Random Thoughts about the Sprints

I'm here at Frans Bosch's course in Arizona and as I was having (what was supposed to be) a brief text conversation with one of our coaches back home in Canada, I realized that my rambling is simply "putting thoughts down on paper".

So since this the purpose of this blog is to virtually - but literally - put thoughts down on paper leading to my own personal development, I figured I would share the conversation. 
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Coach:
"How's the course?"

Me:
"Course is good. Deep."

"I love courses that teach dynamic - somewhat abstract - thinking, rather than traditional or typical protocols. Even if you don't think some parts are applicable, I still like feeling mentally drained by the end of the day."

"Really trying to wrap my head around long tendons, passive tissues, elastic properties, etc. I.e. in comparison to high energy cost of muscle contraction...also what/how to identify, then how to address."

"But on somewhat of a tangent, thinking about how the body compensates and the role of "tight muscles". Is it the body's way of creating passive stiffness? I.e. "turning muscle into tendon" since the tendon itself can't sufficiently transmit forces passively in the first place?"

"Sorry for the rambling, just needed to get my mind wandering thoughts down on "paper"".

Coach:
"Keep typing"

"I'm interested"

Me:
"Lol. No that's it. Just while he (Bosch) was talking about "the passive", that's what was going through my mind."

"Which then goes back to "feeling loose" (a separate earlier conversation the coach and I had). It doesn't always mean increased performance. BUT that said, a muscle that's more loose - "slack" as Frans would call it - can adapt to variable situations (i.e. distance events) more easily."

"I remember when working with the Jamaicans at Penn. Their connective tissues were thick and stiff. I think that's (possibly) one reason why they can sprint. That it's not just the fast twitch ratio, but also the ability to transmit high forces rapidly."

"Their feet were also stiff and flat. And according to Bosch, the foot's purpose is to "recoil" energy. If they had high arches, when the foot dynamically goes into (over/prolonged) pronation, the energy would leak."

Coach:
"Do you think once you "clean up" movement to a near optimal level, you can focus on improving muscle tension?"

"What I'm really asking is: do they need to happen in that order or can you work on it simultaneously?"

"Or does that require trackside therapy?"

Me:
"That's actually what I was going to answer with. I think it can and should be done simultaneously."

"Going stepwise won't lead to progress (I don't think). I think you would always be "chasing". (Versus) doing it simultaneously would allow
 you to address what's necessary but also lead to improvements (at the same time)."

Coach:
"I have so many thoughts on this."

"What is the balance then within a microcycle and how do you balance workouts with therapy?"

Me:
"I think therapy is twofold, but not necessarily mutually exclusive. 1 - for mechanical efficiency and 2 - performance enhancement."

"The first being a range from fine tuning to injury prevention to mechanical performance enhancement."

"The second being more neurophysiological and autonervous system/readiness based."

"So from a microcycle standpoint, the first would be governed by what you and I see with out eyes."

"The second would be governed by the athletes' subjective (i.e. health & wellness / fatigue questionnaire), their readiness and fatigue level (mood, etc), tapping quality, ground contact times, monitoring scores, etc."
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This conversation is still transpiring but now onto a different subject but I figured I'd stop here.