Webb gets owned

A couple of things on Webb.

1. He is no where near the 3:46 miler he was, so that comparison is kind fo useless.

2. Those that say he was never in it? Not sure what race they were watching, he really was in it with 2-3+ to go and was right there trying hard until he faded and the rush came in last 80M

3.While Webb ran 4:00.x+ last week, he is clearly better than that, as he could have never run 7:51.x closing negatively in HS when he ran 3:59 OR 3:53

I think he might be okay, I thought both the second to last hear and last one had too many guys in them, I know it is a 300M track. 22 guy and 18 that broke 8 flat in a race , seems a bit much, it seemed challenging for guys to move within the race, maybe not?

It's easy to say that Webb should be crushing the field and this race was a step backwards. I would argue that it's another step towards his ultimate goals.

Look at the race and watch him run. He looks a lot better than he did during those years when he was heavy and getting his doors blown out over 1500. I'm not buying into all of AlSal's running form theories and 3 week flu stuff but if Webb can stay healthy, I think we are going to see a much better runner this year.

trialswatcher wrote:3.While Webb ran 4:00.x+ last week, he is clearly better than that, as he could have never run 7:51.x closing negatively in HS when he ran 3:59 OR 3:53

Actually he probably could have outdoors. Webb would have blown the door off the outdoor two mile record if there was an outdoor 2mile meet to enter. Or even the indoor one. Webb's coach thought he could run 8:25, which based off how he did when put in competition in the mile, isn't far fetched at all.

That said, you are ignorant to ignore that he is also stronger endurance wise than he was in HS. In HS he had more speed, and less endurance, which has changed a lot.

King99 you continue to show your lack of running intelligence no matter what name you post under.

You made my point for me nit wit.

As far as ignorance, try reading comprehension 101.

Thank you, the point I was making that is while others trash him for his 4:00.x performance and probably will for this as well, he is ahead of where he has been recently, and should show better results by a lot moving forward.

As to the 8:25, when he was 3:53.x fit in a hoovered race ,all speculation no matter what. He was also 1:47.x trained at same time , a time he did not approach again for two year. I would agree that 8:30 or better was clearly attainable.

Webb is on target , racing himself back into shape. A good outdoor campaign this year will bring him closer to the times his talent warrants. The test will be US athletes have gotten a little faster than when Webb was on top , should make for some great racing over the next 18 months.

I feel this butt kicking he is experiencing now will only make him a better athlete down the road.

trialswatcher wrote:Thank you, the point I was making that is while others trash him for his 4:00.x performance and probably will for this as well, he is ahead of where he has been recently, and should show better results by a lot moving forward.

Trials doesn't even understand what he is saying. The term logic got him all confused that he doesn't understand what he did wrong.

If you guys remember the year he ran 3:46 he also ran a two-mile at Prefontaine classic and ran like 8:2X. So the 7:51 really isnt that far off and 3k has never really been his bag.

Conto wrote:

Webb ran well. 6th in that field is fine.

ARE YOU KIDDING? THIS IS SOMEONE WHO HAS DESIGNS ON COMPETING AT WORLDS THIS YEAR. THIS PERFORMANCE SHOULD BE SEEN AS AN UNMITIGATED DISASTER.

LUKASSSSSSSSSSSSSS wrote:

If you guys remember the year he ran 3:46 he also ran a two-mile at Prefontaine classic and ran like 8:2X. So the 7:51 really isnt that far off and 3k has never really been his bag.

Quoting his 2 mile performance the year of the AR in the mile is poor representation. He broke the American record in the 2mile with an 8:11 two years before his 3:46. He's obviously a better miler, but he's shown some great 3k ability as well.

Plenty of time wrote:

Webb is on target , racing himself back into shape. A good outdoor campaign this year will bring him closer to the times his talent warrants. The test will be US athletes have gotten a little faster than when Webb was on top , should make for some great racing over the next 18 months.

I feel this butt kicking he is experiencing now will only make him a better athlete down the road.

I think you could be right about the butt kicking part, as long as he understands that. In the past it seems like Webb gets really frustrated after a bad race or two (and obviously he was beside himself with frustration last week). I just hope AlSal is getting through to Webb psychologically and helping him understand not to beat himself up when he doesn't perform to his expectations at certain races. Eye of the Tiger, Webby. Eye of the Tiger.

Just would like to clarify something here. The fact of the matter is that Webb got 6th place, namely to College athletes. This would be an ok, not great performance, if Webb was a college athlete, but you guys are failing to understand that somehow Webb got passed by 5 people.

Whether it be in the sprint or because he got outpaced, he was passed by 5 people. In a college race. He is the AMERICAN RECORD HOLDER. He is looking to medal at Worlds this year and Olympics next year. The fact he places 6th in an indoor College meet is not a good result for Webb. Don't get me wrong, i'm all all for Webb, but the fact of the matter is he did get 6th place in a time that was not very respectable(7:51). He ran a slow race and din't even push the pace and had a week sprint in the end. Simply put, Webb might have not been "owned", and I might have exxagerated with that, but the fact of the matter is he did get 6th place.

I kind of agree with you here. It's easy to say "he had the flu" or "it's still early" and stuff like that.

But this is Alan Webb we are talking about. As you mentioned, he is the AR holder in the mile.

The best runners in the world generally don't have races like that in consecutive weeks. If you want to be the best, you need to race like it, most of the time.

Could you imagine Bekele finishing 6th place among mostly B level competition? El G? Maybe there are occasional examples, but the best runners in the world usually win or come close to it almost every single race. That's just the way it is. This is the mentality that Alan has too (and he should)......BUT this race is not a huge positive for him. Let's not pretend that it is.

Webber Grill wrote:

I kind of agree with you here. It's easy to say "he had the flu" or "it's still early" and stuff like that.

But this is Alan Webb we are talking about. As you mentioned, he is the AR holder in the mile.

The best runners in the world generally don't have races like that in consecutive weeks. If you want to be the best, you need to race like it, most of the time.

Could you imagine Bekele finishing 6th place among mostly B level competition? El G? Maybe there are occasional examples, but the best runners in the world usually win or come close to it almost every single race. That's just the way it is. This is the mentality that Alan has too (and he should)......BUT this race is not a huge positive for him. Let's not pretend that it is.

IF bekele was lost in the woods for several years and then ran an awful mile THEN ran a respectable 3k in a stampede on an indoor track...then it would be ok.

Everyone realizes Webb is in comeback mode. This is not a step back on that road. That's the positive.

I'm glad Nelson has given up on that whole marathon idea

Webb did state on the flotrack interview that he and Salazar had wanted him to run 750. They had a plan and they ran with it. I will say that I am surprised that he did get passed by five people at the end. IT was a sprint to the finish against people who dont have Webbs amazing kick...as displayed when he beat that French dude and Lagat in 2007. But he has been gone for so long so Its hard to expect that right away.

Some of these people posting so negatively are likely the same people who said Webb's career was over after he ran 1:52 this summer.

(Later, in September, he ran 3:53.72 in the Fifth Avenue Mile, getting fourth and beating Manzano and Willis.)

Some of these people are probably also the same people who said Webb would amount to nothing after his 2006 season, when he ran 27:34 for 10,000 and did nothing of importance thereafter.

(The next year, he ran 3:46.91 for the mile in Brasschaat for an American Record, 3:30.54 in Paris for a Golden League win, and 1:43.84 in Heusden-Zolder to beat Gary Reed, who came away from the Osaka WCs with a silver medal in the 800 that year.)

I could go on. The point is, you people have the memory of a pile of rocks. Webb has been down and come up before. This is February and he was at a low point a month ago. It does not, does not matter what you do in the indoor season. It matters what you do when it counts. Webb'll be there.

I suppose you are also the people whose best races come in the indoor season and who wonder why you're burnt out before the post-season.

It's FEBRUARY. He will be peaking months from now. Meanwhile, most of the runners in this field are in top shape trying to get indoor nationals qualifiers.

I guess it's worth noting that Alan Webb's indoor 2007 was nothing stellar time wise- he did get a bunch of wins but he ran 3:56 at New balance, 3:55 at Boston, and then 4:01 I think at indoor nats, closing in 1:55 or something like that. The real magic didn't happen until outdoor when he smoked Lagat and Mottram at the NY grand prix, and then it all when up from there save for that one 2 mile.

Why are people making a big deal about this? Webb just ran 4:00 a week ago after probably not having any good training in January, now a week later he runs 7:51 3k. That is solid improvement from one week ago. There is no way anyone of you thought he was gonna run any faster than this after last weeks race. He didn't have a kick because he is not race sharp yet, and he isn't supposed to be race sharp yet, its only February.

Basically think of the indoor season like his short outdoor season last year. He's outta shape but is getting in races cuz he's barely raced in years. By April he will be in good shape and be able to smoke all these college kids who are beating him now and he'll have some racing confidence from these indoor races.