The Big Race: The Art of Preparation

This article originally appeared in the Nov. 2011 edition of the Houston Elite Track & Field Club newsletter.  
 
The art of preparing for the biggest race of the year is a subjective topic. All of us have developed a method of physical and mental preparation for when we walk onto the track in what we consider to be the most competitive meet of the year. To imagine that one of us holds an exclusive insight to success is arrogant and perhaps even delusional. So, prudence would lead a man not to write about this subject, but I have been seduced into it based on interaction with other sprinters.
 
I was talking with a fellow athlete in Berea, Ohio, at this year’s USATF Nationals, when out of nowhere he asked, “Rick, how is it you always run well at a championship and never freak out? You seem so calm about it.” I gave him the best answer I had. It was an answer I repeated at dinner the next evening to the same question, phrased differently by another athlete. I could tell by the look on their faces that my answer was bewildering. However, I’d preached this method of preparation in many years of coaching baseball players, so I was accustomed to that expression.
 
The art of preparation, as I define it, involves dipping our toes into the teachings of Taoism. If that feels spooky, then understand that our esteemed coach, Mr. Bill Collins, lives and teaches in a world of Taoist wisdom. That should make it more comfortable for you.
 
When Coach Collins tells us to “travel at the speed of thought,” he is telling us succinctly – though mysteriously – that we will perform to the level of our preparation.
 
Performance reveals your level of preparation
 
Another way of translating this ancient Taoist teaching: the key to good performance in the biggest races is understanding and embracing acceptance. We must fully accept that our performance is always revealed by our preparation. When we accept that truth, our preparation can be more focused.
 
In my coaching days, I taught my baseball players that every ground ball is identical. When we treat each ground ball in practice as if it is just as important as any ground ball we will field over the course of our baseball career, then we come to a truth that no specific ground ball carries more importance than another. I taught them that when we practice the art of hitting baseballs, every swing of the bat carries identical importance to any other swing of the bat.
 
Therefore, we don’t walk to home plate to prove what a great hitter we are. We go instead to conduct the art of hitting, which has been finely honed, day after day, in diligent practice. It doesn’t matter if we are hitting in the 9th inning of the World Series or in a pre-season practice game. Every “at bat” carries equal importance, and the art of hitting remains unchanged, no matter the circumstances.
 
If I transfer these concepts to sprint racing, we do not go into the blocks to prove what a great sprinter we are or that we can beat a specific individual. We always get into the blocks to conduct the “art of sprinting” at a level commensurate with our ability and preparation.
 
By continuing to mold this thinking, I come to a paradoxical understanding that a finals race at a World Championship is no different than a full-effort race at a Rice All-Comers Meet. Many might stop reading at this point and think “What a bunch of foolishness!” And you would think that way precisely because you have been programmed to think that one race is more important than another. Re-training yourself to think that every practice and every race carries equal importance allows you to improve your performance at both meets, because you are giving full attention to every practice and every race.
 
Conducting the art of sprinting
 
When you no longer distinguish between the importance of the All-Comers race and a World Championship race, you arrive at a point of realization. You are calm before the biggest race of the year, paradoxically, because you fail to recognize it as such; you are simply going to the blocks to conduct the art of sprinting. This is the value and the art of embracing, and making peace with, a paradox.
 
In this way, the national or world stage does not differ in any way from your local track meet. You already know your capabilities. All that is left is to execute, just as you have done so many times before! That was my answer to my bewildered listeners. That’s how I stay calm. I do not distinguish the “big” race from any other race. I believe the result is based on my successful conduction of the art of sprinting and on my personal fitness level. I will conduct the art of sprinting well only if I have honed the art of sprinting and commitment to my workouts, day after day, at all levels of competition.
 
The inexperienced athlete overreaches. They do not know their abilities and limitations because their practice has never revealed the truth. The experienced athlete knows exactly what is possible, as well as what is not. When you know these things, all that is left to do is run as you have prepared, execute your art, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
 
 
~~Rick Riddle
 
Copyright © 2011 Houston Elite Track & Field Club. Reprinted with permission.