Webb in 1500 in Milan 9 Sept

This will be a great test for Webb, some damn good guys in that field.

This is where Sally's 3:37 prediction will happen.

Asbel Kiprop and Silas Kiplagat in the 3000... interesting!

Of course if I had to see one of those races it'd be Webb's 1500...

3:35. Word.

say what polar bear wrote:

This will be a great test for Webb, some damn good guys in that field.

I think it's possible he could go sub 3:35 if he's pulled along with the front elite. Anyone agree?

WebbFan wrote:

say what polar bear wrote:

This will be a great test for Webb, some damn good guys in that field.

I think it's possible he could go sub 3:35 if he's pulled along with the front elite. Anyone agree?

seriously??? You really believe a guy who struggles to run 148 in 800 and a recent 341 at 1500 is going to drop 6 seconds in just a couple weeks? I can see 3:38.xx but no more. Hope I'm wrong but I just don't see it.

I think a new Wr in the 3000m is realistic. Kiprop has much more speed than did Komen. A superior runner.

Well isnt that nice wrote:

WebbFan wrote:

I think it's possible he could go sub 3:35 if he's pulled along with the front elite. Anyone agree?

seriously??? You really believe a guy who struggles to run 148 in 800 and a recent 341 at 1500 is going to drop 6 seconds in just a couple weeks? I can see 3:38.xx but no more. Hope I'm wrong but I just don't see it.

The 3:41 looked pretty easy for him though - basically just cruising. Figure he could have gone 2-3 secs faster in that race if pushed. So with 2 more weeks of prep....who knows.

Ivan Heshko in the lineup also? Where has he been the last few years? I'm quite interested to see how he goes.

f wrote:

I think a new Wr in the 3000m is realistic. Kiprop has much more speed than did Komen. A superior runner.

That's mental. Komen's 7:20.67 is one of the sickest distance running performances of all time. Check out a video of it here:

f wrote:

I think a new Wr in the 3000m is realistic. Kiprop has much more speed than did Komen. A superior runner.

I don't think you should be allowed to post anymore. Just asinine.

Kamel FTW, Webb 3:37 but it will feel like an exclamation point (or maybe more accurately an ellipsis) on a truly inspiring US track and field season.

It's true a few weeks ago he struggled with a pretty slow 800, but since we have seen some vast improvements after only starting back up again very recently. 3:35 is really fast and it would be awesome if he could run that, but if he has the ability to do it this season, this will be the field that pushes him to run 3:35.

His first race against serious comp, I think he can go 3:36ish. Good luck Alan kick A** and take names!!!

It could happen wrote:It's true a few weeks ago he struggled with a pretty slow 800, but since we have seen some vast improvements after only starting back up again very recently. 3:35 is really fast and it would be awesome if he could run that, but if he has the ability to do it this season, this will be the field that pushes him to run 3:35.

What "vast improvement"? AlSal stated in an interview BEFORE that 1:52 800 that he expected Webb to run "around 1:50". IMO Webb "sandbagged" that first 800. That best explains the "dramatic improvement" (running 3:41) and then a plateau (1:48.3). The 1:48.3 800 is actually inferior to his 3:41 according to all the scoring tables. Let alone he struggled the whole race and didn't try to keep up with the lead pack at least for the 1st lap. Keep in mind he ran a solo 1:47.7 in his high school state meet and is barely in that kind of shape now.

He runs 3:38 at best, but probably more like 3:39, 3:40. In 3 days we'll find out.

Lenny Leonard wrote:

Kamel FTW, Webb 3:37 but it will feel like an exclamation point (or maybe more accurately an ellipsis) on a truly inspiring US track and field season.

This is about what I'd guess. Actually I'll say 3:38 and he's happy about it. He looked like he had maybe a couple of seconds in the the tank in the 3:41 race and it's hard to improve that much in a few weeks, especially when you're racing. I'm guessing he'll hang at the back and then pass a few guys in the chase pack in the last 400 to finish somewhere under 3:40.

Plateaued my ass. The only reason his most recent 800m performance isn't quite on par with that 3:41 is lack of speed work. At this point it makes sense that he would perform a little better in events that require more aerobic fitness.

His speed is still improving significantly with each passing week and I would expect him to have a 1:46 in him if he ran a well-paced 800 later this week. So, I think a 3:38 would be a conservative estimate. I say 3:36.

And you know Alan is psyched by the fact that his comeback is going pretty well and he's already getting back in the mix with some good 1500m runners. I think that excitement will carry him to a solid time.

No sandbagging needed. The first two guys had just run 1:48.0x or there abouts and then ran 1:50.5 at Webb's first race because the conditions were so poor. The difference was worth about 2 seconds,

Remember back when Alan Webb only managed a 1:46, 3:35, and 3:55 in 2008, or a 3:57 indoor mile in 2009 (after a 4:04 and 1:52 indoor double) and 3:55 outdoor mile in 2009? People then thought he was done and never again going to reach top form (if you want proof look at all the letsrun threads after his meets in 2008 and 2009). Plus his "bad" times were also bashed, like his 3:42 in NY in 2009.

I personally am glad that Webb is back and racing, but so far he hasn't done anything better than his form in 2008 or 2009 (both seasons after he had been injured), and it's possible he might end 2010 like that. Salazaar so far (this might change in the future I understand that), but so far hasn't done more for Webb for a comeback than Razcko has. Why was his 1:46 in 2008 bashed, or his 1:52 in 2009, his 3:42 in 2009, his 3:55's at Pre etc, but now when he runs a 1:52, 3:41, and 1:48 in 2010 he is praised?

Read the old threads. Everyone thought he was never going to return to his top form after his races in 2008 and 2009. Now he runs worse times than those years, and people think he will easily return to his top form. How does that make sense?

he is coming off achilles tendon surgery and whereas he overtrained in previous years, this year he has not yet been able to do his typical workouts.

he'd like an A standard so that he doesn't have to get it by U.S. trials next year, and I think that he may just get it.

3:35.7.