It's A Long Way To Trip-a-Mary
Today, twenty-two years ago to the day, Zola Budd smashed the 5000m world record.
Nothing really wrong with that, except that Zola Budd was running barefoot. Here was a young girl, a bare-footed runner, who nobody saw coming and she went on to become one of the best runners in the world. She was certainly one of the most controversial - especially after she collided withMary Decker in the 1984 Olympics.
I remember when I was at a posh boarding school, I used to run regularly. I was quite good at it, being built for long-distance running. I was competing in an old pair of trainers, running against well-to-do kids who had the latest in spiked shoes.
I was always there or thereabouts, but my standard of running got to the point where my equipment was starting to hold me back a little. Skill, stamina and technique were only getting me so far - it was now at the stage where my equipment was holding me back.
My Ma and Da done without god-knows-what in order to scrape together the groats necessary for a pair of spiked running shoes. These things were practically lighter than air and had the most enormous spikes sticking out of the bottom of them. They literally were liked having winged sandals - Mercury himself would have been struggling to keep up with me. They cut my times by at least 10%, and I was now regularly finishing races in the top 10, if not the top 5.
Had I started out with these brilliant shoes from the beginning, I doubt I would ever have been as good at running as I was. In order to compensate for having little grip, my technique had to be an awful lot better. A great technique had to be developed in order to compensate for crap shoes - I had to wring every ounce of advantage out of doing the right things right. At the beginning, great shoes would have compensated for crap technique.
Improving your performance by adding great equipment to a great technique is quick and easy. Improving performance by working on your technique is a long process - far better to concentrate on the technique early.
My Da likes golf. He used to sit and watch the Pro-Celebrity golf on the BBC when I was a kid. One of the golfers making a regular appearance, and who my Da liked, was Lee Trevino, who won the US Open in 1968 and never looked back.
The thing about Lee Trevino was that he had no choice but to have a brilliant technique - he developed his golf skills inbetween paying his bills as a caddy. He would practice and practice behind the caddy shack of the golf course, using old discarded clubs that the players had dumped because they were bent or broken. When he later added shiny new clubs to the well-practiced technique, he won the US Open and several other tournaments.
I have the same philosophy with the bike. I could have opted for a KTM race bike, but instead I opted for a solid and reliable AJP. She's quick, but nowhere near as quick as a KTM. This means that I have to rely on skill and technique to get me safely and speedily round a track. When I later upshift to a race bike (probably an AJP 400, which are currently in development), it will be the equivalent of the spiked shoes, or Lee Trevino's new clubs - the difference in my lap times will be noticeable.
And this is not to say that the AJP is the equivalent of crap shoes - Martin regularly wins races on a bike identical to mine. This is down to excellent technique - god only knows how quick he'd be on a blindingly-quick two-stroke.
Today, this year, is also my Da's 60th birthday party. It is in Edinburgh, and I am in Hampshire. This is because I have had to work this weekend - including tomorrow on the Bank Holiday. I am a bit gutted about this, because Uncle Alan would have been there too - I'd have liked to thank him face to face for supporting my efforts.
Happy Birthday Da. Only 5 years till the bus pass.
Nothing really wrong with that, except that Zola Budd was running barefoot. Here was a young girl, a bare-footed runner, who nobody saw coming and she went on to become one of the best runners in the world. She was certainly one of the most controversial - especially after she collided withMary Decker in the 1984 Olympics.
I remember when I was at a posh boarding school, I used to run regularly. I was quite good at it, being built for long-distance running. I was competing in an old pair of trainers, running against well-to-do kids who had the latest in spiked shoes.
I was always there or thereabouts, but my standard of running got to the point where my equipment was starting to hold me back a little. Skill, stamina and technique were only getting me so far - it was now at the stage where my equipment was holding me back.
My Ma and Da done without god-knows-what in order to scrape together the groats necessary for a pair of spiked running shoes. These things were practically lighter than air and had the most enormous spikes sticking out of the bottom of them. They literally were liked having winged sandals - Mercury himself would have been struggling to keep up with me. They cut my times by at least 10%, and I was now regularly finishing races in the top 10, if not the top 5.
Had I started out with these brilliant shoes from the beginning, I doubt I would ever have been as good at running as I was. In order to compensate for having little grip, my technique had to be an awful lot better. A great technique had to be developed in order to compensate for crap shoes - I had to wring every ounce of advantage out of doing the right things right. At the beginning, great shoes would have compensated for crap technique.
Improving your performance by adding great equipment to a great technique is quick and easy. Improving performance by working on your technique is a long process - far better to concentrate on the technique early.
My Da likes golf. He used to sit and watch the Pro-Celebrity golf on the BBC when I was a kid. One of the golfers making a regular appearance, and who my Da liked, was Lee Trevino, who won the US Open in 1968 and never looked back.
The thing about Lee Trevino was that he had no choice but to have a brilliant technique - he developed his golf skills inbetween paying his bills as a caddy. He would practice and practice behind the caddy shack of the golf course, using old discarded clubs that the players had dumped because they were bent or broken. When he later added shiny new clubs to the well-practiced technique, he won the US Open and several other tournaments.
I have the same philosophy with the bike. I could have opted for a KTM race bike, but instead I opted for a solid and reliable AJP. She's quick, but nowhere near as quick as a KTM. This means that I have to rely on skill and technique to get me safely and speedily round a track. When I later upshift to a race bike (probably an AJP 400, which are currently in development), it will be the equivalent of the spiked shoes, or Lee Trevino's new clubs - the difference in my lap times will be noticeable.
And this is not to say that the AJP is the equivalent of crap shoes - Martin regularly wins races on a bike identical to mine. This is down to excellent technique - god only knows how quick he'd be on a blindingly-quick two-stroke.
Today, this year, is also my Da's 60th birthday party. It is in Edinburgh, and I am in Hampshire. This is because I have had to work this weekend - including tomorrow on the Bank Holiday. I am a bit gutted about this, because Uncle Alan would have been there too - I'd have liked to thank him face to face for supporting my efforts.
Happy Birthday Da. Only 5 years till the bus pass.
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posted by 2009 Dakar at
Sunday, August 26, 2007
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