Some call it super dedicated, I call it crazy - Alan Webb counts his steps!!!

He'd be better served counting heartbeats,no?

And how many carrot cuffing strokes allowed per day?

It would make a lot more sense to have a stop watch running. It is easier to to track and will also account for time just standing around.

But yeah, I think it is a bit much. He should just make an effort to stay off his feet and leave it at that.

NASA just came out with these brand new high tech devices that cost a

Crap-ton of money and I suspect that Alan may use one.

It actually counts your steps for you!!!!!!!!

I believe the scientific name for it is a pedometer.

All joking aside, did you really not think of this and go straight to a stopwatch???!!

Absolutely insane.

I don't think that is so bad. I mean if you are serious about the sport.

I personally count the steps I take in the day and keep a running count of surfaces and temperatures as well since these are critical determinants of the stress that these foot strikes take out of you. For outdoor walking I break it up into hard surface (streets, paved paths), running tracks, and soft surface (dirt paths, grass...). I count all indoor surfaces the same. Since I don't walk on indoor tracks I figure nearly every indoor surface is about the same. Then I also note the temperature - above or below 74 degrees farenheit.

For example, yesterday I had the following counts:

Outdoor hard, hot: 1766 steps

Outdoor hard, cool: 1232 steps

Outdoor soft, hot: 982 steps

Outdoor soft, cool: 1444 steps

Outdoor track, hot: 0 steps

Outdoor track, cool: 332 steps

Indoor, hot: 0 steps

Indoor, cool: 676 steps

Of course hard surfaces and hotter conditions stress the body more so I double the points for these. As long as I can keep my overall point total below 20,000 per day I find that I can train at an optimal level and still feel fresh. Going much above 20,000, especially on a consistent basis, and my overall training definitely begins to suffer.

Anyway, sorry for too much detail here, but the point is I don't think that what Webb is doing is really all that excessive. I mean if you are serious about your training it only makes sense to do whatever it takes.

^

Wut.

Seriously. Does Alan Webb even enjoy running, living for that matter?

I'm going to take a wild guess and say back when Webb was great, he didn't do crap like this.

he runs too much, doesn't walk enough

It is this type of behavior which leads to American records and also complete under performance. Its the classic case of feeling good, running good. This kind of thing is actually both his greatest strength and greatest weakness. Anyone ever read about Bobby Fisher? Guy literally could not do anything except think about chess. It made him on top of his game for long, but the price was basically his sanity. I see Webb in much the same way. He knows what its like to be at that level. He knows what kind of insanity it takes to get there. Unfortunately this vision is also damaging. Life of excellence is tough.

all great ones in any discipline are a little crazy. last time i checked, webb is better than you.

He could make much better use of his energy if he would apply the same philosophy to stride reduction in his races. Basically the same idea that Edwin Moses used to win multi golds.

Gabe. wrote:

I'm going to take a wild guess and say back when Webb was great, he didn't do crap like this.

Yeah, he did, if you read Sub-4 by Leer documenting Webb's frosh year at Michigan, you'll see this. Webb really needed to stay with Warhurst and absord a Ovett like attitude (as the coaches described it to him), and drop the OCD in Rackzo/Cook methods, but didn't happen.

california guy wrote:

And I'm like, 'Wow, I never thought about that.' It's just all about little things like that which I took for granted before."

And I'm like, "Wow how much is Webb going to rubb off on Andrews."

Webb's biggest flaw is lack of efficient use or focus of his mental energy, not physical energy. This is more proof of how some people can take something so simple and screw it up by over analyzing it. Yes, he is massively talented and has achieved great things in certain settings. But it seems when the pressure has truly been on, he comes up with ways to underperform. I want to see Webb succeed again, but can't see him getting over this type of unnecessary thinking. I wish he would just get out there and throw down, take on any challenge, and exhibit his true physical talent.

Wild World wrote:

Seriously. Does Alan Webb even enjoy running, living for that matter?

Ummm...which part of Webb is Back Baby don't you understand?

It's not like he can count his real hair!

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0dSl0UA4Jm9LH/610x.jpg

myster tour wrote:

It's not like he can count his real hair!

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0dSl0UA4Jm9LH/610x.jpg

And that photo was from like 1998.

I'm sure he can count on 1 hand how many times you've beaten him in a race though