Just warning folks who might want to read the book....
The real spoiler: Webb leaves after his freshman year. I hope that does not ruin it for anyone.
1) The book is pretty light and can be read quickly.
2) I got the sense that Lear did not spend a lot of time in A2 (at least compared with RWTB).
3) Interesting take on Webb's needs as an athlete versus Warhurst's coaching style. I thought Lear handled this very fairly. It is a good lesson for any athlete: you need to believe in the system or find a system that fits you.
4) Webb's desire to go to UM was partly driven by the desire to workout with guys like Sullivan, Broe and Brannen (although I am not sure if he knew Brannen would be there when he signed). Unfortunately, they were injured and not able to train as they (or anyone else) would have liked.
5) Webb did some incredible workouts. Was this carry over from his "alactic" training?
6) The idea of these incredible strength workouts are only incredible for someone with an endurance background who has not spent much time in a weight room with strength/power athletes. I doubt Webb's workouts would have impressed a football player at UM (even accounting for relative size). Doing 3 sets of your body weight in the bench press is not all that impressive folks.
7) I would have liked a more detailed comparison between Raczko (sp?) and Warhurst's training ideas. Raczko seems more in the lots of anaerobic intervals stuff; Warhurst a bit more volume guy. Personally, I think the latter is generally better for milers and beyond. (800m can go either way IMHO).
8) In line with the training philosophy, interesting that Webb is really meticulous (could be a swimming thing!) and wanting specific workout times. Warhurst gives a workout as something like: Do 8x600m in 1:30 to 1:35. Webb prefers a specific goal like 1:32. Talked with a runner who Warhurst coached and she verified this although added that she always wanted to run under the lower limit (not something I think is always a great idea, but that is another issue).
9) As often happens to HS studs in any sport, they sometimes never learn tactics since they can just run away (or over) lesser opponents in HS. Webb also seems to think that he should have been winning races right from the start as a freshman. That just does not happen all that often in distance running. I guess he never realized there are a lot of sub 4:00 guys in college.
10) New respect for Raczko in his handling of Webb when Webb was pushing for records as a junior. He pulled him out of some races and shut down his season when Webb got a little dinged. This is a gutsy move and shows that he had Webb's long term interest at heart. Someone could argue that Razko did that for personal gain---not an easy argument to win.
11) Webb seems like a pretty normal frosh. Mature in some areas, not so much in other areas. Seems pretty good at handling the attention of fans. Asks fans to wait for after the race to sign autographs but signs them well before he is prepping for a race (fair enough in my mind). Some of his statements that lead to the stir on his going pro may be from being naive and unsure.
12) The creep of uncertainty. No confidence in many cases.
Altogether, an okay read. Again, I never really felt like I got to know the players as I did in RWTB. I am curious about how much time Lear spent in AA (not a bad place to hang out based on my one visit).
For what it is worth...