After the Union meet we go face some really good programs. Teams such as New Castle, Mohawk, and Neshannock are just handing our heads to us. As I recall we ran Neshannock as our first home meet ever at the Green Meadows Golf Course. Coach grabs a measuring wheel somewhere and starts measuring out the course. I askes how he was measuring out of curiosity and he said 1,760 revolutions at a yard each make a mile. We ran 3 miles back then. I'm no math whiz, but I am a counter. I use numbers and letters in my daily life to compare distances, find matches, and estimate things without having to think about it. I count stair steps, look for letter matches in sentences, and guess step distances to objects quite a bit. Not enough where you know I'm doing it, but left alone these are just things my thoughts go to. Any who I point out right away that this particular wheel would need to be 36" in circumfrence and this one is clearly over 5 feet. No one there is buying it and I even grab a measuring tape and prove this particular wheel he has is 1,000 revolutions to the mile. We have the data. No one listens or cares and they go lay out the course.
When we come to race day against Neshannock (They win the AA Boys State title this year by 43 points) I personally go to their coach (who happens to live in our school district right near our high school) and point out this course is at least 5+ miles long. In fact it was laid out in two loops. This may have also clouded his judgement as he tells me after the walk through that it looks accurate to him. Again...what do I know I'm some sophomore in high school.
The race starts and the butt kicking starts early. We can't even match pace with the JV guys. One thing for sure is we have been running a long time. Suddenly out of no where they stop us around 4 miles. It was confusing. You are done now. Right here...just stop running. Thing is after Bailey and Gibson (sub 10 2-mile guys in track) went through the first loop in 15 minutes they realized something is wrong. This was one of the first times in my life that I realized people will ignore hard data if it is presented by someone they discount.
I have still not entered the last man standing event. I have been training with my thoughts geared towards this. In real life I should step outside my body, look at the shell that remains, and then construct an unbiased training program based on all the evidence which I have intimate knowledge. This probably won't happen because these events are unconventional. It is becoming clearer to me the approach may be what I have been suspecting. One needs to train to go slower. Master the time continuum and know exactly what 55 minute loops should feel like. Train for hours a day and master the run/walk strategy. I am recognizing that even being old, crippled, and slow that it can be hard to train this slow. If I was to offer any advice at this point I would tell the faster folks to learn to slow down. It will be a simpler thing to do for me beacause my regular training pace is 10-11 minute miles on the road. If you are a 7-8 person you better practice because there are things your body will absorb differently if not wired in. I'm probably wrong, but I'm probably right.
No comments:
Post a Comment