anybody who thinks Webb bombing in this race has anything to do with tactics is an idiot. It had everything to do with fitness. We can only speculate on why his fitness isn't where it needs to be right now. my guess is that he is overtraining, which is easy to do in an olympic year when you are not on drugs.
but dropping out in a 5k road race because you are dead has nothing to do with 1500m tactics.
Webb now has too much hair and he overheated.
pointer outer guy wrote:
what happened at the world championships - when does it start to mean squat?
C'mon malmo - he has no racing skills, it's obvious.
um.... USA 1500m champs last year?
golden league meet in paris?
5th avenue?
trust me... the guy can race...
We've previously seen alan start the year off with some great performances... only to dissapoint in the big races later in the season.
Hopefully, this year he can flip the script and will run better later in the season.
I just think its terrible that this guy gets no respect. He is the most talented american born runner in a long long time.
Its a shame
how's this?
alan webb - great run at the world championships! woohoo!
alan webb - good job at the US 8k road championships! woohoo - you're the best!
alan webb - don't worry about the carlsbad race, it doesn't mean squat!
keep up the good work!
This is probably it, although why would he race if not ready? He said he felt bad after 800m, and the announcer described the pace as not all that fast. Probably just tired going into it.
A buddy of mine has run under 2:20 20x and is always hyping up Webb to me. I always tell him, the guy sucks, he's another Steve Holman (albeit with more talent). Unless it is a time trial type race he will be destroyed by equally talented runners.
Webb has been balding since high school. I've seen athletes like this my entire life. They dominate early because they matured physically sooner, then flame out when the testasterone has blown its wad.
I hate watching that guy run, he has no guts or brains.
"Dubasher" wrote: "he has no guts or brains"
I'd say that the ones with no guts are those who are making such incredibly offensive statements using the anonymity of a fake name on the Internet.
And to the best of my knowledge, not one "knowledgable critic" has ever even had the stones even to shout something like "You suck, Webb!" from the stands at a T&F meet.
So talking about "no guts" is all kind of relative.
Webb had a bad road race. Should he feel bad about falling off the back of a pack whose winner went 13:35? Yes. Does it take him out of Olympic medal contention in a much shorter track 4 months from now? No.
gasdfadsfasd wrote:We can only speculate on why his fitness isn't where it needs to be right now.
Where does his fitness need to be right now? Does he need to be setting ARs in road 5Ks? Is that where Lagat's "fitness" was last year at this time?
I'm sorry, but this Webb threads are idiotic beyond description. What's wrong with you people. Wejo, you have been an elite runner. Why would you say that these two races can only be explained by poor fitness, illness, or mental problems? That's absurd. Why should someone training to win a 1500 in August be expected to win 5K and 8K races in March and April? What was Lagat's winning percentage for the season last year? 30%? Bekele got killed in the mile.
If it's a problem that Alan Webb is not as good as El G, then, yes, he has a problem. Otherwise, I think malmo is the only sensible person here this week.
Is that what you want? I'll be glad to hock a luggie on him too - if that's the direction you guys want to go. In your next race, put your name on your shirt and I'll be glad to tell you that you suck too.
Joseph McVeigh wrote:
And to the best of my knowledge, not one "knowledgable critic" has ever even had the stones even to shout something like "You suck, Webb!" from the stands at a T&F meet.
EPO make you have Up's and DOWN"s , DONT WORRY , HE WILL BREAK 3'30 in the 1500 this year!!
1:43/3:46/13:10/27:38
i wont stop jumping off the cliff just yet.
If he came back from 2002, he can come back from this.
still a believer
winning!?! AR for the road 5K!?!? - dude didn't finish the 5k and finished waay back in the 8k. wtf is he doing? using lagat as an example, is lagat showing up at road races unprepared? is webb that desperate that he's showing up for appearance fees?
Which camp is right? WHO KNOWS. This could be a very bad sign for Webb. One would think he could hang in a 13:34 race no problem. Perhaps something physical is going on here. However, Webb at least thinks he's in pretty good shape, which leads me to believe he's simply a little fried right now from a lot of hard training.
I have to disagree, though, that Webb is not tough and/or that he's tactically bankrupt. He has proven time and time again that he has the goods. CAN he win when it counts? Yes. WILL he win when it counts? That's hard to say. No one knows that for sure - as someone already mentioned, ask El G circa 2000.
Let's wait a month and see what happens. Hopefully he is just training MAD hard right now, and once he tapers, he will be faster than ever. If I were a betting man, I would bet that this is the case.
[quote]Intergalactic wrote:
Which camp is right? WHO KNOWS.
quote]
We're not arguing about what kind of shape he'll be in in August; we're arguing about the implications of this race in April.
He might fail to make the finals. He might set a WR in the finals. That's not the point. The point is that this race has minimal implications for August.
You don't go to Carlsbad to run a training run or make an appearance. Carlsbad is a place to come and run scorching times. Webb must have THOUGHT he was fit and capable or he wouldn't even have shown up.
Seriously, what kind of man gets the running world all excited about Sunday and then does what he did? LAME beyond comprehension. Webb is weak.
Dubasher wrote:
You don't go to Carlsbad to run a training run or make an appearance. Carlsbad is a place to come and run scorching times. Webb must have THOUGHT he was fit and capable or he wouldn't even have shown up.
Seriously, what kind of man gets the running world all excited about Sunday and then does what he did? LAME beyond comprehension. Webb is weak.
No Problem...You go beat him then.
My point, "Dean" was not that I want anyone to catcall Alan Webb, but that all this tough Internet talk is cheap.
I'm easy to spot, "Dean" --
My name isn't on my shirt, but I wear a white jersey with the letters "NYAC" and a winged foot logo in red. Usually red shorts but not always. I race primarily in NYC & northern NJ, though due to knee problems I have been out of action for a year and am struggling to get back into shape.
uhhh .... well you can't beat him if he doesn't finish.cheers.
Talk Talk Talk wrote:
Dubasher wrote:You don't go to Carlsbad to run a training run or make an appearance. Carlsbad is a place to come and run scorching times. Webb must have THOUGHT he was fit and capable or he wouldn't even have shown up.
Seriously, what kind of man gets the running world all excited about Sunday and then does what he did? LAME beyond comprehension. Webb is weak.
No Problem...You go beat him then.
If I were 25 I would. I'd go to the finish line and yell in his face and he'd crap himself and run a 5:12 mile. I'd run a 5:10. He's mentally weak.