Chapter 377: Venture into the 400m
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Phillip lowered his head and thought for a long time before finally speaking. "Coach Li, you are right. Trying to join a race for normal people, would be good for me. However, with my current results, I'm not sure if I could even make it through the qualifiers."
"There's no uncertainty there, it's a given. You would never be able to make it through the qualifiers." Dai Li nodded honestly and said, "In the 100m sprint, your current time is 11.50 seconds, and this is already a world record in your current disability class. However, in a race against normal people, it is only at the level of high school students. Even in Asia, where track and field is the least developed, the minimum threshold for competing in an international race is 10.50 seconds. The track and field standard in the US is much higher. If you want to do well in track and field in the US, your time for the 100m sprint should be close to 10 seconds."
"There is no way I can make it in 10 seconds. H*ll, it might even be impossible to make it in around 11 seconds. I haven't got any legs, this is an unchangeable truth that I cannot overcome." Phillip shook his head.
"Don't be hasty. Keep listening." Dai Li said. "We were talking about the 100m sprint. In the 200m sprint, your result is much better. You were able to cross the finish line within 22 seconds. This result might even get you into the Asian Games."
"To tell you the truth, there is a grading standard for athletes in my country. In the 100m sprint, getting a 10.93 seconds result would make you a national first-class athlete. In the 200m sprint, the time required to become a national first-class athlete is 22.02 seconds. Based on your current level, you can't reach the standard to become a national first-class athlete in the 100m sprint, but in the 200m sprint, you can. Do you know what this means?"
"It means that I'm better at the 200m event, which also means that my advantage in the 200m event would be better!" Phillip replied.
"That's correct. Do you know why that is so?" Dai Li did not wait for Phillip to reply but revealed the answer himself. "First and foremost, it is what I told you previously. You lack the Achilles tendon, and this affects your explosiveness at the beginning of the race, which means that you will always start much slower than others. This process takes up around 10 meters. In these 10 meters, you will always be behind the other athletes."
"Apart from that, under normal circumstances, when a sprinter begins his run, his body would lean forward, and this sort of unbalanced state continues for around 30 meters. All the power in the legs transforms into a forward pushing momentum, which makes it possible to continually accelerate. You are equipped with a prosthesis, and your prosthesis is fixed to your knee. That means that it is hard for your knee to bend or twist flexibly to keep your balance. Your body has to be straightened as much as possible if you want to keep your body balanced. So, in the next 30 meters, the momentum obtained by leaning the body forward is also gone."
"At the same time, because you are wearing a prosthesis, your leg is actually 40 centimeters above the ground. You are a certain distance away from the ground, which means that you cannot perceive the state and condition of the track immediately. Based on my observation, after starting, you need around 30 meters to find your running rhythm."
"This 30 meter distance is your weakness. If put on a 100 meter track, 30 meters is almost a third of the entire course. If it were a 200m sprint, 30 meters would only be around one-seventh of the entire race. From this point, the shorter the distance, the larger the disadvantage you face at the start. On the flip side, the longer the distance, the smaller the disadvantage. For example, if you were to run 5,000 meters or even 10,000 meters, everyone would be running with their bodies upright, and the disadvantage from the beginning of the race would be close to zero!"
"Next, let's talk about your prosthesis, the Flex-Foot Cheetah." Dai Li pointed towards the black-colored prosthesis lying at the side. "It's elastic, right? Although carbon fiber is extremely tough, even tougher than steel, it doesn't mean that it isn't elastic. From what I know, carbon fiber has always been a material with high durability, density, and elasticity."
Phillip did not hide anything and just nodded, admitting that the carbon fiber prosthesis he used could provide extra elasticity.
Dai Li continued and said, "As you run, the extra spring you get from the elasticity of the prosthesis would provide you with additional momentum. It is like those Shox sneakers you see in playgrounds. The further you run, the more you benefit from the elasticity of the prosthesis. That is why your advantage in the 200m spring is more significant than the 100m sprint."
"I understand what you mean now. You want me to focus on the 200m sprint, correct? I can currently cross the finish line within 22 seconds, and this result should help me get through the qualifiers of some races. By then, I would be able to compete against normal people!"
"No, that's not what I meant." Dai Li shook his head and asked, "Do you want to hear my suggestion?"
"Of course, you are my coach, I need your advice!" Phillip answered.
"I want you to train for the 400 meters," Dai Li stated.
Phillip was shocked, since he had never considered running the 400m sprint.
If calculated seriously, the 400m sprint might not even be considered a sprint. When the 400m event was listed under the sprint category, there was a lot of debate. Many people felt that the characteristics and techniques behind the 400m event leaned more towards a mid-distance race, the only difference being that contestants were separated by the tracks during the race.
From a physiological perspective, the 100m and 200m sprints were both anaerobic exercises since sprinters tended to finish the race in one breath. They did not breathe during the race. Even in the 200m sprint, sprinters would only breathe one or two times. During this process, the human body practically wouldn't use any glucose from aerobic metabolism to provide energy. The stored energy within the human body, as well as the energy generated from the decomposition of phosphoric acid and creatine, was enough to ensure that athletes could run through the entirety of the 100m and 200m sprint. Unfortunately, the process produced pyruvate, lactate, and various other metabolites, which caused muscle fatigue.
The 400m sprint, on the other hand, was regarded as a combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercises. The nature of the 100m and 200m sprint was completely different from the 400m sprint. The stored energy within the human body, as well as the energy acquired from the decomposition of phosphoric acid and creatine, are insufficient to support a person completing a 400m race. So, athletes participating in the 400m race perform aerobic exercise before their final dash, relying on the energy produced from the aerobic metabolism of glucose in the beginning, and once they enter the last phase of the race where they make their final dash, they switch to anaerobic exercise.
However, the human body is not a machine. Adjusting with such precision and speed is impossible. It's not as if the body would perform aerobic or anaerobic exercise just because a person wanted it to do so. During the 400m sprint, the body of the athlete would actually be in a hypoxic state, in other words, the locomotive organs and internal organs of the human body had to go into overdrive and fully utilize all the energy produced from aerobic, as well as anaerobic exercises.
The pyruvate and lactate produced from anaerobic exercise had side effects on the human body, including fatigue, muscle pain, hyperventilation, arrhythmia, and etc. If the condition was severe, there might even be acidosis. In the 100m and 200m sprints, the state of anaerobic exercise wouldn't last very long, so athletes would only feel these side effects after the race had finished. In the 400m race, athletes would begin to feel the effects of the pyruvate and lactate halfway through the race. The physical demands of an athlete for the event were extremely high, since athletes had to continue running in those kinds of situations. That was why the 400m sprint was generally known as one of the hardest sports events out there.
Dai Li was not concerned about whether Phillip had the potential to become competent in the 400m sprint, because the motion detector had already informed him that Phillip's highest talent potential was in the 400m sprint. It indicated that his body and talent were extremely well-suited to exercise under a hypoxic state.
Phillip however, hesitated. If there were reasons, of course, he hadn't planned to train in the 400m sprint. He knew that the 400m race was extremely difficult.
"Coach Li, can you tell me why you want me to train in the 400 meters? Do you think I would do well in it?" Phillip asked.
"Of course. I made this decision based on logical reasons," Dai Li said as he stretched out a finger. "First, I've mentioned it just now, the beginning of the race is a disadvantage for you, so the longer the race, the smaller the disadvantage. If it was a 100m or 200m sprint, the reaction time at the start is calculated in the thousandth of a second. Being 0.1 seconds quicker is already a huge advantage. However, in the 400m sprint, the demand at the start of the race is less stringent, and the gap of a few tenths of a second could easily be offset on the track."
Dai Li stretched out a second finger. "Secondly, also from what I've said just now, your prosthesis is elastic. The longer the distance, the more you benefit from its elasticity. From this perspective, it's obvious that the benefit of running 400 meters is far greater than running 100 meters or 200 meters."
"Number three. I'm going to explain this from a physiological perspective. Both your legs are partially amputated, so you have fewer muscles compared to regular people. That means that when you run, the pyruvate and lactate produced in your muscles is far less than others, so the side effects of anaerobic exercise on your body are less severe. The effects of muscle fatigue aren't that extreme, and your muscles won't get fatigued easily. This is very advantageous in the latter part of the race. In a 400m sprint, normally, contestants would be faster in the first 200 meters, while in the last 200 meters, they would slow down due to fatigue. However, in your case, you might not necessarily be slower in the first 200 meters, but in the last 200 meters, you will definitely be faster than others."
Phillip nodded and asked, "Based on what you've said, wouldn't it be better if I ran longer distances, such as the 800m or 1500m event?"
"Can your legs hold out that long?" Dai Li pointed towards the part he was massaging and continued, "800 meters is too long. You'd have to run for over a minute, and the prosthesis would be a burden in that type of high-intensity exercise over a long period of time. The area where you equip the prosthesis would feel pain, and under those kinds of circumstances, it would be difficult for you to finish the course. That is why, even in the Paralympics, the events for the T4 class only went up to 400 meters. Longer distances like the 800m, 1500m, or 5000m race were left to the T1 and T5 class para-athletes."
The Paralympic Games was categorized into a few classifications. The number "1" meant visual impairments, "5" meant the wheelchair group. That meant that the para-athletes who ran long distance races were those who had problems with their eyes, or they finished the entire race in a wheelchair. For para-athletes in the T4 class, the pain and damage brought about by wearing prostheses made it impossible for them to finish a long distance race. As such, the Paralympic Games would not set up mid-distance or long-distance race events for the T4 class.
In truth, in mid-distance or long-distance races, the standard of the T1 class para-athletes wasn't that much weaker than a race for normal athletes. T1 class athletes only had problems with their eyes; their legs were just as nimble. It had actually turned out before in a 1500m event that the results of the top four contestants in the Olympic Games were worse than the top four of the T1 class in the Paralympic Games.
...
Running 400 meters was indeed an excellent choice for Phillip. Compared to normal people, the disadvantage of his body would be reduced.
Phillip began training in the 400m sprint, and at the same time, Dai Li posted a job advertisement online. He had decided to start hiring.
Phillip began training all day, and Dai Li's primary focus was also on Phillip. He didn't have time to take care of the other 11 para-athletes. Also, since Phillip's success, there had been more people visiting, seeking consultation on matters pertaining to physical fitness. It was too busy with Dai Li alone.
Hiring a new coach had become a must. However, Dai Li's first choice was to hire part-time coaches.
Labor costs in the US were too high.
A lot of people compared the price of goods in China against the US, feeling that products were cheaper in the US. Foodstuff was cheaper, beef was cheaper, clothes were cheaper, cars were cheaper, and etc. No matter how they calculated, the items in China were still more expensive than in the US. Of course, the taxation system was part of the reason for the difference in price; however, if one only looked at basic daily living necessities, living in the US was definitely more cost-effective.
People are always focused on meeting their current needs. Those who are only trying to survive will naturally concentrate on food and clothes that ensure that one stays fed and warm. Only those who have already solved their basic food and clothing problems will seek to find food that tastes better or clothes that are prettier.
However, humans do not live to only fill their stomachs. Food and warmth are just basic needs. Once a person's economic condition improves and his income increases to a certain level, new needs emerge, such as lifestyle needs and spiritual gratification. Some examples include getting a beautiful haircut, going to the spa, listening to the opera, or watching a sports game. These expenses that are closely linked to the service industry are more than ten times more expensive in the US than in China. Moreover, after the services are rendered, apart from the bill, there is also a tipping fee.
If Dai Li hired an official employee, he had to pay his wages and buy all kinds of employee insurance. Although it wasn't unaffordable for Dai Li at that point, it was still a significant amount of money. If he hired someone part-time, he would save a lot of expenses, and he could also avoid the trouble of buying insurance.
Dai Li also didn't need his part-time coaches to be that highly skilled. Since Dai Li made all the training plans and schedules, the part-time coaches only had to follow the training plans. In a country like the US where sports fundamentals were widely known, there were many people who were qualified to do this kind of job.
At the same time, if he hired someone part-time, he could be more flexible with his staff. If the part-timer did not perform well, he could just fire him. The procedure was more troublesome if he were to fire an official employee, and it would also involve a lot of laws on labor protection.
Of course, if there was a really amazing coach whose asking price was reasonable, Dai Li wouldn't mind offering an official contract. Labor costs in the US were expensive, but if the person was indeed a talent who could bring in additional value, hiring that person would only bring in profits.
...
On the second day after posting the job advertisement, a man with red hair walked into Dai Li's training center.
Dai Li sized the person up. The man was probably in his early thirties, with a head full of red and brown curly hair. Under his large eyes were two dark circles, and he had freckles around his nose. The look of a typical Caucasian from the west. The man was formally dressed. A suit, a tie, and a pair of leather shoes, and he also had a briefcase in his hand.
Dai Li felt that the individual was probably not there to begin physical training. However, he still walked up and inquired, "Hello, how can I help you?"
"Sorry, I'm not here for physical training. I saw your address on a part-time job hiring advertisement," the man with the red and brown curly hair replied.
"You're here for an interview?" Dai Li's expression looked odd. The man did not look strong, no matter how you looked at it. He did not seem like a person from the sports industry.
"Oh no, no. I'm not here for the job," the man said. From his pocket, he took out a name card and passed it to Dai Li.
The name card was simple. The company name, job title, telephone number—nothing more was on the card except a name:
"George Stephen!"