Where Your Dreams Become
Reality
Where Your Dreams Become
Reality
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Alan Webb:
LetsRun Posters Need To Look at Larger Picture Editor's Note: LetsRun.com visitor Billy Buckles emailed us this humorous defense of Alan Webb after the Olympic Trials. Here it is for your pleasure. Buckles has hiw own sports blog, www.kornheiserscartel.com Hyperbole and hysteria dominated the milieu of the World Famous Message Board following the failure of everyone's favorite American-born miler's effort to make the US Olympic Team. Having buried myself in the negativity-- and ignored rational explanations in Webb's defense-- I've been able to piece together a typical day in the life of Alan Webb in the build-up to his greatest failure, as told by the innumerous critics that dance on his every defeat. 11:30 A.M.: Roll out of bed. 11:35 A.M: Swallow Propecia tablet. Pre Classic coming up. Take second pill. Time to step it up for the cameras. 11:45 A.M.: Roll into McDonald's parking lot. Curse luck at once again missing breakfast hours. Order two Big Macs, two large fries, and 44 oz. Coke. Ask cashier to Supersize it. Curse when informed McDonald's no longer supersizes. Order extra Big Mac to make up for it. Remember that Olympic Trials are in a little over a month. Think to self that three Big Macs may be excessive. Order double-cheeseburger instead. 12:30 P.M.: Base building. 15 miles at 5:20 pace. 2:00 P.M.: Ask Scotty why message boarders think he's doing too much strength work. Nod gullibly when Scotty blames it on Warhurst. 2:15 P.M.: Biceps day. Again. Just like yesterday. And the day before. Admire guns. Practice intense face to be unleashed after prelims win. 3 P.M.: Order Kung Pao Chicken. Send back when not greasy enough. Smile as bowl is returned drenched in grease. Order seconds. 3:30 P.M.: Call Rupp to talk tactics. Agree to only run races with rabbits. Congratulate Galen on time trial win yesterday. Remind Galen that, no, you don't want to sleep over in his altitude tent in Phil Knight's basement. And, no, you don't need to borrow any Breathe Right strips. Tell Rupp you haven't been on message boards today. 3:45 P.M.: Check LetsRun message boards for 12th time today. 3:50 P.M.: Send Lagat text message, "How's my FAVrit Keny~ er, American miler doin? Just chekkN to C if U got my texts last few days/weeks/months? I'm tellin U man. U got 2 take out the Oly Trials Final faaast. Make it a time trial. U n me. 3:32 or faster! Leo n Lopez can kick, but they can't TT!" 4:00 P.M.: Instant message Ritz to make fun of this picture. Giggle when he sends back this picture. Agree that Rupp is a time trialing big race bottler. And totally gay! 4:15 P.M.: Base building. 10 miles at 5:00 pace. Not going to peak too early this year. No speed work until July. Training right through the trials. 5:30 P.M.: Biceps. Pre Classic coming up. Means two-a-days. Time to step it up for the cameras. 6:00 P.M.: Take call from reporter. Make confused frowny face when asked if you are overtraining. 6:30 P.M.: Check phone hopefully to see if Lagat replied to text message. 6:35 P.M.: Think about eating a salad. Whimper. Go to Five Guys Burgers and Fries with Scotty! Ask Scotty how come message boarders think he needs a new coach. Nod gullibly when Scotty blames it on Warhurst. 7:30 P.M.: Check phone hopefully to see if Lagat replied to text message. Frown when only message is from Rupp. Tell him for the last time that you don't want to use his underwater treadmill. 8:00 P.M.: Attend Hair Club for Men meeting. 8:30 P.M.: Start LetsRun thread encouraging Jeremy Wariner to move up in distance. Snicker. 9:00 P.M.: Talk training with Scotty. Nod gullibly when Scotty tells you to run New York City Marathon. Just to build up endurance. Ask how come you keep running long races. You're a miler, you say! Nod gullibly when Scotty blames it on Warhurst. 10:00 P.M.: Ice cream! Warhurst never let you eat ice creamÂ… 10:30 P.M.: Beers in South Lakes High School parking lot. Tell self that you'll never leave. No matter what they say. 11:30 P.M.: Check phone hopefully to see if Lagat replied to text message. 12:00 A.M.: Tell self that you will make McDonald's breakfast on time tomorrow. Sleep.
Rewind just over 10 months to Osaka where Webb entered the 2007 World Championships on the heels of a victory over Bernard Lagat for the US Championship; hopes were high, but haters espousing predictions of another flame-out weren't hard to find. Their prognostications proved prescient when Webb finished eighth (when it apparently would've been easier to finish first, at least according to those on the boards). His year's impressive achievements (3:46.91AR mile win, 3:30.52 1500 meters win, 1:43.84 800 meters win) were deemed worthless. It seemed that Webb and his coach Scott Raczko responded to the critics with real adjustments in 2008, determined not to peak too early once again. We all know what happened, so a quick recap will suffice: They supposedly attempted to be patient and not force Webb into race shape too early in the season. Unfortunately, his muted performance at the Pre Classic sounded the alarms that the duo may have got it wrong once again. He entered the Olympic Trials ranked 5th in the 1500 meter rankings by LetsRun and finished in the same position. 2008 was a terrible year on the track for Alan Webb. His performance has raised multitudinous questions. I'll try to answer some of the more loudly voiced ones posed by typical LetsRun posters: No way the 1500/mile is the best event for Alan Webb, I mean, he hasn't even won a gold medal or broken a world record yet. And he's already 25. He clearly sucks. And the dude has no race tactics. Shouldn't he move up? The subject of three threads a day for the last six years (more on days when Webb runs), the answer is no. While his range is extraordinary and incomparable today (he's oft-compared to Olympic champion Said Aouita historically), his times rank with the best in the world in the mile. He hasn't always been consistent, but his PR keeps dropping. He's won a host of US Championships and twice made the finals at Worlds. He's became the American record-holder at age 24. When he's on form, he's perhaps faster than anyone in the world over this distance today. That can't be said for him in any other event. Hahaha! Nuh uh, whatever, Jason Rexing is faster in wooden clogs and a straitjacket while gurgling Kenenisa Bekele's next EPO injection in the back of his throat! But think about it, if Webb focused his training on the 5K or 10K his kick could carry him over the topÂ… Couldn't it? Gross. It's easy to understand why many are quick to promote a move to a longer distance. He's ran respectable times, super-elite for an American, of 13:10.86 and 27:34.72 in efforts over 5K and 10K. If he trained exclusively for those events, he would undoubtedly see a drop in time. The problem is that the 5K and 10K seem to be more tactical at the highest levels than the 1500. If Webb, with all of his experience in the 1500, still struggles to know when to start his drive for the finish line, how will he react to the teams of Ethiopians and Kenyans randomly throwing in surges to break him? Bekele won the 2004 Olympics 10,000 meters in 27:05.11, almost 30 seconds below Webb's best. More notable is the fact that he ran the last lap of that race in 53.02 seconds. Does Webb even close 800 meter races that quickly? Why are we even still talking about Webb!? He refuses to fire his high school coach! He eats fast food! He's not a cocky, intimidating jerk like a true champion! He clearly isn't dedicated to being great. Not like Pre was, eh? Whether people are actually serious or not when ripping Webb for eating french fries every once in awhile, it's hard to discern. But that may be the best thing about him. He's an every-man, he's blue-collar, he's humble, he seems genuinely nice, and he's just like us. A few years back (I believe in 2004), an account that he brought a keg in the back of his truck to a small meet and drank afterwards with everyone was all over the boards. The biggest star in US distance running having a beer with people who couldn't touch him on the track. Can you imagine Kobe Bryant or Michael Vick doing this? Would you even want to hang out with them? As far as switching coaches, I don't think it's necessary. It would be one thing if his times weren't steadily improving, but they have been. Yes, his coach was unknown before Webb came along, but he is said to not be shy to question the cognoscenti of distance running. He didn't drive Webb to run a 3:46.91 mile on his own, and he likely listened to a lot of advice before changing gears in 2008. The other problem with a change in coaches is that Webb may not adjust well initially to the new system. It happened when he ran for Michigan, and it took him two years to get back on track (pun unintended). At age 25, he can't really afford to have two more bad years. What purportedly little confidence he possesses would be non-existent. I heard he broke up with his last girlfriend without the aid of Power Point. He's hopeless. Maybe you're right, but I don't think so. I think if he sticks to what he has been doing and is patient, success will come again. Getting a medal at either of the next two World Championships would be huge. He needs to shave 1.25 seconds off his 1500 meters PR to rank in the top-10 all-time. Those two goals are significant and achievable. He also needs to continue to learn how to race. Runners can find the secret long after they run the times. He need only look to Bernard Lagat for validation. Lagat had yet to win a medal at a major championship at age 25. He's been in contention constantly ever since. Hey, why does Galen Rupp wear that thing on his nose? Ah, back to normal. Check out the author's blog at www.kornheiserscartel.com
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Runner's World &
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