Tricks of the Trade

I'd like to share one of the little tricks runners may use to gain an advantage in a competitive environment. No, I am not referring to HGH or other illegal enhancements. Instead, I am referring to something like "down-force" (a NASCAR term), or being "aerodynamically sound" (a biking term). "Drafting," commonly used in those two sports, uses the car or person in front of you to "break the wind" (yes, Beavis would be chuckling now...), to allow the object behind them to move forward using less energy. I am all about drafting, and I'll admit, even sometimes being the one to break the wind.

Oh, I know this sounds all technical and stuff. But it is quite simple. Let the person in the lead do all the work, while you exert less energy. I learned a lot about drafting these past few years while riding with the Mojo's. One of my fellow riders, we'll call her Rhonda, is notorious for slipping her bike in behind a larger rider, and literally coasting for 50 miles (or maybe it just seems that way while I pedal furiously). She, being of tiny stature, makes the most of her workouts, and is always fresh at the end of the ride (she's so darn chipper!).

I sought to employ the drafting strategy a few years ago at the Las Vegas Half-Marathon. I was coming off a Personal Record (PR) 3 months earlier in Niagara Falls, and was looking to do even better in Vegas. I trained hard leading up to the race, only to find out race day that the conditions were quite blustery. Approximately 20 - 30 mph headwinds for the first 10 miles. Being a bright guy, and of small stature, I quickly decided to tuck in behind a larger runner to conserve energy during the race. While that strategy may seem good on the racetrack, or while on a bike, I am here to tell you that in running it meant diddly! The wind found me. You can't run closely enough behind someone to have it make a difference. Perhaps I didn't pick a large enough runner. Maybe I didn't sleep well enough the night before (Vegas, baby!). Maybe I wasn't hydrated enough. Or maybe it just wasn't meant to be. In the end, I may have saved a few seconds, but not enough to matter, as I finished 50 seconds too slow to set another PR.

Is there a moral to this story? Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that wind is not my friend when it comes to running, unless it is a tailwind. However, if there is wind at Disney on race day, you better believe I am going to tuck in behind something large to shield me from the elements. I can only hope that Dumbo is registered and in the same corral as me...