WEBB VS RITZ AT STANFORD 10k SUNDAY

Why are we even comparing an internationally ranked distance runner like Webb to Ritz. Ritz just does not have Webb's international accomplishments.

I wonder when Webb is going to post a 3:46-3:47 mile. If he takes just two seconds off this mile PR he will be the fastest non-African in that event.

In retrospect I say who cares about Sunday's race.

And when are the NON-AFRICAN Olympics? There is no special award in that category.

fefe wrote:

Reading Flagpole Willy is like peering into the mind of an eight year old.

I know you are, but what am I?

good comeback flagpole, keep stickin' it to 'em, don't back off

hahahahahah OH FLAGPOLE WILLY you are a true genious

If ritz beats Webb, big deal he is supposed to at this distance. i applaud webb for going out there with the iron cast stones.

he'll need more than iron cast stones if he wants to beat Ritz. He better learn some pacing and tactics.

i think we can rest assured that webb, maybe, just maybe, knows a thing or two about pacing and tactics. sure, he tried something different at worlds and maybe got a bit excited, but hey, that's racing and learning.

he did pace well to a 13:10 PR, right? and a 3:32 PR, right? How about a 2mi AR?

neither of them will be at their best at this point in the season, so just enjoy the race for what it's worth......

i like flagpole only responds to arguments when he thinks he might still have a chance of winning. there were a ton he just ignored because he was SOOOO wrong.

got it wrote:

Gotta go with Ritz in the 10k. Webb should still pop a good one, but 5k is his upper limit for real world class range. It's great to see him not afraid to jump up in distance, though. Hopefully he can hang on for a sub 27:30...

That is retarded. Webb ran 13:10 last year in what most consider a great race. 13:10 is worth between 27:20 and :25. There are a lot of Americans who have run 27:30-:40 and never broken 13:10.

Cummings, Porter, Eyestone, Virgin, Salazar, Ritz, Abdirahman, ... nearly ALL the best 10k times run by americans don't have a 13:10 5k PR to go with it.

Unless you think that Webb is in 13:00 shape right now and 27:25 should be easy for him that assessment is way off.

choco man wrote:

i like flagpole only responds to arguments when he thinks he might still have a chance of winning. there were a ton he just ignored because he was SOOOO wrong.

List them biotch! I never shy away from a good argument when I'm right and they are very wrong. Some just aren't worth my time.

Believe it or not, but not everyone deserves a response from Flagpole Willy. Gotta say something at least remotely interesting in order to get a response from me.

I responded to you though not because you are interesting but because I felt like using BIOTCH!

damn fool wrote:

i think we can rest assured that webb, maybe, just maybe, knows a thing or two about pacing and tactics. sure, he tried something different at worlds and maybe got a bit excited, but hey, that's racing and learning.

he did pace well to a 13:10 PR, right? and a 3:32 PR, right? How about a 2mi AR?

I would not agree he knows all he needs to know about 10k pacing and tactics. Far from it. Its obviously his weakness. His other PRs had nice pacesetters in the races. Ritz will be his pacesetter and Ritz can throw in that nice surge anytime he wants.

how is that using me? you just made yourself out to have the tact of 13yr old boy.

well for starters you ignored my 3 points from p.7:

1. PR's are not like the stock market. you have a lot better chance of predicting someone PR'ing based on their workouts and past sequence of races. Any numb-nut knows that. A lot easier than the stock market. The funny thing is how you say it is impossible to predict but then go on to predict Ritz will run 12:50 and 26:50 or whatever. You should listen to your scientifically-minded wife, or at least get her to correct your logic.

2. The reason why people discount Ritz is because he can't seem to stay healthy for longer than 3 months. He hasn't even put in half a season in Europe yet!!! I think most people would agree he is one of the most talented Americans ever, but everyone has gotten a lot more cautious since he is never healthy when it is go-time. He'll be good in the fall or spring but not when it counts - in the winter for cross, or the summer for WC's or Europe racing.

3. There is no way anyone would care about your supposed TOLD YOU SO. AS you may recall, a ton of people on these boards were singing Ritz's praises for many years, especially after the 27:38. No one really doubts if he is healthy for two years he can put together a sub13 but that's just it. No one can predict if he can get out of the injury bug, not even you Willy.

choco man wrote:

how is that using me? you just made yourself out to have the tact of 13yr old boy.

Dude, learn to read and comprehend. I didn't say using YOU. I said using BIOTCH! As in using the word "BIOTCH"!

You have clearly crossed the line into the world of the very uninteresting. I'll not likely respond to you again unless you become much more interesting.

Can't decide if I want to drive to Palo Alto for this.

and you are interesting? you just sound like an old man who is halfway through his coffee fix, nothing interesting about that. looks like someone else posted about an argument you missed. oh but i figure with your limited intellect you can't understand it so you choose to ignore it. or you do understand it and you realize you are incredibly wrong. maybe your wife shold post here, she is a hell of a lot more interesting than you are.

Well, your arguments fell into the category of not too interesting, but since you bothered to post a second time, and since the database server process I just kicked off will take 30 minutes to complete before I can do the next step, I'll answer:

1) My stock market comment was used to prove that supposed BAD performances are not necessarily indicative of future gains, not that GOOD performances aren't. You all have been saying that Ritz's performances so far haven't proven he can run the times I say he can, and I go back to the stock market idea. Ryan Hall has a faster PR in the 5,000 than Ritz, but it is clear as day to me that he is not as talented as Ritz at that distance. Most of the hoards here will say Hall is primed to do better than Ritz just because he has so far. Again, my stock market comparison holds true here. Ritz's stock will rise. Hall's will stay flat or slightly rise or decrease.

2) So, go ahead and discount Ritz. I know full well why people are doing it. I just can't believe they let a few injuries do that to them. What this tells me is that they are more of a Ritz fan than I am and they are letting their frustration get in the way of reality. They are frustrated that Ritz hasn't ascended to world stardom yet, and so to protect themselves from this frustration, they discount that he will ever live up to the potential that SOME people (myself included) say he has. I am not blinded by stardom. I simply take concrete evidence and tangiential evidence and put together a very likely puzzle. But, I am talented in that way, as apparently is ROJO (or he could just be lucky -- I don't know him since he no longer attends the moderator meetings -- oops!)

3) Oh yes people here will care when I say I TOLD YOU SO. After go so far as to call me a dumbass and so on, it will be a bitter pill for some to swallow. And you're wrong about another thing -- plenty here have decided that Ritz doesn't have the talent to break the AR in the 10,000 even...even if he is healthy. Most people responding here have not agreed that he can do it, regardless of any future injuries. And by the way, people can predict anything they want. It just might not turn out to be true. Ritz will figure out a way to get the stellar runs in that I say he will in between likely injuries -- under the current AR in both the 5,000 and 10,000.