I've never shared this story with anyone before, but I thought about it when reading a recent story about caffiene and endurance athletes. It is something I've thought about quite a few times over the years, and I'm sure my former teammates have as well.
Maybe I'm getting old, but I barely remember most of the races I ran in College. And I was 
an 800 meter runner. The race typically lasts less than two minutes. And I still don't remember much. But I do still remember my last high school race 27 years ago very clearly.
The pictures, by the way, are of other high school track runners. I have no pictures from the races I'm writing about.
In any case, In what would be the last track meet of my high school career, the night before our senior prom, I decided to run the lead-off leg on our 4x800 meter relay. The week before, we had run a school record time, and that made us a favorite in the sectional meet. But there was a big difference in our lineup this time around. Instead of our really strong all-conference miler running on the team, we had an equally talented, but inconsistent, runner taking his place. The other team members were all strong though. The coach gave me the 
choice of leading off or running anchor. I decided to try to get us off to a good start, and chose to lead off.
This was the meet that would determine who qualified to go to the state meet. This was what we worked for all season. The pressure was intense. But our strategy worked pretty well. I ran about 1:59 for the first leg, and handed off the baton in third place, still very close to the lead. We stayed close with our second runner, and then he handed off to the third runner, the one who had not been on the team the week before.
That's when it fell apart. He ran nowhere near his capability, and we were pretty much out of it by his second lap. The anchor leg was run by a really strong runner who later played quarterback on his college football team. But by the time he got the baton, it was too late.
I tell this story because of what preceded it on the team bus. I've never discussed it with anyone, and I'm keeping the names out of it, but I've thought about it often over the years. The third runner, who had about as much natural talent as any runner I've ever known, lacked confidence. He was the proverbial 'head case'.
Well he and the rest of the team were sitting on the bus before our race, talking strategy, and basically killing time before starting our warm-up. Out of nowhere he pulled a baggie out of the pocket of his sweats and took a pill out of it. I don't remember what he said it was. Probably the equivalent of 'speed' or something. I'm betting it was actually a caffeine pill. Anyway he offered one to all of us, and we declined. Then he said it would help him, and he swallowed it.
Well, obviously it didn't help him. Or us. Our time was nowhere near what it was the week before. To this day, that's as close as I've ever gotten to an athlete taking supposed 'performance enhancing' drugs. In this case, I believe it was the result of someone who lacked confidence trying to get some help in what at that point was the biggest race of his life.
This was years ago, long before the scandals about drugs in sports came to light. I think the pressure he felt is a common feeling among athletes. But the feeling we, his teammates, had is also common. We all declined the pill, and turned our heads the other way. We didn't feel like it was our place to tell him not to do it. And we worried about how it would affect his run, and our chances. We all felt pretty good about our chances without any artificial (though not illegal at the time) 
help.
I don't blame this runner for our failure as a team to make it to state. It was a character-building experience, and what was meant to be. We learn from our disappointments as much, if not more, than from our successes.
All this came back to me as I read a recent story in the New York Times about the effect of caffeine on running performance. I read it with interest, even though about the only thing I do to help my performance is try to get good sleep, and eat pasta the night before a big run. The conclusion of a number of researchers, however is that caffeine makes quite a positive difference. And it's perfectly legal Here is a blurb and a link to the full story.
Exercise physiologists have studied caffeine’s effects in nearly every iteration: Does it help sprinters? Marathon runners? Cyclists? Rowers? Swimmers? Athletes whose sports involve stopping and starting like tennis players? The answers are yes and yes and yes and yes.
Starting as long ago as 1978, researchers have been publishing caffeine studies. And in study after study, they concluded that caffeine actually does improve performance. In fact, some experts, like Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky of McMaster University in Canada, are just incredulous that anyone could even ask if caffeine has a performance effect.
“There is so much data on this that it’s unbelievable,” he said. “It’s just unequivocal that caffeine improves performance. It’s been shown in well-respected labs in multiple places around the world.”
I'm the type who likes to run on basically an empty stomach. I never drink coffee before a run. In fact, I've always heard there are health risks to that. The story suggests otherwise. It's interesting reading, but I'll probably take a pass on trying it out. After three decades of running, I have a pretty good idea of what works for me, and I'll stick with that. Even if it costs me a few minutes on my marathon time.
See you on the roads....
Enjoyed sharing the SHS recogniton today with you.
Posted by: Ruth Beckner | May 15, 2009 at 10:14 PM