Chapter 304: Triple jump

 

Triple jump = The hop, step and jump = The t-jump. 

 

It consists of one continuous movement which is composed of three distinct jumps.

 

The hop consists of taking off and landing on the same foot.

The step consists of landing on the other foot and then taking off for the jump.

The jump consists of landing anyway you like, but normally on two feet similar to the long jump.

 

A foul jump occurs when over stepping the take-off board; not using correct foot sequence. Scraping the ground with the trailing leg is not a foul.

 

Other rules are similar to the long jump. A legal jump consists of not over stepping the board when taking off.

The take-off board is placed across the runway. The jumper can decide which board to jump from.

 

What are the origins of such an obscure event?

 

In historical records of the ancient Olympics jumps of 15 meters are mentioned.  This led to the conclusion that in the ancient Olympics there was an event that consisted of several continuous jumps.

1896 the first modern Olympic Games in Athens. An event consisting of two hops on the same foot and then a jump.

1900 Olympics. The t-jump event had present day rules. 

1900 and 1904. The standing t-jump was a separate event.  

 

A triple jump was contested in the ancient Irish Games and was possibly an inspiration for the modern version of the t-jump.

The t-jump was retained in modern athletics because the runway and the landing area were similar to the long jump.

 

When attempting the t-jump there are two things I think about:

 

The t-jump should flow subconsciously  and automatically. Hop step and jump. I actually find this not difficult. After a hop a step flows automatically. The way to practice the t-jump is a standing t-jump. Keep on practicing a standing t-jump until it flows subconsciously. A practice standing t-jump can be done virtually anywhere.

 

Take off. As with the long jump the take-off  is critical. Take off depends on the runup. Run as fast as possible. Land take-off foot in right spot. Take off as big as possible.

 

I instinctively pause in my run-up to check position on take-off foot. I instinctively abhor an illegal jump. My run-up must be fast and aggressive. Not apologetic and submissive. No thinking as I run down the track. I need to practice a hard and fast run-up. I need to continually practice running down the track. Seeing where my feet land.

 

I measure out my run-up; mark it out with chalk; do a trial run-up. I then move my starting spot by centimetres and run again. I move it again and jump again. I repeat, repeat and then do it again. I try running without jumping to see where my take-off foot lands.

 

Another thing to practice is my technique.  According to an expert when doing the step I need to wave my leg forward. Increase my step.  I need to think about waving my left leg forward and not about landing it is soon as possible.

Chapter 303: Amongst the native bush are tennis courts

 

I approach a ceaseless flowing torrent of cars. It is dangerous to blithely and merrily jump into this stream of cars. I watch and wait for an empty road. I warily cross as I gaze uproad watching for the next cars to come arrowing down the road.

I breathe deeply. I have made it across. I am now on the Domain. An island of green. An area of native flora and fauna. Everywhere the same tree flowers. The native hopbush  has been flowering this time for thousands of years.  The birds that feed on the nectar have been doing that forever. It is their country.  The light filters down through the trees and surrounds me. In contrast to the uplifting flowers and birds is a dead possum in the gutter. Smells bad. Reminds me that we are intruding in their land and hitting them with our cars.  

Other major cities have an old central area swamped and covered by a new city. New buildings. Not Hobart. Central Hobart has an area of native bush. Native trees. Wallabies, possums and birds.

I approach the tennis courts. Two people loiter, bounce balls, stretch their legs and swing racquets. I am number three. We all look up the hill. peering for number four. Who will it be? We watch the fourth person walk down the hill and enter the tennis courts.

The fourth person starts us dancing, skipping, running, stretching, jumping, grunting, muttering and breathing deeply.  We are unaware of the birds, trees and flowers surrounding us.

We all wear different clothes. Colourful. Flexible. Neat and tidy. Sunglasses, caps. Water bottles wait by our bags.

One lady smashes a volley away. Very pleased.

One ball hits the top of the net, then thinks about which side to fall on. It falls on one side and on the other side are two thankful and gracious people.

Between points we glance up at the clouds surrounding the Mountain. Where is the wind coming from? How strong is it? Is it going to rain?

Our first set finishes with a shaking of racquets then talk. Should we go for revenge or change partners?

10:00 o’clock. Morning tea. Birthday cake. Talk of grandkids. How you playing? A lady stands and reads out the roster after the break. She says who will play with who, against who on each court.

I listen to the roster. I listen for my name and court number. When I arrive at my court I will discover   the others. Every week is different. Every week somebody gets to play against and with me. Somebody different has to think about how to beat me. Where to hit the ball. Deep or short. Fast or slow. High or low. Spinning or not.

I love the idea of playing with anybody. Not only playing with my mates. Accepting everybody and anybody.

Walk back over the Domain. My legs feel heavier than before. I make an effort to lift one leg. And then the other one.

Birds forage on the ground for grass seeds. They glance at me; ignore me and continue eating.

Back over the highway into the mélange of houses. Open my front gate. Home to my place to rest. My refuge.

Time for me to think about tennis. What should I have done today? What can I work on? What can I do to play better next time? Well next time I will…

Chapter 302: Pickleball Serve

 Lately the drop serve has been a popular topic.

The drop serve was bought in to make it easier for a small number of  people. People who only have one fully functioning arm find the normal serve difficult. They find a drop serve much easier.

If you can serve adequately with a normal serve then ignore the drop serve. You do not need to use it or learn how to use it.

The aim of a serve is to start the game. In pickleball the serve rules are designed to eliminate games being dominated by a good serve or good serve and volley. In pickleball the serve should not be an offensive weapon.

 

The  basic rules of a normal serve are:

1              Contact with the ball must be below the waist. The waist is defined as being the navel.

2              When the paddle hits the ball the paddle must moving up.

3              When the ball hits the paddle the paddle should be below the wrist.

4              If ball hits the net play continues. No replay of serve that hits the net. After hitting the net the ball either lands in the service court or is called a fault.

 

Other rules of a normal serve are:

1              Serve to diagonally opposite service court.

2              Serve behind baseline between centre line and sidelines. Behind not touching the baseline.

3              After score is called you have 10 seconds in which to serve.

 

The basic rules of a drop serve are:

1              Release ball or let ball roll off paddle. Don’t throw it up or propel it down. You can let it drop from as high as you can.

2              Hit the ball after it bounces.

3              Ball can bounce anywhere. The ball can bounce twice.

4              Normal service rules don’t apply. Rules such as contact below waist, upward arch, paddle below wrist. You can put different spin on the serve.

5              Feet must be behind baseline.

6              You can alternate serves or change from drop serve to normal serve or vice versa at any time.

7              You can drop the ball for a drop serve. Change your mind. Catch the ball and serve normally.

 

 

Chapter 301: A perfect day

 

The OVA athletic carnival at the Domain on 31^st January.

The weather was perfect. About 20 degrees with a light breeze and no rain.

The handicapping was perfect. In race after race there was blanket finish.

The volunteers were perfect. A lady gave me a top to wear. A man helped me find where to start and how to start.

Six people are perfect. These six people decide to help me run faster. They help me find my physical limit by trying to overtake me. They help me by trying to run faster than me.

I find myself the front marker. I crouch. The gun goes off. I glance around. Everybody else is running. Time for me to run.  I run like I stole something.

I enter the home straight. I can hear noises behind me. I can hear loud breathing and feet clapping the track.  Don’t look around. Go for the finish line. I can see it. The racquet behind me is getting louder.

About ten meters from the finish I get passed.  Sounds like the rest of the army behind me is planning on the same thing. I cross the line and then look round.

The day remains perfect.  I have blithely and without thought entered a couple of carnivals. They are an opportunity to push myself physically. To run as fast as possible. To run in a race with absolutely no idea who is going to win.

The winner will be the one who gets it all together on the day or finds competition brings the best out of them. Maybe the possibility of coming first pushes them and makes them run faster.

This was the last carnival for the season. I will return.

 

 

Chapter 300: 26th January 2021

 What does Australia Day mean to my grandkids?

 

I expect them to grow up in Australia. Their future and Australia’s future will be inextricable linked. What does it mean for them to be an Australian?

 

To see how Australia will flow downstream they need to look upstream. They need to know how we arrived where we are.

 

They need to know Australia’s history.

 

Australian aborigines arrived at least 70,000 years ago. They inhabited the whole continent including Tasmania. Their art, music and traditions are some of the oldest surviving examples in the world.

 

On 26th January 1788 a fleet of British ships arrived at Botany Bay to establish a penal colony. The life of the original colonists was not luxurious. Many convicts were British lower class who stole to survive; were put in chains; herded on ships for a dangerous voyage into the unknown; and did not have any descendants.

 

When the British and the indigenous Australians met a variety of things happened. They cooperated and worked together. They fought violently. There was bravery and selfless behaviour on both sides. But the British were better armed and eventually won. The indigenous Australians lost.

 

Today Australians with an aboriginal heritage are more likely to be in prison. To have worse outcomes in all social indicators. Health. Employment. Education. Life expectancy. Maternal health.

 

As history is written by the winners my education told me the British view of the meeting between two different cultures. I was told the British version. 

 

I was not told the names and the stories of the courageous aborigines who fought to defend their land and their way of life.  What is the story of the aborigines who fought to defend their land? What happened?

 

Many other peoples around the world know a lot more about their history than I do. Many Americans know the names and stories of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. Many know about the battle of Little Bighorn and Custer.

 

Most Kiwis know about the battles between the British and the Maoris. They know that the battles ended with the treaty of Waitangi.   The treaty has an  important place in the history of the country and the ethos of the country. 6th February is Waitangi Day.

 

Many other countries go forward by remembering their painful past. In South Africa a truth and reconciliation commission was established to illuminate through the past. In Auschwitz and Hiroshima there are memorials that remember the past.  To fail to remember buries the victims twice.

 

I need to speak to my grandkids about Australia Day. They need to know the truth about our past. I can’t ignore this day or bypass it They need to know about  16.1.1788 and what followed.

 

Once my grandkids  know Australia’s  history they can then move forward with confidence.

 

We are a country with a fortunate past. We benefited by being part of the British Empire. The connections and institutions we reaped. We benefit from Aboriginal knowledge of the land and its flora and fauna. We benefit today from what refugees and boat people bring.

 

We are a democracy without discrimination. Everybody has equal rights and opportunity but everybody is different and has a different heritage. The heritage may be a boat from Asia; the British diaspora; post WW2 migrants or aboriginal heritage going back thousands of years.   

 

We all may have the same rights but we are not all equal. Some of us need help. Some of us are disabled physically, socially or mentally. Some of us need help in order to live a healthy, happy and productive life.

 

As well as talking to my grandkids about where we came from and where we are going.  I need to warn them.  About identity politics. How it divides us. Ties us to our history. Locks us into permanent thoughts on race, ethnicity, religion, gender or age.

 

My grandkids need to be Australian and global citizens. Citizens who are proud of their unique identity and respect everybody’s else’s individual identity and heritage. I hope they grow up in a world full where everybody has a healthy and happy live.

 

Chapter 299: I write down some of the unwritten rules of pickleball

Once again wandering towards the Pickleball courts my mind is distracted. I cross a road. I avoid all the cars.  My mind thinks about cars.

 

Driving a car is a social activity. How other people drive affects me. If in a car what my car does affects other people. Everybody knows the basic road laws.

 

Pickleball is a social sport. I can’t play pickleball by myself. What other people do affects me. How I behave affects other people.

 

Pickleball is a new game. And the basic rules (written and unwritten) of pickleball are not well known.  My mind is thinking about the unwritten rules of pickleball.

 

The unwritten rules may vary from place to place, person to person and from day to day.

 

 

I will write down some of my unwritten rules of pickleball.

 

1              Everybody calls the ball on their side of the court. All my calls will not be perfect. My aim is for perfect behaviour. Which is accepting all calls without questioning. Not perfect calls.

 

Standing and arguing where the ball has actually landed is not good pickleball. A greater good is served by accepting all calls. Accepting all calls without comment outranks where the ball lands.

 

If ball or serve is out/fault  I call out/fault immediately. I don’t hit the ball back; wait for rally to end and then say the ball was out/fault.

 

2              If I doubt where the ball lands then it is in and play continues.

 

3              Any ball on court means play the point again. Always. Irrespective of the rally.

 

4              The server keeps and says the score before serving.

 

5              I don’t smash the ball directly at my opponent.

 

6              Be polite and nice. Treat other people the way you want to be treated.

 

7              If my opponent hits a good shot then I say good shot. If my opponent hits a bad shot then I say nothing.

 

8              If I hit a good shot then I say nothing. If I hit bad shot then I don’t say what I think.

Chapter 298: Today at pickleball...

 

As I make my way to pickleball I imagine the future.

 

In a short time somebody will hold the short straw. That means they will be my pickleball partner.

Most of my partners want to beat the opposition. They want me to be aggressive and smash the ball away. To play to win.

Most of my partners get frustrated with me.

My aim is not to win. My aim is to have long rallies. My aim is for everybody on the court to enjoy their game of pickleball. I do this by hitting the ball straight back to my opponent. I concentrate on having nice footwork and moving nicely.

Today I expect my partner to volley the ball away aggressively.

I expect my partner to say: Play to win. We have to beat them. You are not even trying.

I will nod and think: I want to have good rallies. I will lob the ball back nice and softly so they can hit it back and then I can hit it back and then we can have a nice long rally.

I expect my partner will then say to me: Play to win. You are not even trying.

I will then say: I am trying.

My partner will then say:  All you are doing is hit the ball straight back to them.

We will then break and a lady drawing up the roster will approach me.

She will say: We have a problem. The people you just played against want to play against your partner. He has inspired them. They think they can beat him. They see his weak point. They want to beat him. They don’t want to beat you.

By now I have arrived at the pickleball courts. That’s it. Fancy them saying they don’t want to play against me. I suddenly am motivated to play aggressively. Put me against anyone you like. I will win. I will volley aggressively. Nothing will stop me. I will do anything I can to win every point I can.  They don’t want to play me. Well I will show them. Today is the day I win every point.

Chapter 297: When I stand on a pickleball court...

I skip sideways and  swing my arm and with timing and balance I hit the ball. A beautiful whack sound and the ball  flies over the net and bounces  on the court.  That felt good. That felt so good I didn’t even think about it. It felt instinctive, natural and relaxed.

It is now the turn of the lady on the other side of the net. She moves smoothly and gracefully. She skips towards the ball swings her arms and hits the ball back towards me. I skip towards the ball swing my arm and hit the ball back over the net. The ball bounces back and forth between us. Connecting and joining us as we dance around the pickleball court.

When I stand on a pickleball court I need other people on the court. Today there are three others on the court. Without them I wouldn’t be able to dance around the court. Without them I wouldn’t be able to stretch, turn and twist. Without them there would be no game. I appreciate them  turning up, picking up a paddle and moving on the court with me.

I love smashing away a volley. A winning shot where all my opponents can do is watch the ball fly past undeterred and unhindered.  

I get the feeling my opponents also love smashing volleys away for winning shots. In this pickleball dance we both have a chance to hit winning  shots. We both smash volleys away.

A volley smashed away results in both of us watching where the ball lands. Then one of us says good shot, mutters silently, trudges after the ball, picks  it up and hits the ball to the server.  The other person ,which is sometimes me, smiles proudly and thinks good shot. 

Chapter 296: I then do something I haven’t practiced.

 

Most days I stand on the starting line I look at other runners and immediately know where I will come and who will come first. Today is different. Bikes and Spikes 800m Masters handicap event.

 

Us Australians have a  tradition of handicap events. We love giving everybody an equal opportunity of winning. We are all mates in this together. And we trust our Government or the handicapper to look after the weak and needy. This Australian characteristic has helped us confront Corona. Trusting authority/handicapper and thinking of the slow runners/ needy.

 

Our most famous horse race, The Melbourne Cup, is a handicap race. Weights are carried in order to even up the field. Handicapping us runners with weights is theoretically possible but we are handicapped by distance. We don’t have less weight to carry or start before the others. Us slower runners have less distance to run. We all start at the same time. The backmarkers then attempt to mow us down  and pass the runners in front of them. If the handicapper has done a perfect job all the runners will finish together for a dramatic photo finish.

 

Our most famous yacht race, The Sydney Hobart yacht race, uses a different handicap system. Each boat is placed in a division. Each division contains boats of potentially similar speed. There are two winners.  The Line Honours Winner receives more publicity than the Overall Winner.

 

The 800m Master’s handicap race is a race with only one winner who is both the line honour winner and the overall winner. A race where I run less than 800m. Behind me are talented runners who will be inspired to run faster by attempting  to run past me.

 

I assume the crowd will support and barrack for the back marker as they try and mow down us front markers. It is dramatic to watch runners over tacking and passing other runners. More dramatic than seeing a front marker run away and lead for the whole race. 

 

I have to adjust mentally. Normally when I run the runner in front of me inspires me. I watch the rhythm of their legs and imagine a string connecting us. I aim to keep that string tight. Not let it go loose.

 

Today I need a different mindset. Today I will be a hunted hound running for my life. Avoiding these pesky hounds napping and barking at my heels.

 

To save energy and go for a big finish is not the way to go. Today I will have to start fast and try to hang on. I will be Herb Elliott. Destroying my competition with my self-confidence. My confidence will take away and diminish their confidence. There is only a finite amount of confidence on the oval and I am going to take it all.  

 

The coming rain overshadows and dominates the athletic carnival. The wind has arrived. The wind will slow down my competitors. They have another thing to worry about.

 

Volunteers help me find my starting spot. I peer towards the starter. He starts everybody at the same time. I start by myself. I am running  by myself against everybody else. Without looking much I can see runners on the other side of the oval. I must sprint to the end of the first lap. 

 

I know have to sprint down to the other end. Legs go faster. Legs go higher. Legs go longer. Go faster. Arms swing bigger. Bigger and bigger. Lungs breathe deeper. Bigger breathes. Bigger and deeper. The hare will speed away from these nasty hounds. The hounds are slow and old and hobbling. The hounds are losing touch.

 

I never look around. That will give them confidence. I am arrogant. I listen to the announcer. He knows my name. The sound is very clear. He tells me the back marker has passed a few people and is running fast. Faster than me. That looks like the finish line. I cross it.

 

I then do something I haven’t practiced. I accept a sash and the winner’s prize. When I arrived, I was amazed at how many volunteers spent so much time helping runners and cyclists. Now I am amazed at how so many of these volunteers congratulate me on winning. New Town Oval is full of people who  deserve a prize.

I am too happy to feel exhausted. Fancy winning. I breathe deeply. I rest my hands on my legs.  I shake hands with the other guys. I love them all. They have all inspired me to run fast. They have all done that by trying to run faster than me.

Chapter 295: Christmas Day begins...

 

Christmas Day in Tasmania in the year 2020 is a day my family celebrate being a family. On Christmas Day my family gets together and celebrates each other.

 

Christmas Day began on Christmas Eve. Driving with my grandkids through barren, deserted suburbs looking for a few isolated, subdued and embarrassed Christmas lights.  The proud house owners all said they were doing it for the kids. Our kids were quiet, stunned, stared and said little.

 

Christmas Day continued with the Montrose parkrun. We joined a large communal group of several hundred runners. Most of us dressed in Christmas shirts or hats; ran as normal and then departed.

And then the day became all  about presents.  My grandchildren received more presents than they could keep track of.  

 

Us adults gave and received one present. We didn’t  know who our present was coming from or going to. It was a secret. Somebody called this Secret Santa.

 

Because Secret Santa is not an established custom, in its infant stage, we needed rules. Our rules were every adult puts a present under the tree. Every adult receives a present. When the adult receives a present, they also have to nominate their word of the year and receive a challenge.

 

The challenges people randomly received were:

Tell everybody about the year you had a memorable Christmas. When? Why? What?

Tell everybody something you have always wanted to receive and never have?

Tell everybody a Christmas memory you have never ever told anybody.

What do you normally say when you receive a present you loathe?

What is the most memorable Christmas present you have ever received? And the story behind it.

Talk about a memorable Christmas present you gave.

Tell everybody about a time at Christmas you lied.

Talk about a Christmas food you’d love to eat all year.

Talk about a Christmas food you avoid. A food that means no thanks I’m full.

 

The challenges are given out randomly. Some result in stunned silence. Some result in voluminous chatter, joyous laughter and everybody adding to the story.

 

A popular challenge is talk about a memorable year. Why was it memorable? What happened? Everybody thought of a different year. For me a memorable year was my first Christmas in South Africa. I was a wandering Aussie backpacker a long way from home. I found friendship and fellowship in unexpected places with unlikely company. 

 

The Christmas memory I have never ever told anybody is the year I went into a pharmacy. I wandered the aisles and filled a basket with multiple presents.  I left the pharmacy with every single Christmas present I needed. Job done in about ten minutes.

 

The most memorable Christmas present I received was more than 50 years ago. I received a much longed for cricket bat. I polished and slept with the bat. I proudly took it to a school holiday program. A much bigger kid looked at my bat. He said: “That looks good. Can I use it.”

He took his stance. A ball was bowled. He raised my bat, belted the ball and gave me back a broken and useless bat. My thesaurus doesn’t adequately describe my disappointment and devastation. 

 

One challenge that initially resulted in silence was the one about lies. Everybody said: You can’t ask that. Nobody said a thing. Later that day everybody came and told me of the time they lied.

 

My only lie was the year when I said: When  I get older I’ll  get dressed up as Father Christmas. That looks like fun.

The truth is I am now older and I’m not going to do it. Wearing a hot red suit and fake beard doesn’t look like fun.

Talk about Christmas food confirms that I am the only person alive who likes, enjoys or even eats plum pudding. In the future if I want  to eat plum pudding I’ll have to buy my own, if they still sell it, and eat the lot.

 

Interspersed between adults attempting to avoid the spotlight we have grandkids doing the exact opposite. Aiming for the spotlight and centre stage. They sing and dance a few items. For them it is a case of: Do I have too. Can I do it again.

 

The nominations for word of the year were: unprecedented, scrolling, social isolation, quarantine, zoom, mask, PPE, new normal, hand sanitiser, year like no other.

 

But for me I will remember 2020 for one word. The name that originally meant pure. The word that in 2020 changed its meaning. The name that people lovingly named their sensitive, caring, empathic daughters. The word that many unfortunate and unlucky people have been stuck with: Karen.

Chapter 294: Good coaching polishes...

 

Cerutty told Elliott to be contemptuous of pain and thrust against it. There was no pat training formula, no timetable routine. Cerutty aimed to fashion out of the raw Elliott a resilient, superbly conditioned free spirit who would discipline himself instinctively and soar above the common herd of racers by virtue of superior strength and will power. Races would be won by instinct, not strategy.

It needed a man of Cerutty's fiery, evangelical nature to tap Elliott's enormous resources and bring them to the surface.

 

Elliot: You get bloody sick of training but that's the time when you stick to it. That's when one runner proves himself better than the others. Anyone can do it when he's enthusiastic. It's when you stick to it that you show you're the superior man. But once you start running it's O.K. You get a sensation of strain in your muscles and sweat on your brow. It's a manly pleasure. The pain is something real, especially now when you're not quite fit. Three or four times a week it hurts so much that you're dying to stop. Your muscles are screaming but you keep going. It's a matter of will power.

 

Elliot: I don't try to hate them. It just happens that way. But the person you should really hate is yourself. It's you that you've got to hurt. It's you who's got to take the punishment.

 

Elliot: Why run at all? I guess it's a way of expressing myself by going through pain. I aim to keep myself fit and to prove I'm the better man. Doesn't everyone want to show he's better than the next bloke at something?

 

Elliot: The main thing about Perce is that he coaches your spirit. This is the key to championship running. The body itself may need only two months' training to get fit; the rest of the time you're building up your spirit—call it guts, or some inner force—so that it will go to work for you in a race without your even thinking about it.

 

Elliot: He is more impetuous and excitable than I am. Percy talks all the time. He nearly drives us crazy, saying the same things over and over until you get damned sick of it. But when he's not here we miss the old beggar. I could train and run on my own but I like to have him around to talk things over.

 

Elliot: Percy claims a lot more than he should get credit for. He makes it sound as if you'd be a drunkard and no good as a runner if it weren't for him. It sometimes gets your back up and you feel like putting him in his place. But, all in all, he's a wonderful bloke.

 

Elliot: I like to vary my training venues day by day, running on a golf course one day, the next day in a park, then on a racecourse, up and down the hills flanking the Shrine in Melbourne, along the Yarra River and even over cow paddocks. The change of scenery, the music of the birds and the sight of grazing cattle and sheep is soul-freeing and makes a training session real joy.  

 

What do Elliott and Cerutty tell me.

 

A good relationship with a good coach will help me run faster. It is unlikely that will happen because a good coach would quickly realise there are some things you can’t polish.

For me running is all about getting to know yourself and finding out what you are capable of.

Physical ability is related to emotional, mental and social health.

Run free. Unscripted. Vary training. Vary speed. Vary where I run. Cross country. Fartlek. Intervals on the track.

Base training. Weights. To add power to upper body.

Running up hills to build up strength. 

When races  start to appear. Sprints. Speed work.

The harder I train the easier I will race.

Eat healthy.

Rest hard and relax hard. Train my mind.

Racing is a test of training.

 

 

Chapter 293: To become the best runner in the world I galloped over sand-hills, splashed through the surf or frolicked in the beautiful Botanical Gardens.

My time surfing has resulted in some quotes attributed to Herb Elliot. I have copied and pasted some of these quotes. They are interesting.

 

Post Cambridge Herb Elliott lived and worked in Perth. He was and still is very successful in business.

 

Elliott: There was no reason for me to continue running. There was no money in it, I had a family, I wasn’t a wealthy fellow so I needed to go out and get a job.

 

He attributes his ability to adjust to working in business to the self-belief installed in him by Cerutty.

 

Elliott: When I first met Cerutty at school, he said ‘what you’re doing is totally trivial, you’re going round and round in circles and coming back to where you started. Why would you put aside a large portion of your life for the next four years for such a trivial achievement?’

And I said ‘I’m not sure’. And he said ‘I’ll tell you why. Because you’ve got an aptitude (for running), and if you can use that aptitude to the fullest, you’ll grow into a better man’.

 

Elliott: I’d been brought up a Catholic at Aquinas College in Perth and you’re constantly confronted by this idea of being a better person. So that appealed to me. So my motivation was very pure. I wanted to be a better human being. That was my number one thing.

A point being, at training you’d be exhausted and you still had a few miles to run but you knew that was a moment of weakness challenging you. So, if you were going to grow, your motivation had to be more than just winning or getting money.

 

Elliott (recently): I know some of the great AFL coaches who have had success and they concentrate on the guys being better men and, therefore, ultimately better footballers rather than just being better footballers.

 

They develop players first as men, allowing what they learn to help them with their particular sport. They’re the ones who get the best results, not the ones who hammer the idea of just trying to win.

 

Elliot: It was just one of those peculiar tricks of fate that I met Percy and certainly his contribution to my development as a champion athlete was an invaluable and integral part of it. It wouldn’t have happened without him.

Elliot: From the first time I met Percy, he excited me as a person. I’m not sure whether it was a blending of personalities or minds, but the way he spoke appealed to me. I could feel it stir ambitions in me that must have been already there somewhere.

Elliot: I always respected, listened to, learned from and loved Percy.

Elliot: It was demanding, incredibly so. But also inspirational, natural and beautiful.

Elliot: He was never terribly interested in what I was doing in my training. He was more interested in my state of mind.

 

The Australian press built a rivalry between Merv Lincoln and Herb Elliot, portraying it as a feud between coaches Cerutty and Stampfl. Elliott’s training contrasted with Lincoln’s track-based and closely timed sessions.

 

Elliott: I had a genuine sympathy for Merv. While he was plodding his way through monotonous training sessions, I was galloping over sand-hills…and splashing through the surf, or frolicking in the beautiful Botanical Gardens.

 

Cerutty clearly filled a need in Elliott's life.

 

Mrs Elliott: We put Herb in Percy's hands with confidence. That confidence has been well and truly repaid a million times over. He gave Herb an awful lot more than just making him stronger. He puts great stress on character. His standards for a man are very high. Oh, we have had some terrific arguments with him, but he's done the world for Herb.

Chapter 292: He didn’t race to win and always won.

Wednesday night on the Domain I line up for the 1500m. That means I will write about Herb Elliot. Despite what my grandkids think I do not remember Elliott racing. But modern technology helps  me to write the following.

 

 

The great Herb Elliott.  He didn’t race to win and always won.

 

1938: Herbert James Elliott born in Perth.

 

He went to Aquinas College. He played the piano, won prizes in debating and was named school captain. He rowed and played football (broke his nose) and ran. He wrote to John Landy.

 

Landy replies: Run for the sake of running, never just to run against the clock or to set out to break a record.

 

1955: Percy Cerutty sees Elliott win a mile race in Perth in 4:22.

Cerutty tells Elliot:  There’s not a shadow of doubt that within two years you will run a mile in four minutes.

 

1956: Elliott goes to Melbourne Olympics with his parents.  Elliott sees Kuts win the 10 and 5 kays at the Melbourne Olympics.

Elliott: The aggressive way in which Kuts dealt with Gordon Pirie in the 10,000 affected me tremendously.

 

1956: The Elliotts meet up with Cerutty. His parents approve of Herb joining Percy Cerutty’s training camp at Portsea.  They thought he would be a good mentor for Herb. 

 

1958: Sets the world mile record. 3:54. Same month sets the world 1500m record 3:36.

1958: Cardiff Commonwealth Games. Won the 880 yards and the mile.

 

1959: Married Anne Dudley. They have six children.

 

1960: Rome Olympics. His training was disrupted by his travels around the world and by getting married.

 

1960: Despite his punctured preparation his coach, Percy Cerutty, demanded he stick to their successful strategy of going to the front after two laps.

Elliott: Percy said ‘these guys will expect you to go at halfway. You’ve got to do that. Once they see you doing that you’ll break them they’ll think, oh no, we’ll never beat him’ and they’ll be racing for second place.

 

But everybody in the race had a plan.

 

The nine runners had all run sub four minute miles. They took off at speed. Frenchman Michel Bernard in front.

 

Elliott: The first two laps were led by a fellow in a light blue singlet. I had no idea who he was but it turned out to be Bernard. He set a very, very fast pace.

 

Then, with 600m to go, Elliott takes the lead. And he ran. Fast and faster.  He never looked back. This is seen as haughty arrogance and self-confidence. He sees a white towel (waved by Cerutty) being waved and sprints the last 200m. He wins by 30m.  New world record.

 

Elliott: You get to that point where your legs are screaming with lactic acid and your lungs are burning and you just put up with it. That’s the thing. Your training is so important. Not so much the strength and the muscle training … it’s training your mind. And if you haven’t developed mental toughness through all your training then you can’t rely on it in the race. But if you’ve done it every time in your training then you can rely on it in the race.

 

1960: Elliott does exactly what he saw Kuts do in 1956. He saw Kuts decimate the field and win contemptuously. What Elliott saw inspired him to take running serious.

 

As Elliott leaves the stadium a man, he doesn’t recognise, says to him:  It was a wonderful run.

The man was Vladimir Kuts.

 

During the Rome Olympics Elliott appears haughty and contemptuous of his rivals. He doesn’t even know the name of the guy leading the race. He won every mile he raced in but he was not paranoid or concerned about beating the other runners. He always won and didn’t race to win.

 

Its hypothetical but if Elliott had of been beaten in the mile he would have behaved very well towards the winner. He would not have been bad tempered or thrown his racquet. He might even have continued running a bit longer.

 

1960: Studies at University of Cambridge. He ran for Cambridge University. He very nearly gets defeated in a mile race. He then avoids the mile and sticks to cross country events.  He doesn’t win most of his cross country events but he impresses other runners with his physique, running style, ability to focus and sportsmanship behaviour. 

 

1961: Retires from international athletics. International running career from 1957-1961.  Never lost a race at 1500m or one mile. Runs a sub 4-minute mile 17 times.  44 consecutive victories in international athletics.

 

1962: Elliott is the world record holder and reigning Olympic Gold medallist. He retires at the age of 24 from athletics.