure to medal in Osaka. Alan is no longer an unknown who should just be happy to make the finals. He must be really confident. But I guess after a 2:15 time trial, he's feeling very good.

Holy crap. 2:15.3 time trial?

Jesus. Morceli's best is 2:13.73, not that much faster. Cruz 2:14.09. Ovett 2:15.91. That's some serious company for a time trial.

I think when your are PRing like he is you get a sense of invincibility which for some may be bad, but for Alan I think the more confidence he has the better his chances are to win because he wont take himself out of the race mentally

I guess all the speculation in the past two weeks about him being possibly injured have been put to rest now. Webb is still rolling and in less than a week we'll see just how well he can perform on the World Champs stage this time around.

Recent time trails:

Nick Willis 800: 1.50 (progressive)

Leo Manzano 800: 1.45

Alan Webb 1000: 2.15

Time to kick ass in Osaka!

2:15.3 time trial?! jesus, that's huge! that's like... as significant as his 90 push-ups! that is to say: not significant at all. the only reason it's noteworthy is because it shows that he isn't, in fact, injured. and THAT is good news.

time trials mean nothing. hell, didn't willis have a similar 1k time trial? and willis isn't even gonna make the finals. when webb gets a medal (maybe even gold) it's not going to be because of some silly 1000m time trial. it's gonna be because of his tremendous racing in europe all summer.

as for the guy who said "If I were Alan Webb, I would feel more pressure now than ever before," well... it's a good thing you're NOT Alan Webb. if he can keep his nerves under control, he'll be all the more likely to run well in Osaka.

Heat 1

25 august 2007 - 11:25

Order Bib Athlete Country 2007 Personal

1 1070 Ivan Heshko UKR 3:35.03 3:30.33

2 431 Kevin Sullivan CAN 3:34.16 3:31.71

3 312 Antar Zerguelaine ALG 3:34.32 3:31.95

4 320 Sevak Yeghikyan ARM 3:58.91 3:58.91

5 582 Ansu Sowe GAM 3:52.32 3:52.32

6 808 Youssef Baba MAR 3:32.13 3:32.13

7 316 Javier Carriqueo ARG 3:38.62 3:38.62

8 578 Mounir Yemmouni FRA 3:34.52 3:32.97

9 396 Hudson de Souza BRA 3:36.32 3:33.25

10 510 Juan Carlos Higuero ESP 3:32.18 3:31.57

11 1154 Alan Webb USA 3:30.54 3:30.54

12 769 Asbel Kiprop KEN 3:35.50 3:35.50

13 793 Mohammed Shaween KSA 3:38.18 3:38.18

First 6 in each heat + 6 fastest times

I predict: Heshko, Sully, Baba, Higuero, Webb and Kiprop

I watched alan run his time trial. he did an 800 first in 2:04 (to simulate a slower start in the race), then 3 minute recovery.. then Chris led him thru the 400 in 52.8, 800 Alan went thru in 1:48 (Chris finished a second or two behind), then hammered for 2:15. He's ready mentally and physically.

He set an "obscure record" of 90 consecutive push-ups.

I've neen waiting for him to do that since he showed so much promise in high school. FINALLY!

Didn't Jim Ryun do pushups in between repeats as part of his training regimen?

Anyway, sounds kind of toolbagish on the surface - the push-ups thing - but upper body strength is no small part of what has allowed him to propel himself past the tying up masses at the end of races.

Plus, Push Ups are rather tasty. So lay off 'em - jack!

http://www.vaiden.net/nestle_push-up.jpg

A Webb Fan wrote:

I watched alan run his time trial. he did an 800 first in 2:04 (to simulate a slower start in the race), then 3 minute recovery.. then Chris led him thru the 400 in 52.8, 800 Alan went thru in 1:48 (Chris finished a second or two behind), then hammered for 2:15. He's ready mentally and physically.

This is why I (we?) come to letsrun.com

Good stuff.

Guys, it was an over-distance Marathon Time Trial of 2:15:30... Washington Post mis-reported.

He is now tapering.

Look out for these two:

4 320 Sevak Yeghikyan ARM 3:58.91 3:58.91

5 582 Ansu Sowe GAM 3:52.32 3:52.32

Leirbag wrote:

Guys, it was an over-distance Marathon Time Trial of 2:15:30... Washington Post mis-reported.

He is now tapering.

yea...and went thru the half mary in 1.48 right?

*rolls eyese

This biggest difference between Alan Webb this year over previous years is his fitness has convinced him that he is one of the strogest, if not the strongest guys, and therefore he won't feel like has to do something to win the race, he can just win the race.

I think prior to this he felt like he couldn't kick so he felt like he had to go out and make the pace fast. Or he couldn't handle the speed of a time trial so he would try to go to the front to make the pace. When Alan does well is when he feels he is better than the competition and just relaxes and races instead of trying to create a strategy to play to his perceived strengths.

run-bike-run wrote:

2:15.3 time trial?! jesus, that's huge! that's like... as significant as his 90 push-ups! that is to say: not significant at all. the only reason it's noteworthy is because it shows that he isn't, in fact, injured. and THAT is good news.

time trials mean nothing. hell, didn't willis have a similar 1k time trial? and willis isn't even gonna make the finals. when webb gets a medal (maybe even gold) it's not going to be because of some silly 1000m time trial. it's gonna be because of his tremendous racing in europe all summer.

as for the guy who said "If I were Alan Webb, I would feel more pressure now than ever before," well... it's a good thing you're NOT Alan Webb. if he can keep his nerves under control, he'll be all the more likely to run well in Osaka.

Time trials mean nothing?

Some people can be negative about anything.

The problem is, when you are negative about something which is, in fact, decidedly positive, the only way to be negative is to make outlandish statements like "time trials mean nothing."

What if Webb had run a 1000m time trial in 2:05? Would that mean nothing? No, it would mean that he completed perhaps the most impressive feat of middle distance running in history.

Now, of course, Webb didn't run 2:05, he ran 2:15. Running 2:15 means less than running 2:05, but it still means something. Even you admit that it is "noteworthy...because it shows that he isn't, in fact, injured." I'd say it also shows (means) that he is in damn good shape. He just ran 2/3 of a 1500 in 3:22.95 1500 pace.

This time trial, far from being "silly" as you described it, sounds to me like part of a very serious (not-silly) workout. If Webb does well in Osaka, yes, it will be because of the great season of racing behind him, but it will also be because of workouts like this one, which make the racing possible.

I know this is probably posted somewhere, but what time on Saturday will Webb be racing? I'm a central time zoner.