Webbs 1500!

I think this race is a great sign for this time of year, and I think the best thing Salazar is doing for Webb is getting him to race more often so he won't be so tight and nervous when the important races start.

Having watched Alan since 9th grade, this kind of race - and more like them - are what he needs. And hopefully, he is having a great deal of fun with them - something that has been missing for him for quite a while.

A common criticism is that he prefers time trialing over tactical racing. I am not sure this is fair - he has won some tactical races in the past (his 1:43 800 was a very fine tactical race over a top level 800 runner in Gary Reed). But he would benefit from enjoying mixing it up in races - and racing - a la 70's and 80's style - a lot. And Salazar is correct - get him in the mix - let him have fun doing it - and there will be ups and downs - especially at the world class level - and good things will happen. I just don't think there is a substitute for racing as a means of getting in competitive shape. He doesn't need to solo 3:51 at the Drake Relays (a great performance when he did it, by the way) to have the confidence to race well in August and July. Just race and have fun doing it - he has the talent to do this and do it well.

"Do you even run distance races? You are comparing the mental toughness of a distance runner to a sprinter. It is a lot easier to be mentally tough for 9-43 seconds than it is for 3 min a 43 seconds. Also to say that he has gold medal talent in those terms means that he is physically the top person in the world. I don't think you can say that. Also look at the olympic and WC finals from the last 20 years for the 1500 and tell me that if they were all run 5 times they would have the same results. Yeah the same guy might win in some cases but the places behind are going to be very different."

:) Good call. I ran a mile a couple of times. But yes, it sucked, it was a horrendous experience. So were the 5k "fun" runs. I even tried a marathon once, holy cow. Distance races suck. The 400 was awesome in comparison to any of them.

I agree with your general point, it's easier to be "tough" But I'm

Asafa Powell, for instance, is not "tough" like Tyson Gay although he's just as talented.

Webb was #1 over 1500 in 2007. So, yes, he was the best in the world then. His mental toughness was lacking because he didn't peak at the right time. A month late, overpeak, is a sign of lack of mental toughness. Not being able to say to your coach, whoa, hold on, this cycle is peaking me too early, is a lack of toughness.

The sprinters set a good example for the MD jocks. MJ organized his season in two cycles, with a period of hard training and sharpening in TX between the Euro phases. In case you don't remember, he won. A lot. He was even fastest and best in the world. Often. And he didn't panic when he actually was beaten (97, prior to the WC, he kept his head and won again, his best achievement I think).

At MD. Steve Ovett used to intimidate his opponents. So too, Morceli sometimes. El G on the circuit, but interestingly never in the OG. He was even regarded as the underdog in 04, yet won double gold. He found mental toughness at the last moment for a crowning achievement.

Hicham El Guerrouj's analysis of his own Olympic "failure" in 2000 illustrates what I say. He said, I was mentally weak, I overtrained, I was in a state of fear prior to the Olympics that year. This was not the mark of a mature competitor. Webb could take heed of this.

His mental toughness was lacking because he didn't peak at the right time

Nonsense

The absolute ignorance on letsrun still astounds me after all of these years. People are commenting on his time? Sounds like the same morons who comment about the time that wins the us 1500m championships. Seriously people, this sport is about beating people. No one ran very fast in this race. It is not as if webbs result is amazing as I doubt kiprop is all that fit but it seems like an improvement. There is a long way from now until us championships. Guys will get fit and guys will get injured between now and then.

savagesquid wrote:

A month late, overpeak, is a sign of lack of mental toughness. Not being able to say to your coach, whoa, hold on, this cycle is peaking me too early, is a lack of toughness.

umm, no. i don't think you understand what the word "toughness" means.

alan is plenty mentally tough in races. he can straight up hammer it all on his own. that takes mental toughness. sure at times he hasn't had good tactics. but in 2007 he had great tactics all year, obviously past his peak at the WC final though, cuz he was right there with 100 to go but his killer kick wasn't there.

i think the only solution alan needs is to stay healthy which will lead to PR's, and to race often, including early in the season when he's not in great shape cuz that gets him used to mixing it up in a pack and having to fight for the win.

whore's drawers

Have Webb get through the rounds at World's this year. Then trick him into thinking the final is a time trial. Then he will flat out win. If you actually call it an important race, he will run run like he did in Athens and not even make it to the final round.

All Webb can win in a major race is from 500-700m or 700-1100m.

It's March you ignorant douche.

blah blah blah wrote:

Have Webb get through the rounds at World's this year. Then trick him into thinking the final is a time trial. Then he will flat out win. If you actually call it an important race, he will run run like he did in Athens and not even make it to the final round.

All Webb can win in a major race is from 500-700m or 700-1100m.

You and others need to "lay off" of Alan Webb; the young man had way too much piled on him as a high schooler and a freshman in college. He is making a nice comeback and Alberto will do a fine job keeping him under control. He is in a good situation, around alot of great distance runners that know how to handle themselves - he should learn alot from them. I wish him the best as he attempts to medal at Worlds and the Oly games in London!!!!

He improved exponentially last year from his debut to his best of the season, and now he's debuting not far off from what his peak was last year... how is this not a very good (not earth shatteringly good, but still very good) sign for Webb?

the smartest letsrunner wrote:Yeah, only 7 seconds away from his PR, and getting absolutely spanked by...let's see...Jeffrey Riseley? And no A standard.

I'd love to see the workout he does straight after this one.

Formica Table wrote:

God, just imagine if the same could be said for the Olympic gold and silver medalists.

I assure you, moron, Asbel Kiprop's fans are not posting on message boards about how awesome it is that he ran a 3:37 and lost to Jeff Risely.

Really????????? wrote:

It is a lot easier to be mentally tough for 9-43 seconds than it is for 3 min a 43 seconds.

You obviously have no clue whatsoever about sprinting. One shadow of a mistake and you're done. Plenty of room for correction in distance races -- hell, some dudes literally take a dump on the way to winning marathons, it seems!

These morons who are claiming this 3:37.82 is encouraging have no bloody idea what they are talking about. Using a 1.08 conversion, this is a 3:55.25 mile on an outdoor track with competition in a losing effort. Is it a sign that Webb's career is over? No, it is March, it is only one race. However, it is not encouraging at all. You could argue that it is over 8 seconds off his mile best and remember he is getting old for a middle distance runner. Alan is now 28 years old, and although he is perhaps in his prime, he is now back to high school, or age 18. For this to be encouraging, you people must have some really low expectations for Alan Webb. On the other hand, it is probably not easy being Alan Webb, what with all of the attention he gets for a mediocre effort which would not have been deemed "encouraging" if run by Lomong or Manzano, for example.

jimbo jambo wrote:

Sounds like the same morons who comment about the time that wins the us 1500m championships. Seriously people, this sport is about beating people.

And Webb is losing to people. That "oh the race went slow" is fine when it's Lagat or Farrah doing what he has to in order to WIN a race, but when you're not within sniffing distance of first place it sounds a bit like excuse-making. Webb lost the race. If he had a 335 or faster in him as you fanboys suggest, the fact that the winner went 336 is a pretty absurd excuse for him to go 337.

I guess the careers of Asbel Kiprop and Nick Willis are over alsoRead more: http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3940706#ixzz1FZizEUpgBuy your shoes from LetsRun and save 20% everday http://www.letsrun.com/save

the smartest letsrunner wrote:

jimbo jambo wrote:

Sounds like the same morons who comment about the time that wins the us 1500m championships. Seriously people, this sport is about beating people.

And Webb is losing to people. That "oh the race went slow" is fine when it's Lagat or Farrah doing what he has to in order to WIN a race, but when you're not within sniffing distance of first place it sounds a bit like excuse-making. Webb lost the race. If he had a 335 or faster in him as you fanboys suggest, the fact that the winner went 336 is a pretty absurd excuse for him to go 337.

Webb ran about 4:01 indoors for the mile at Boston recently and just ran 3:37.82 outdoors for 1500m.

4:01 INDOOR MILE = 3:58 OUTDOOR MILE

3:58 OUTDOOR MILE = 3:40 OUTDOOR 1500M ??

I think Webb's maturity and life experience will be to his advantage if he can make it back to WCs or OCs. I think sometimes people can have all the confidence and fitness in the world, but then when it's go time in the big race they panic or get too excited and make small tactical errors because of it. I don't think this is so much a "toughness" isssue. Alan Webb is tough, physically and mentally. He has to be for him to still be racing against the best in the world after all he's been through since high school. It's simply an excitability that affects judgement. Webb has to be calm, cold, and calculated during the big ones this year and next year. Get excited when you cross that finish line, not during lap 3. And I think he'll be better able to do that now that he's a little older and wiser. He's been there, done that, so to speak.

Of course, this logic makes one wonder: Why has such a young fella like Kiprop done so well on the world stage? Well, all I can say is that I think Kiprop has more talent than Webb in all honesty. But I think Webb can beat him, and anyone in the world for that matter, if he can get fit again.

Lol, you people are crazy. As a Kenya I find some of this postings funny. Why in the world can you judge somebody on one race? This is the beginning of the season, people are coming back from a break. You should expect times like this at the start of the season. Kiprop run just like what all Kenyans would do, take it easy, run simple and check your performance at the end. Wow, you people are sick