Triathlon and Sports Globalization

After the Olympics, it is easier to speak about it.  In Mexico we say: “Tengo los pelos de la burra en la mano (I have the donkey’s hairs in my hand).”  Globalization is against or in favor; but I am a globalized subject and I believe that it is in favor of humanity.

Look at sports like football (soccer), basketball, they are fully globalized.  We have individual globalizations in some runners and swimmers.  What does it mean this globalization?  The Chinese went to Australia and won gold, but the Australians were unable to perform well swimming.  The South Africans go to the USA to school and have won gold in swimming.  The Australians blame their coaches for “given the secrets” to the Chinese.  You cannot give the secrets to anybody when you have 60 athletes in a pool to watch as it was the case with the Chinese training in Australia.  Good for the Chinese that were able to learn something in those conditions:

http://www.smh.com.au/olympics/swimming-london-2012/work-ethic-not-the-problem-talbot-says-coaching-resources-are-being-diverted-to-competitors-20120803-23jb7.html#ixzz23HhQUzjw

Defending his swimmers ... Leigh Nugent, right, pictured with Eamon Sullivan. Photo: AP

"A lot of [Chinese athletes] are in Australia working with our coaches and ... they pay more money," Talbot said.

"If someone starts throwing money at them, they're going to start paying attention to those people."

But he also believes Australia's current crop of swimmers are less self-aware and less hungry to succeed than in previous Olympics.

A few words on classic team sports, because I believe that every sport has a team that we do not want to recognize.  Mexico was able to beat Brazil because the Brazilians have been playing against Mexico for so many years and many of them have played in Mexico.  I remember Dirceu, who many years ago played for the club America in Mexico, before going to play to Italy.  Dirceu was one of the first players exported by the Brazilians.  When Dirceu played in Mexico he used to say:  “I send them a ball and receive a watermelon in return.”  Little by little that has changed but started when the Brazilians mingled with the Mexicans.  The same thing for Basketball, according to the USA coach, 20% of the NBA is composed by foreigners. The USA had a great difficulty beating Lithuania and Spain for that same reason of globalization.

The marathon winner, Stephen Kiprotich, 23 year old, went to Kenya to train.  He became another Kenyan when coming from Uganda and was able to beat them.  This is not about Genetics, it has to do with the culture and we depend on it.  What culture you belong to?  Do not lie to yourself and you would know how far you will reach depending on the culture you belong to.  Would you like to adopt a culture?  This venue becomes necessary even in the country you live in or you belong to.  If you want to get someplace, look for the right culture to draft as in cycling.  What to say of the American runner who competed in the London Olympics:

Lopez Lomong was born Lopepe Lomong in a small village in South Sudan to Awei Lomong and Rita Namana.^[8] Lomong was a victim of the Second Sudanese Civil War. A Catholic, he was abducted at age six while attending Catholic Mass and assumed dead by his family and buried in absentia.^[8] He nearly died in captivity, but was helped to escape by others from his village. The four of them ran for three days until they crossed the border into Kenya.^[8] Lomong spent ten years in a refugee camp near Nairobi before being moved to the United States through Catholic Charities. His name "Lopez" was a nickname from the refugee camp that he later adopted officially. He was inspired to become a runner after watching Michael Johnson at the 2000 Summer Olympics on television.^[8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lopez_Lomong

Triathlon and the Olympics II

From the raw numbers we can see that males have improved tremendously over the last two years, since the Brownlees started competing as a team. The factor Brownlee raises the bar for the rest of the competitors, as we see the time of first four competitors:

1 Alistair Brownlee GBR 01:46:25 00:17:04 00:00:39 00:59:08 00:00:27 00:29:07

2 Javier Gomez ESP 01:46:36 00:17:00 00:00:36 00:59:16 00:00:28 00:29:16

3 Jonathan Brownlee GBR 01:46:56 00:17:02 00:00:38 00:59:11 00:00:28 00:29:37

4 David Hauss FRA 01:47:14 00:17:24 00:00:38 00:58:50 00:00:29 00:29:53

7 Alexander Bryukhankov RUS 01:47:35 00:17:22 00:00:40 00:58:51 00:00:32 00:30:10

A year before the 2012 Olympics on the same course, Alistair was almost four minutes slower.  Considering the temperature, wind, etc., the time employed on the swimming, biking and running is by far faster during the London Olympics.  I am not applying any statistic treatment to the numbers but if we do not lie to ourselves, it is more than clear what we see or the tendency toward improvement.

1 Alistair Brownlee GBR 01:50:09 00:18:09 00:00:36 01:01:02 00:00:34 00:29:50

2 Alexander Bryukhankov RUS 01:50:34 00:18:14 00:00:37 01:00:56 00:00:33 00:30:15

3 Jonathan Brownlee GBR 01:51:04 00:18:10 00:00:35 01:02:15 00:00:30 00:29:35

4 Javier Gomez ESP 01:51:16 00:18:06 00:00:39 01:02:16 00:00:31 00:29:46

It has not been the case with the female triathletes.  The time employed has been almost the same than last year.

1 Nicola Spirig SUI 01:59:48 00:19:23 00:00:39 01:05:33 00:00:29 00:33:41

2 Lisa Norden SWE 01:59:48 00:19:17 00:00:46 01:05:33 00:00:29 00:33:42

3 Erin Densham AUS 01:59:50 00:19:24 00:00:39 01:05:33 00:00:29 00:33:42

4 Sarah Groff USA 02:00:00 00:19:20 00:00:36 01:05:40 00:00:31 00:33:52

5 Helen Jenkins GBR 02:00:19 00:19:19 00:00:43 01:05:35 00:00:31 00:34:10

Helen Jenkins did almost the same time than last year and Nicola Spirig went over a minute faster than last year.  The bar for females has been almost the same for the last eight years since Emma Snowsill started competing.  This exercise tells us that the margin for improvement is big for the females.  What we saw in the London Olympics is not really a “wet run,” but it is similar to the 1,500 meters in the London Olympics that became a 600 meters race; the first 400 meters for females was 1:15 running the 1,500 meters.

1 Helen Jenkins GBR 02:00:34 00:19:31 00:00:39 01:06:06 00:00:33 00:33:48

2 Gwen Jorgensen USA 02:00:41 00:19:40 00:00:42 01:05:57 00:00:40 00:33:43

3 Anja Dittmer GER 02:00:49 00:19:49 00:00:43 01:05:42 00:00:35 00:34:01

4 Emma Jackson AUS 02:00:51 00:20:24 00:00:38 01:05:17 00:00:37 00:33:57

5 Emma Snowsill AUS 02:00:52 00:19:23 00:00:41 01:06:12 00:00:36 00:34:02

 6 Andrea Hewitt NZL 02:00:54 00:19:31 00:00:41 01:06:02 00:00:36 00:34:06

 7 Sarah Groff USA 02:00:58 00:19:19 00:00:41 01:06:17 00:00:40 00:34:04

8 Nicola Spirig SUI 02:01:04 00:19:51 00:00:38 01:05:46 00:00:36 00:34:16

Triathlon and the Olympics

I told athletes and patients that I went to school for 33 years to be prepared for the future.  Unfortunately, I am not.  The questions and answers change constantly, but I learned to move with the waves.  The fiction of Aldous Huxley is with us more and more. The Brave New World: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley

“In Brave New World Huxley portrays a society operating on the principles of mass production and Pavlovian conditioning…”

I followed what it is mentioned in the internet that Bill Gates said and I think it got me someplace:

The Grand Narratives are gone and there is no much to hold us.  Please see,

July 13, 2012

Triathlon and The Loss of The Grand Narratives

   

Cultures are not holding the values needed to perform at a high level.  If those values exist, they are guarded in temples; France has clubs and families; America has universities and professional teams.  Sometimes we call those temples High Performance Institutes or substitutes; but even there, the values/standards are very limited so a good performance is difficult.  Germany, Australia, Switzerland, Russia and many other countries have cultures that are unable to keep a High Performance environment when they were doing a good job not to long ago.  It appears that it is not something that is worth pursuing nowadays.  Instant gratification and "pursue of happiness" is more important than commitment to a cause.

What to do in such circumstances? China has always done it its way.  A Mexican Newspaper shows images of how they develop champions, EL UNIVERSAL. I am not a Chinese.  My question has always been, how to bring the temples to the streets so humanity could survive?

http://www.prensaescrita.com/adiario.php?codigo=MEX&pagina=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx

Triathlon and Genetics

Inducing Genes versus Maximizing Gene Expression

Wiggins wins the time trial at the London Olympics.  At the age of 20 he was winning in the track, where the only way to increase velocity is by increasing cadence.  Wiggins transformed himself genetically by inducing genes that could help pedaling at high cadence; he just needed time on the bike to win the Tour the France.  At the same time, he was learning more about the peloton.  The next step was to maximize the gene induction that he had produced while practicing cadence on the track; and this is done with long hours on the road keeping what was induced manifested through technique and cadence.  Inducing genes is the job to accomplish before the age of 20 if you want to be like Wiggins.

Gene induction is the job done with Armstrong as pointed out by Edward Coyle and it is translated as PEDALING EFFICIENCY.

http://www.edb.utexas.edu/coyle/content/armstrong%20article%20JAP.pdf

Although during all laboratory measures of mechanical efficiency, cycling cadence was held constant at 85 rpm, this individual’s freely chosen cycling cadence during time trial racing of 30- to 60-min duration increased progressively during this 7-yr period from 85–95 rpm to 105–110 rpm. This increase in freely chosen revolutions per minute when cycling at high intensity is indeed consistent with increases in type I muscle fibers because cyclists with a higher percentage of type I fibers choose a higher pedaling cadence when exercising at high power outputs (22). Although this may initially seem paradoxical, higher cycling cadence serves to both bring muscle fiber contraction velocity closer to that of maximum power and reduce the muscle and pedaling force required for each cycling stroke. Keep in mind that when exercising at a given rate of oxidative metabolism, an 8% increase in mechanical efficiency will result in 8% more muscle power and force development on the pedals when cycling cadence is held constant. As cycling efficiency increases due to increased percentage of type I muscle fibers, it is possible that increased power is manifested by increasing cycling cadence (i.e., velocity) rather than increasing the muscle forces directed to the pedals. This approach appears to produce less sensation of effort relative to muscular strength (27). Therefore, it is likely that the increases in freely chosen cycling cadence displayed over the years by this Tour de France champion reflect his increased mechanical efficiency, agreeing with the pattern expected to result from muscle fiber conversion from type II to type I.

Nowadays is not enough maximizing genes; we need to induce genes in order to maximize performance.  Translated differently what I said, do not expect to have an athlete with the full speed and just add mileage after DISCOVERING HIM or HER.  You have to INDUCE THE GOING FAST GENES by increasing cadence and improving technique.  Guennadi Tourestki puts it more elegantly: “10,000 hours in the water are needed to discover talent.” And for that same reason, PLEASE EDUCATED THE KID first to be able to induce genes.  Wiggins could improve from what we see from his interview; fortunately, he got the genes induced on time or after a break from his self.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2182474/London-Olympics-2012-Bradley-Wiggins-posts-drunken-pictures-Twitter-winning-gold-Britains-decorated-Olympian.html

Triathlon and the Denial of Saint Peter

This is a big subject.  I told my patients with Panic Attacks that they will be like Saint Peter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter

Denial of Jesus by Peter

Main article: Denial of Peter

All four canonical gospels recount that, during the Last Supper, Jesus foretold that Peter would deny him three times before the following cockcrow ("before the cock crows twice" in Mark's account).

This is a real issue with patients because they do not call me and forget everything they were told when they enter panic.  Most of them end in the emergency room or with the doctor next door who is available.  I have read in my continuing medical education that up to 44% of the patients with catheterization (doctors look at the heart arteries by injecting a contrast and film at the same time) will continue to believe they have a heart lesion when they have a “type of panic disorder.”

“Patients are often not reassured by investigations; in a study of patients suffering from NCCP (Non-cardiac-pain), 44% believed they had heart disease in spite of a normal angiogram.[9] There is some evidence that the process of investigation itself may entrench the mistaken idea of cardiac disease.”  WWW.MEDSCAPE.ORG Management of Noncardiac Chest Pain in Women.

We can talk about running technique and nobody fully believes what she/he sees.  Please read our previous post, July 17, 2012. RUNNING TECHNIQUE and see in this video how Dibaba and the first pack run. Nobody is striking with the heels.  If you want to be first pack you need to touch the ground with the “ball” of your foot!  Please believe it, do not become part of the 44% non-believers as in the case of the cardiac patients that even when they see no heart lesion, they still believe they have one.  Dibaba won the 10k in this Olympics.

Triathlon and Timing

It is hard to believe that timing is everything in any sport.  It is JUST A DETAIL, but timing is everything needed to improve or win.

1)   Timing in swimming, coordination of the movements, hips, shoulder, kicking with the opposite leg moving like a whip is everything; moving the whole energy generated by the movement of the body started with hip forward.

2)   Timing rotating the body while anchoring the hand is a key in swimming; while doing what is mentioned in 1).

3)   Timing of choosing when to attack bicycling.

4)   Timing when to follow the break away.

5)   Timing of moving your foot while your weight is in front of you while running is the key.

-   Who has learned the details? The one educated on details on specific sport, in addition to general education.  I will let you see details of Martinolli (announcer) in the Mexico-Gabon.  As he said, “Giovanni dos Antros (bar).”  Giovanni could be a lot better with a better education, better than Ronaldinho when he was the best at least.

Triathlon and the New World

Enero 2002 Revista La bicicleta No 167

This gives us an idea how the world has changed.  Mexico had eight triathletes and the same President of the FMTRI says then and still says that triathlon in Mexico is doing well.  Of course, as long as he owns the only company that organizes triathlons in Mexico.

Macca speaks about how Australia is behind nowadays when it was number one few years back (First interview 1997).  The world has changed and Macca says so (Snd interview 2012); and we can corroborate that by looking at numbers.

Education, technique. personal organization are making the triage.