Webb can't handle the pressure

The expectations are low again so he will run well again in the spring.

Plomp....that's the sound of people jumping off the Webb bandwagon. In last night's race, it looked like he had a crisis in confidence over the last 5 laps, and went from leading to struggling to hold position. Of course, that also coincides with the surge of the other runners. Once again, the lack of day in day out competition shows Webb's problem. He doesn't react well to race situations. His recent times suggest that he is in good shape physically, but I have to agree with you that mentally he doesn't have it.

Geezuzfreakinchrist, you do live up to your name neophyte, don't you. It's February already. Nothing counts yet.

[quote]neophyte wrote:

outdoor 3:53--shocked everyone

quote]

A twisted interpretation of reality. Sure it was a shock, but don't imply there was no pressure.

I was at that race, and believe me Webb had huge expectations at this race. He was expected to go under four minutes and pressure was being applied to break break Ryun's 3:55 mark.

He delivered and exceed expectations under great pressure.

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You bashers need to get a life--really. Let judgement be delivered at the end of the season.

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Congratulations to Alan Webb on a nice PR and going sub-8.

You missed the point. I can not think of a single situation where expectations were high that he came through. I have plenty of examples where there was no real expectations and he ran great (most recently the 12k. It has very little to do with the calender. I am looking for examples during any stage of his training or racing.

I also was at the race and although the press said he was attempting to break Ryuns HS record, no one believed it. I would have thought he was successful having broken 4 min again. The pressure from the track and field community was not there at that time.

a side note

What is Webb's PR's for 1 mile, 1500, 3k, or any other distance indoors or outdoors that were winning performances?

Your inability to think of a situation does not preclude its existence.

Just so we are clear..

"You missed the point. I can not think of a single situation where expectations were high that he came through."

Your inability to think of a situation goes not preclude its existence.

neophyte wrote:

You missed the point. I can not think of a single situation where expectations were high that he came through. I have plenty of examples where there was no real expectations and he ran great (most recently the 12k. It has very little to do with the calender. I am looking for examples during any stage of his training or racing.

Your problem is that you are comparing your expectations to those held by Alan Webb. Until you truly know what Alan has set himself up to do, you should stop making these stupid inferences because the logical jumps you make are absurd. For all you know, he was running the 3000 to prepare himself for the 1500m in July by doing an over distance effort. Real runners do this as part of a sound training plan. This is just he type of thing that Wejo is doing by running the Marathon in Feb to prepare for the OT 10000m in July. Look at Malmo's logs and you'll be enlightened at how to do things like this.

neophyte;

If this board has shown us anything, it's that there are huge expectations on young Webb **each and every time he races**.

To suggest otherwise is simple folly.

He's been ordained as the "next great ..fill-in-the-blank" and as such toes every starting line with the pressure of having to show something (Stamina in cross, tactics indoors, the overall success of his programme outdoors).

As Malmo quite rightly says, It's February (or at least it was yesterday).

Hold your tounge and assess his season in September when the really important fish will have been fried.

Martin

Can I just say you are full of crap?

Monty

This is something I have been saying about Webb for a while. He has never really had any eye popping performances at major championship meets. He's done well several times but he's never stepped it up to the next level- part of it is because he doesn't quite know how to race yet. Hopefully it will come with time.

I remember popping a 5:02 mile in a JV race in some remote suburb of Naperville once, blasting from 17th place to 16th place. It wasn't really a championship event, because there were more people walking their dogs around the track than actual spectators. But I blasted a 74 last quarter, which was quite eye-popping, and to this day, it is my PR. Too many 100 mile weeks of Lydiard had tired my legs before that race, so I can't really advocate Lydiard's training, but if Webb could learn how to race similarly to how I have raced, I think Webb would have an edge, you understand what I'm sayin'? When Webb gets to championship caliber, dis here Lee Mills will announce it to all, I assure you.

Who keeps impersonating me? This shit is hilarious!!

I do wish though that you would get the sand out of your vagina and tell me who you are

Run 3:57 then talk!

neophyte wrote:

All eyes are on Webb for the first year and he runs terribly. Then when all of our expectations are low he surprizes us at Manchester and Club Cross-Country. He runs respectable in some small meets with no pressure and enters the 4k Cross with HUGE EXPECTATIONS and once again disappoints. He comes back the next day with ZERO EXPECTATIONS and runs well. He decides that his strngth is better than his speed and will run the 3k instead of the 1500 at USATF indoors. The EXPECTATIONS ARE HIGH, the performance is poor. Webb's largest problems are from the neck up and that is the hardest fix.

The sad thing about all that you said is that Webb is a part of all the action when it comes to running and you are not. It is real easy to flap the gums my friend and you do it real well. It is all in a person?s perspective I guess. I would much rather have problems with pressure than to have problems trying to run while eating Webb?s dust which is what you got.

Sol- did u spell 353 wrong? hehe sorry

I haven't even read the replies to this thread yet, but I think you are dead wrong. No pressure at Pre Classic? Are you absolutely freaking out of your mind? Everyone knew, including him, that that was going to be the biggest race of his LIFE up to that point, and it was! He destroyed ANYONE'S legit expectations. Anyone who predicted that he'd run 3:53 for the mile is/was an IDIOT. He had no business running 3:53 and he did it anyway! He killed all expectations in the most pressure packed race of his life.

How about his first collegiate XC race? Oh, no pressure there, only the first time he ever raced in a Michigan uniform. He WON! I was there, I witnessed it. At Great American.

NCAA XC? It might not have been his BEST race, but he finished 11th in a GREAT field as a freshman MILER! I think that was a great race.

Webb is not a choker, you are just making him out to be one by pointing out the examples that best illustrate your point. Heck, you even pointed out an incident that completely destroys your thesis: the Pre Classic.

Here?s an article I ran across from the June 23, 1980 edition of SI that might shed light on Webb?s situation:

...?My father is my coach,? he said, ?and the basic foundations have been consistent, although the headings have meandered a bit as we?ve EXPERIMENTED (my emphasis). Essentially, it has been 100% quality not quantity. It is speed endurance, that is, seeing how long you can endure speed. In the winters I very seldom have run more than 50 miles per week, less in the spring.?

?No more than that?? said Bowerman. By contrast, John Walker of New Zealand, Coe?s precursor as mile record holder, did 100 to 120 miles. Until Coe, recent middle-distance philosophy has held that speed work alone is destructive of a runner. The athlete?s traditional response to interval or speed training is rapid improvement to a point, followed by equally rapid decline. New Zealand Coach Arthur Lydiard?s advance in the 1960?s was in effect to train his runners for their training, to build up in them such stamina from lengthy mileage that they could withstand and, in fact, benefit from fast track running.

When asked how he managed to stay fresh and strong on so little distance work, Coe said, ?My father says you might not know the accepted lore of athletics, but if you know people and can sense the individual's needs, it can make all the difference.?......... ?As a junior in 1975, I(Coe) averaged 28 miles per week and ran successfully--third in the European junior 1500--against those juniors who were running 80 or 90 miles? ?Hear, hear,? said Bowerman. ?Yet I wouldn?t know why some people can get away with less distance than the others. I really don?t have a clue.?.... Perched as naturally upon his mossy rock as an otter, Coe gave rise as well to musing about the seeming perfection of a partnership between father/coach and runner/son that had so moved Bowerman. How was it sustained? What was the complimentary mix of the qualities that resulted in a unit of such toughness and grace? ?Does it not seem,? Bowerman asked Coe, ?that if what your father says about coaching is true, that it applies more widely?....

Webb is a 1500 man. He's sticking with what brought him this far. The 3000 is no verdict on what he does best. I'll reevalute his decisions on training and coaching after the trials. Time has a way of sorting these things out.