Fingers Crossed

In terms of coaching tips, however, the scientific work has yielded little practical advice beyond what we already knew: Each athlete is an experiment of one, sports are good for all of us, some of us might be more motivated to practice than others, and the only way to find out how good each of us can be is to cross our fingers and train. Even though genes are critically important to an individuals athletic potential, at this point in sports-science history we are left in the position of Greek tragic heroes: circumscribed by nature, but with ill-understood wiggle room to direct our fates. David Epstein

Two fascinating articles on the physiological aspects of our training. Also known as scientists in their relentless pursuit of the hows and whys as it relates to our whats and whens.

We know that what we do in training is important. When we do it is also a component. We know inherently that the what relates to intensity and the when to frequency. Or, in rock and roll lyrical terms, the old "all night long". What happens to our muscles, bones, organs, and cells during intense or elongated bouts of exercise has fascinated man since he first recognized the benefits of eating. And please keep in mind that when this light bulb was first illuminated, there were no Costcos or Wal-Marts. If man was to survive he had to run his dinner down, clobber it over the head with a stick or stone and haul it back to the cave (where Mama would take over). In the process of this survival routine, man got good at running. Running fast and running long. He also discovered that foraging for fruits, veggies and tubers was a heck of a lot easier than going mano-a-mano with a javalina or wildebeest - but that is another story altogether. Today I am concerned with these stories about DNA, training, motivation and the quickest way to go from here to there, as in zero to sixty. Fast, consistently fast, and injury-free fast.

And as most of you know by now, I will use any (legal) means to accomplish this. Such as using scientific studies to illustrate or advance a point.

Hence these two comprehensive articles from Sports Illustrated and Time. There is a lot of good news here folks. That these scientists are drawing conclusions from all this testing validates what we have been doing all along. We know, we feel, we have demonstrated the positive effects of training and a complimentary healthful diet. We are aware of the myriad benefits therein. We take personal responsibility for our overall health and quality of life. And while neither article will shout "YES, this is it", they both subtlety concede to the positive potentiality. A welcomed affirmation perhaps.

I know that sometimes it is frustrating that these crucial elements of "success" come a little slower than we would like, we sometimes wish there was a pill. We wish the definitive formula was available on-line or that the propaganda could, for once, be true (washboard abs in thirty days). It ain't.

And this is why these articles intrigue me so much. They get my serotonin, endorphins, dopamine and T-cells all flowing upstream like a Coho headin' home. It makes me think that we are on to something here. It makes me want to go and ride. And ride hard. And run hard up hills. And feel these miraculous changes take place at the cellular level.

I know this is happening. I have faith that it is. I trust that what I am doing will manifest as longevity. I want to do this for a long time to come. Not forever. But as long as I can. As long as it provides me with value, with fun, with joy and with a forum to test my understanding of why we are here.

Articles like these help. They fill in some blanks, connect some dots, answer some questions. Not all of them, but some. When these questions have been answered, there will appear more.

I trust that I will find them out there somewhere riding or running.

With my fingers crossed.