What do you see for Alan Webb in 2009?

I see many DNF's for Mr. Webb in 2009

Agree with yes. Until such time as Alan can get his psychological balance in line, with a trained professional, he is going to have a processsion of up and down, up and down years. More talent than Nick Willis? No, but maybe more raw speed and raw desire when he gets in a zone. But he woull need an infusion of grace and fluidity to ever be compared to Nick, and I don't think thats possible.

rivers

d.ward

k. smith

t.owens

a.johnson

z.miller

dallas

n.kaeding

not moore or LJ

We should recall that Webb was in a pretty similar situation when he made the transition from Michigan to the professional ranks. There were a great deal of naysayers because of his relatively poor first year as a pro, but then he had some really amazing races in the next few seasons.

I guess my reason for pointing this out is that Webb has been in the hole before. He has had some crappy seasons and bounced back. What is stopping him from getting into world-class shape again, learning from his mistakes and peaking well?

Alan's a nice guy and he is fun to watch race. I hope he runs well this year.

Webb is the best miler in the US and probably the world - it is likely he will be nearly undefeated this year.

goober wrote:

Agree with yes. Until such time as Alan can get his psychological balance in line, with a trained professional, he is going to have a processsion of up and down, up and down years. More talent than Nick Willis? No, but maybe more raw speed and raw desire when he gets in a zone. But he woull need an infusion of grace and fluidity to ever be compared to Nick, and I don't think thats possible.

no...he has to have similar prs and championship performances to ever be compared with nick...

right now he has vastly superior PRs but nick has the medal...most people will give nick the edge due to his bronze medal (I agree) but even now its not even clear cut...

its not like willis doesnt have down years, webb just gets scrutinized more because hes american

yes, but webb also gets scrutinized more because he is more talented and has a...well...unique...coaching coach.

A starring role in the reality movie sequel: "Supersize Me 2." To quote Sonny in the wonderful movie - A Bronx Tale - the worst thing in the world is "Wasted Talent." It was painful to watch Webb run in the Trials. Unless he is willing to make some serious life changes, I don't see anything changing in the future.

A starring role in the reality movie sequel: "Supersize Me 2." To quote Sonny in the wonderful movie - A Bronx Tale - the worst thing in the world is "Wasted Talent." It was painful to watch Webb run in the Trials. Unless he is willing to make some serious life changes, I don't see anything changing in the future.

webbyyy wrote:

Don't claim to be an expert, but Webb seems to be getting more and more muscular. He also seems to be getting more and more robotic in form. Back down on the weights, and become a little more fluid.

He needs the weights. One of his mistakes this year was that he didn't do as much strength training this past spring/summer.

he becomes jabe jennings training partner. they ride

unicycles down to mexico and join the circus for a while.

jabe shaves his head bald and alan uses the hair to develop a new rug for his own giant dome. he creates a rug that doesnt hold sweat or water and is much lighter than his old out of date one. they enter a half mary in tijuana in late winter, alan wins setting the world record with jabe close behind. alan reads the letshate message board the next day and realizes he is in the wrong event. he gets injured training for a full thon shortly after, quits the sport of running and trains with lou ferigno for a summer and goes on to become espn s worlds strongest man.

he should have listened to the haters earlier.

Nothing -- we're going to see *nothing* of him in 2009. He's done, already as good as retired. He quit in his mind after the trials, or during the trials, for good. So ye've heard it here.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

He needs the weights. One of his mistakes this year was that he didn't do as much strength training this past spring/summer.

And El G would've run 3:19 if he bulked up some more....

First point-running form/body type. Look at all the greatest middle distance runners (The sub 1:43 guys ,sub 3:30 guys, sub 7:30 guys and sub 13:00 guys) and then compare their body types and strides to Alan Webb.

WEbb:

http://i.usatoday.net/sports/_photos/2007/07/22/webbx-large.jpg

Most top middle distance runners have long, flowing strides. They are relaxed even at high speed or when tired. They have very little upper body muscle-just enough to offset the motion of the legs and control pelvic motion. Any more is not needed, and is just extra body mass to drag around. Alan Webb thinks that it is needed, but it is not. When you are trying to kick off of 60s pace, it could be helpful. But when trying to kick off of 57-58s or run sub 3:30, it is not.

2nd point-relaxation. Webb has a short, quick stride that is often choppy. He doesn't relax most of the time, and never when it matters. He has a massive aerobic capacity but wastes energy because he is often working against himself. When Webb is on, he is very, very good. Perhaps good enough to equal the performance of an El G or Coe. Physically, he is there. But mentally, I think he is a mess. When he doesn't relax, things aren't going to plan or he doesn't feel good he seems to panic and then his form goes to shit.

Remember his 2 mile race when he ran 8:2x? First he came through the mile in 4:03-4:04 expecting it to feel easy. But he wasn't relaxed, so it didn't feel easy, so he panicked, and lost form even more. And ended up running like shit. And subconciously he must know why he runs like shit, but he doesn't want to admit that he panicked, so he says that it is inexplicable.

A hungry, well aligned and in shape Alan Webb is unbeatable at 1500m. But he doesn't seem to have the mental strength to run well when things are not going 100%, and that's what a true champion needs.

dickie thon wrote:

he becomes jabe jennings training partner. they ride

unicycles down to mexico and join the circus for a while.

jabe shaves his head bald and alan uses the hair to develop a new rug for his own giant dome. he creates a rug that doesnt hold sweat or water and is much lighter than his old out of date one. they enter a half mary in tijuana in late winter, alan wins setting the world record with jabe close behind. alan reads the letshate message board the next day and realizes he is in the wrong event. he gets injured training for a full thon shortly after, quits the sport of running and trains with lou ferigno for a summer and goes on to become espn s worlds strongest man.

he should have listened to the haters earlier.

Your right. Their the two best 1500 runners that the US has.

vesuvius wrote:

i think Webb enjoys winning and that he does not enjoy running for its own sake and he can't take losing

this is a formula for a champion or a loser but not for anything in between, Webb alternates between greatness and completely broken down performances ... inordinate peaks and valleys

Very True. He gets almost too excited when winning, and way too low when losing. I wish he would race more, get experience and learn to relax.

Whatever you say... wrote:

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

He needs the weights. One of his mistakes this year was that he didn't do as much strength training this past spring/summer.

And El G would've run 3:19 if he bulked up some more....

You don't have to "bulk up" to lift weights and strength train. I read that El Guerrouj lifted weights.

Webb needs to get off the Michael Phelps diet plan.