Almighty Coach

Philip lowered his head and thought carefully for a long time, and then he said: "Coach Li, you are right, I should try to participate in the competition of normal people, this is a good attempt. But with my current situation I'm afraid I won't even pass the qualifying round."

"It's not about fear, but for sure. You will definitely not pass the qualifying competition." Dai Li nodded honestly, and then said, "Currently, you can run to about 11.50 seconds in the 100-meter sprint event. This is already you This is a world record at this level, but in normal competitions, this is only at the level of high school students. Even in Asia, where track and field is the least developed, the minimum threshold for participating in intercontinental competitions is within 10.50 seconds, while the United States The level of track and field far exceeds that of Asia, and if you want to stand out in the track and field competitions in the United States, the 100-meter speed must be close to 10 seconds."

"It's impossible for me to run to 10 seconds, or even less than 11 seconds. I don't have feet. This is the factor of the guest officer, and I can't surpass it." Philip shook his head.

"Don't worry, listen to me continue." Dai Li signaled Philip to be quiet, and then continued: "We just talked about the 100 meters, but in the 200 meters, your performance is much better, you can run within 22 seconds , this result even has a chance to enter the Asian Games."

"Actually, in this regard, my country has a rating standard for athletes. For a 100-meter sprint, you can be rated as a first-level athlete if you run to 10.93 seconds. If you want to become a first-level athlete in the 200-meter sprint, you need to run 22.02 seconds." .According to your current level, you can't reach the standard of a first-class athlete in the 100-meter sprint event, but you can achieve it in the 200-meter dash. Do you know what this means?"

"It means that I am better at 200 meters, which means that my advantage in 200 meters will be greater!" Philip returned.

"That's right, do you know why?" Dai Li didn't wait for Philip to answer, but revealed the answer himself first: "First of all, it's the reason I told you before, you lack the Achilles tendon. It affects your explosive power at the start, so your start will be much slower than others. This process will occupy a distance of about 10 meters. For these 10 meters, you will inevitably lag behind other athletes.”

"In addition, under normal circumstances, when a sprinter starts running, his body will lean forward, and this unbalanced state will remain for about 30 meters. During this process, all the strength of the legs will be transformed into forward propulsion, so as to achieve continuous acceleration. And you wear prosthetics, and your prosthetics are on the knees, so your knees cannot bend very flexibly to maintain balance. If you want to maintain the balance of your body, you must Keep your body as upright as possible, so you don't get the propulsion of leaning forward at all in this 30 meters."

"At the same time, because of wearing prosthetics, your legs are actually in a state of 40 centimeters above the ground, and you are a certain distance from the ground, which means that you cannot perceive the situation of the runway at the first time. According to my experience Observe, after you start running, it takes almost 30 meters to find your own running rhythm."

"The 30 meters is your disadvantage. If you put it on the 100-meter sprint, 30 meters will occupy almost one-third of the distance, and if it is a 200-meter sprint, the 30 meters will only be more than one-seventh. From this point of view Generally speaking, the shorter the race distance, the greater the disadvantage you will have from the start. Conversely, the longer the race distance, the smaller the disadvantage you will be from the start. For example, if you run 5,000 meters Or in the case of 10,000 meters, everyone starts standing up, and your disadvantage in starting is close to zero!"

"Next, let's talk about your leopard blade prosthesis." Dai Li pointed to the pair of black prosthetics next to him, and then said, "It's elastic, isn't it? Although carbon fiber is very hard, it's harder than steel But this does not mean that it has no elasticity, as far as I know, carbon fiber is originally a kind of residual material with high strength, low density and high elasticity."

Instead of hiding, Philip nodded, acknowledging that the pair of carbon fiber prosthetics would provide extra flexibility.

Dai Li went on to say: "When you are running, the elasticity provided by the prosthesis will give you extra power, just like the spring shoes in the playground, and the longer you run, the longer you will The greater the gain in prosthetic elasticity, that's why you'll have an advantage in 200 meters over 100 meters."

"I see what you mean. Do you want me to focus on the 200-meter sprint? I can run in less than 22 seconds. This result should allow me to break out of some track and field qualifying rounds. By then I will It's possible to play with normal people!" Philip said.

"No, that's not what I meant." Dai Li shook his head, and then asked, "Do you want to hear my advice?"

"Of course, you are my coach, I need your advice!" Philip agreed.

"I hope you practice 400 meters." Dai Li said.

Philip was shocked. He never thought of running 400 meters.

Strictly speaking, 400 meters cannot even be considered as a sprint. There was a lot of controversy when 400 meters were included in sprints. Many people think that the technical characteristics of 400 meters are more inclined to middle-distance running. Time to part ways.

From a physiological point of view, 100 meters and 200 meters are both anaerobic exercise. Athletes run 100 meters without exchanging breath, and run in one breath, while running 200 meters only changes their breath once or twice. The aerobic metabolism of sugar is hardly used to provide energy, the pre-stored energy in the human body, and the energy provided by the cells to decompose creatine phosphate are enough to ensure that athletes run a 100-meter or 200-meter dash, but this process will produce Metabolites such as pyruvic acid and lactic acid make people feel muscle fatigue.

The 400 meters is called a combination of aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise, and the nature of his exercise is completely different from that of 100 meters and 200 meters. The energy stored in the human body and the decomposition of creatine phosphate are not enough to support a person to run 400 meters, so 400-meter athletes must perform aerobic exercise before the final sprint, relying on the aerobic metabolism of sugar to provide energy , and in the final sprint, it is necessary to perform anaerobic exercise.

But the human body is not a machine, and it is impossible to have such precise instant adjustment. It does not mean that if you want aerobic exercise, you can do aerobic exercise, and if you want anaerobic exercise, you can do anaerobic exercise. It is in a state of hypoxia, that is to say, the body's sports organs and internal organs must squeeze out all the energy provided by aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise.

The pyruvic acid and lactic acid produced by anaerobic exercise will bring side effects to the human body, such as fatigue, muscle soreness, rapid breathing, arrhythmia, etc., and acidosis in severe cases. In the process of 100 meters or 200 meters, the process of anaerobic exercise will not last for too long, and the athletes will feel these side effects after the race is over, while in the process of 400 meters running, the athletes will run halfway, and the body will Sensation to pyruvic acid and lactic acid, and continuing to run at high speed under such circumstances, is extremely demanding on the physical fitness of athletes, so 400 meters is also recognized as the most difficult event in track competitions.

Dai Li was not worried about Philip's ability to compete in the 400-meter event, because the detector had told him that Philip's highest talent was the 400-meter event, which meant that his physical talent was very suitable for sports under hypoxic conditions.

Philip had a hesitant expression on his face. If there is no suitable reason, he obviously does not intend to practice 400 meters, because he also knows that 400 meters is too difficult.

"Coach Li, can you tell me why you want me to practice 400 meters? Do you think I can do it?" Philip asked.

"Of course, I have a reasonable basis for making this judgment." Dai Li stretched out a finger while speaking: "First of all, I have already said that the starting process is a disadvantage for you. The longer the distance of the race, the less disadvantage the start will bring you. If it is 100 meters or 200 meters, the start reaction time is calculated in thousandths of a second, and being 0.1 seconds faster is a huge advantage, and The 400-meter start does not have such fine requirements, and the gap of a few tenths of a second is easier to make up from the track."

Dai Li stretched out his second finger, and continued: "Second, as I just said, your prosthesis is elastic, the longer the race, the more you will benefit from the elasticity of the prosthesis. From this point Look, the benefits of running 400 meters are obviously greater than 100 meters and 200 meters."

"Third, I want to talk about it from a physiological point of view. Your legs are partially closed, so your muscles are less than normal people, so when you run, your muscles produce less pyruvic acid and lactic acid than normal people." If there are fewer normal people, your body’s response to anaerobic exercise will be lighter, the muscle soreness will not be severe, and the muscles will not feel tired easily. This is very beneficial in the second half of the race. Normal runners run 400 meters Sometimes, the speed in the first 200 meters will be faster, and the speed in the next 200 meters will slow down due to fatigue, but for you, the first 200 meters may not be slower than others, and the next 200 meters will definitely be faster than others.”

Philip nodded, and then asked, "According to this, wouldn't it be more advantageous for me to run a longer distance, such as 800 meters or 1,500 meters?"

"Can your legs last such a long distance?" Dai Li pointed to the place where he was being massaged, and then said, "800 meters is too long, and it takes more than a minute to run, that kind of long-term high-intensity exercise , wearing a prosthetic will be a burden. You will definitely feel pain where you wear the prosthetic. In that state, it is difficult for you to run the whole distance. So even in the Paralympic Games, the T4 level competition is only 400 meters , Longer distances, such as 800 meters, 1500 meters, or 5000 meters, are for T1 and T5 level players to participate."

In the Paralympic classification, 1 represents visual impairment, and 5 represents the wheelchair group. That is to say, athletes with disabilities who run long distances either have eye problems or have completed the entire course in a wheelchair. For T4-level disabled athletes, the pain and injury to the limbs caused by wearing prosthetics prevents them from running the entire long-distance race, and the Paralympic Games will not set up T4-level middle-distance running.

In fact, in middle and long-distance competitions, the competition level of T1-level disabled people is not inferior to that of normal people. T1-level athletes only have poor eyesight, but their legs and feet are flexible. It has happened in history that the top four in the Olympic 1500m are not as good as the top four in the Paralympic 1500m T1 level.

...

Running 400 meters is indeed a good choice for Philip, and his physical disadvantages will be smaller than those of normal people with healthy limbs.

Philip started the 400-meter training. At the same time, Dai Li also posted a recruitment advertisement and posted the news online that he was planning to hire someone.

Philip has started training around the clock, and Dai Li's main focus is on Philip, and he has no time to take care of the other 11 disabled athletes. At the same time, because of Philip's success, people have already started to come to his door to inquire about physical training. Dai Li is obviously too busy to keep up.

Recruiting coaches became necessary, but Li Dai's first choice was to recruit part-time coaches.

The cost of manpower in the United States is simply too high.

Many people compare prices with the United States, thinking that things in the United States are very cheap, such as food, beef, clothes, cars, etc. After all, things in China are more expensive than those in the United States. Of course, there are reasons for the different tax systems, but if you are only satisfied with food and clothing, living in the United States is indeed more cost-effective.

People always focus on meeting current needs. People in the food and clothing stage will naturally focus on food and clothing, and people who have enough food and clothing will start to think about how to eat better and dress more beautifully.

But people live in this world not just to fill their stomachs. Food and clothing are only basic needs. When the economic income reaches a certain level, they always need some needs other than food and clothing, quality of life, and spiritual satisfaction. Such as getting a beautiful haircut, having a beauty and aromatherapy SPA, listening to an opera, watching a game, etc. The cost of dealing with the service industry in the United States is definitely more than ten times more expensive than in China. In addition to the book money, tips are also indispensable.

If Dai Li hired a regular employee, he would have to pay him a salary and buy various insurances for him. For Dai Li at this stage, although he could not afford to pay, it was still a huge expense. And if you just ask for a part-time job, the overhead will be much less, and you will avoid the trouble of buying insurance.

Li Dai also doesn't need a part-time coach to be very capable. Anyway, the training plan is compiled by Li Dai. It is enough for a part-time coach to follow the training plan. However, in a country with a broad sports foundation like the United States, there should be quite a few people who are qualified for this kind of work.

At the same time, if you hire a part-time job, you will be more flexible in terms of employment. If the part-time job is not done well, you will be fired directly. If you fire a regular employee, the process will be more troublesome and will involve many legal provisions on labor protection.

Of course, if there is really a high-level talented coach and the asking price is more appropriate, Li Dai would not mind sending out a formal contract. The cost of human resources in the United States is expensive, but if they are real talents, they can create more additional value, and they must be hired without losing money.

...

The day after the job advertisement was posted, a red-haired middle-aged man walked into Dai Li's training center.

Dai Li looked at the other person. This person was probably in his early thirties, with reddish-brown curly hair, a pair of big eyes with dark circles under his eyes, and a lot of freckles around his nose. He looked like a typical European and American Caucasian. This person was dressed very formally, with a suit, tie and leather shoes, and he was carrying a briefcase in his hand.

Dai Li sensitively felt that this person should not be here for physical training, but he still walked up and asked, "Hi, what can I do for you?"

"Sorry, I'm not here for physical training. I saw your address on a part-time job recruitment website." The red-brown curly-haired man said.

"Are you here to apply for the job?" Dai Li looked a little surprised. This man didn't look strong, and he didn't look like a sportsman at all.

"No, no, I'm not here to apply for the job." The other party said, took out a business card from his pocket, and handed it to Dai Li.

The business card is very simple. There is no work unit, title, or phone number. There is only one name:

"George Steven!"