Can Webb hold this fitness to Osaka?

I'd like to see him keep up the steady improvement and be on the medal stand in Beijing. That would be cool.

The problem is if he's seeking even more speed, trying to cut his 800m PR so much that his aerobic side erodes a bit. His coach is smart, but they've also made a lot of mistakes in the past which I hope they've learned from.

3.30 shape is enough to bring home the gold.

Better question...can he improve his fitness? 50 days away. 7 weeks.

Alan

Its always the tactical part of World/Olympic races that is never beneficial for Webb.

Of course he can - A lot of great milers have been able to maintain top form for several months. Coe in '81 - he ran a 1:41 in June and a 3:47 in September, both world records. In '79, he ran 1:42 in early July and 3:32 in late August, again both world records. Cram in '85 ran 3:29 in mid July and 1:42 in late August. Morceli in his best years would break 3:30 from early July through the end of the season, El Gerrouj in his prime was running 3:27/3:28 all season. Its possible to maintain top form for several months.

storeup wrote:

Today was a great performance. However, Im concerned. Today must be considered as one of the greatest US performances from a miler ever. Webb had a wonderful result. My concern is if he will be able to maintain this level of fitness on through to the Osaka 1500 final. That being said, fantastic performance today!

Are you the same guy that was upset when he ran 3:51 at Drake and therefor was peaking too early?

I wonder what kind of workouts webb is doing. I assume his mileage is still around 70 or around that.

My question is, Would it be better to keep raising the intensity up on the workouts or should webb take 2 to 3 weeks and run some longer strength type intervals then revert back to what hes doing now. I don't know if he can peak for 9 weeks(from us champs to osaka) hopefully he isn't peaking now and we will just see better things from him later, but i guess only webb and his coach know. I really hope he runs a 5k or 3k after osaka. That could be huge. I would think he could run under 730 for the 3k at some point this year

Its funny because Webb has really been phenomal so far this season, especially todays performance. Regardless of what he does I think most of us in the back of our minds are really hoping he isn't peaking to early and will be ready for Osaka.

student of the sport wrote:

I really hope he runs a 5k or 3k after osaka. That could be huge. I would think he could run under 730 for the 3k at some point this year

Don't you people remember just a few weeks ago when he choked in the 2 miler? I hope that doesn't repeat, but knowing Webb....

Californian wrote:

Of course he can - A lot of great milers have been able to maintain top form for several months. Coe in '81 - he ran a 1:41 in June and a 3:47 in September, both world records. In '79, he ran 1:42 in early July and 3:32 in late August, again both world records. Cram in '85 ran 3:29 in mid July and 1:42 in late August. Morceli in his best years would break 3:30 from early July through the end of the season, El Gerrouj in his prime was running 3:27/3:28 all season. Its possible to maintain top form for several months.

Being in top/near-top form at the beginning and the end of summer--or beginning to reach top form in early July and then not actually having the peak for several more weeks--is quite different from HAVING your peak in early July and trying to hold it for two more months.

When Steve Scott set his mile AR, it came right after his PB 1:45.05 (just like Webb), but right AFTER this, Steve went home to train at high mileage for 3 weeks, then came down again to race in Europe later in the year. Recharging is different from maintaining.

Webb said today that he still plans 4 more races, which suggests to me that he plans to try to maintain, not recharge. And given Webb's prior history of peaking early, I'm afraid they're going to make the same mistake again. They need to take a close look at the calendar, and how lllloooonnnnggg it is until the WC.

Webb does not have a history of peaking too early.

He finished 9th at the last WC's behind 8 guys that were faster than him.

4 more races is not much and they may be twice a week.

I am sure that he will go through a 3 week recharging period before Osaka.

So he won't maintain his fitness. He'll race, reload, and race again just like the other elites.

I am not concerned about fitness. I just hope he avoids injury.

Coach D wrote:Given Webb's prior history of peaking early, I'm afraid they're going to make the same mistake again. They need to take a close look at the calendar, and how lllloooonnnnggg it is until the WC.

Webb's prior history has not been a mistake. It has been a spectacular progression with typical highs and lows, but without his history, he would not be the runner he is today.

Trust me when I say that Alan has looked at the calendar closely. He is running very well right now, but his sharpening has not yet begun. Health permitting, he will be faster for WC. The Olympics are even bigger, and he expects to be in shape to win gold next year.

Yeah, some letsrun dude knows better than a 3,30 runner and his coach...