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If you were alive and reasonably alert during the Sixties, you will remember that slogans of all
types were the rage. Some of them were protest-oriented (Make Love, Not War; U.S. Out of Vietnam;
Remember Ohio State), some of them were silly (Where is Alice’s Restaurant?; Gas, Grass or
Ass; Nobody Rides for Free). And some of these slogans had a sense of duplicity that made you drive
away from the stoplight after having read the slogan on the window of a VW Van and thinking to
yourself, what does that really mean anyway?
But now, some 25 years later, I think I know what it means and that is exactly what it says: Speed
kills things. Well, not speed specifically, but the failure to reduce the speed before an object
of matter (i.e. brick wall, the Earth) gets in the way of one’s speed. It means that going too
fast at some activity, any activity for that matter, will eventually put an end to your existence
because the brakes are never the technological equivalent of power. Brakes just aren’t as cool
as power and speed.
People don’t buy toys because of their stopping power, (maybe with the exception of
mini-vans).
They buy them because of the feeling of getting sucked into the seat at 2 Gs acceleration.
It’s as simple as that. But drive a car that was designed to go no faster than 100 mph at 140
and it will kill you (or at least the retaining wall you hit will kill you).
Applying science to sports
I thought about how this concept applies to my core sports—swimming, cycling, and running. I
thought about how I spent 25 years trying to learn how to go faster and now I am trying to
learn how to go slower, or accept the fact that I should go slow. And strangely, it started to
make sense.
Our bodies have an incredible ability to move over the surface at amazing speeds, whether under
our own power or that of some other force. And when in motion, a feeling of airy flow enlightens
our being. At top speeds, all makes sense with the world or at least it’s a hell of a lot more
fun.
But as anyone who has ever pushed the envelope of speed beyond that which is comfortable knows,
speed is relative. The thrill of going really fast wears off after awhile. The need for speed
increases until it gets dangerous, the brakes won’t slow you down any more, you smack into the
aforementioned wall, and well, it ain’t pretty. Acceleration is where it’s at but even
that thrill is short-lived.
So where does all this lead? To a slower life, or the knowledge that sooner or later, going slow
in life, and in sports, is OK. Learning how to go slow is not as easy as learning how to go
fast. This is because when you opt to join the ranks of the “also rans,” you have to
let your ego deflate. When you are trying to go really fast it’s all about letting your ego
blow up like a rubber raft.
Slowing down takes some getting used to. But there are some really cool advantages of going slow.
I just can’t think of any of them right now.
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