Is Webb racing too much?

webb needs racing.

Seems like these races are part of a bigger training plan.

They're workouts or tuneups for him. His last two 1500's have been legitimate races; everything else has been workouts of sorts.

He's not in college anymore, he's not trying for multiple peaks. He's trying to get to 3:32 shape so he can make the Olympic team.

pro's to Webb racing a lot:

1. He can get the Olympic A qualifier.

2. He gets positive feedback by seeing his times drop, thereby improving his confidence.

3. He gets back into a racing mindset after years of barely racing.

4. He gets practice running in a pack, competing for the win. Working on what people commonly say is his weak spot: tactics.

5. We get to observe the comeback of Alan Webb week by week. Plus his coach gets to see his fitness level in real race times rather than assumptions based on training.

6. He can practice doubling, preparing for the rounds of championships.

Con's to Webb racing a lot:

1. Someone makes a thread on letsrun questioning the value of the above 6 things.

whaaaaaaaat wrote:

pro's to Webb racing a lot:

1. He can get the Olympic A qualifier.

I think this one is being missed by a lot of people this year (for all athletes, not just Webb). There is no chasing of standards after the trial. He cannot go with a B qualifier (No AAB this year, either AAA or B).

Is it even possible to race mid d too much? It's not even 4 laps.

I've done my fair share of Webb bashing recently, and I've stated more than once that I think he has a snowball's chance in hell of making the Olympic team. But he definitely should be racing frequently. I question whether he's doing too much, desperately trying to get himself sharp for the fast-approaching Trials. But I don't think he has much of a choice at this point. He needs the A standard, and he needs to get back in the saddle. He needs to mix it up with his competitors.

whaaaaaaaat wrote:

pro's to Webb racing a lot:

1. He can get the Olympic A qualifier.

2. He gets positive feedback by seeing his times drop, thereby improving his confidence.

3. He gets back into a racing mindset after years of barely racing.

4. He gets practice running in a pack, competing for the win. Working on what people commonly say is his weak spot: tactics.

5. We get to observe the comeback of Alan Webb week by week. Plus his coach gets to see his fitness level in real race times rather than assumptions based on training.

6. He can practice doubling, preparing for the rounds of championships.

Con's to Webb racing a lot:

1. Someone makes a thread on letsrun questioning the value of the above 6 things.

I don't think he's racing too much but just for the sake of argument..

Cons:

1)Travelling around the country to meets.

2)Training disrupted.

3)Increased risk of injury.

If anything he is doing it right this year. In the past he would race too infrequently then show up for the big day unprepared.

I'm definitely not Webb bashing here, I would love to see him make the US team. It seems that the general consensus on this site is that too much racing is bad for you, so I thought it would be interesting to get the consensus on Webb's racing since he is running a lot of races this year. I understand the need to bust the rust, especially when you have been off as long as Webb and it being an Olympic year. To me, jumping into a bunch of races right off of being injured is a fast track back to injuries. Plus all the traveling all the time can take its toll. Nobody knows Webb better than Webb so I hope all the racing pays off in a few months!

4)Pickup up a virus and other nasty shit.

Honestly, top guys / people of interest racing a lot is great for the sport! I am sure all those football, hockey, baseball, basketball games are terrible for the athletes. They need more practice right? Train for the Super Bowl or the Cup or the World Series.

I wish people raced more. It would be good for the sport, give something for reporters to write about.

He is getting fitter by the week. All his races have been workouts probably to protect his sensitve ego.

He's fit. He's strong. Just run some damn 1500's fresh. The guy has to be ready to run a 53.0 at the end of a 2:58 1200 to make the team. Maybe he is not there yet but I can see him getting down to 3:35 fresh before the trials and Webb is going to get there. He ran a 13:49 5000 leading 40 minutes after 3:38.

And he doesn't need to race a single 800. At this point. 200s at 22 and fresh 1500 races and get him ready for a last 400 at 53.0 after a 3:00 1200. Nobody is going to push that pace.

One cannot race to much mid distance...His 13:49 was disappointing of sorts. KB could have gone 13:10 after 3:38.

Webb hasn't really been racing, clearly, he is training through these things, ergo the "doubles."

The seasons where Webb did well involved a lot of racing. When he broke the AR, he was racing regularly all the way through indoors and the entire main summer season. He ran out of gas a bit at the end that year, so perhaps that was a little much. But based on the progress he made for five months of racing or more, it definitely helps get him tuned up.

I think the value of racing often is fairly clear if you are running shorter distances. I suspect that the elites in the 5-10,000 distances should run more races than they do. By the time you get to the marathon it is a rare runner that does well running four per year, and most stick with two for probably good reason...but the mile is no marathon.

Druddd wrote:

If anything he is doing it right this year. In the past he would race too infrequently then show up for the big day unprepared.

Truer words have never been spoken. Look at guys like Teg and Solinsky (now hobbled) who rarely race. By racing so infrequently they put all their eggs in one basket and end up with the proverbial scrambled eggs.

What's the alternative- a long run on the weekend? No problem- he's not racing 5-10K. The fitter he gets, the less recovery he needs. Should be able to race a 1500 or 800 every week at least until he gets competitive again.

Traveling around the country? The only race that he's really traveled far for was last week at Payton Jordan. All of his other races have been around the Virginia area.