From the Editor: Into the Wind

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What is it that we like so much about going fast? Is it the time on a stopwatch at the end of a run? Seeing a higher average speed on a bike odometer? Hopefully, it’s more than that. There is something about the process of going fast that just feels good. The wind in your face, the sensation of being light on your feet, cutting through water with ease and grace.

Ever think you’ve smoked a running route, only to realize your time wasn’t faster than usual? Maybe even a bit slower? But the run was still amazing because it felt fast, right?

In sport, as in life, things usually come easier when there are no obstacles in our way, nothing slowing us down. We draft on the bike and tuck in behind other athletes on a swim or run. Tennis and baseball are easier without the variability of wind.

In June, my husband and I spent three nights with friends on a 34 foot Catalina sailboat in the Apostle Islands. The wind and the boat taught me some valuable lessons about speed, destination and life in general.

Sailing fast requires you abandon everything you know about the forces that work against you. The wind is your friend, and you can choose to travel with it or against it.  With the wind, you can never travel faster than the speed of Mother Nature—like us, a boat just can’t convert all of its energy into motion.

The real excitement lies in going against the forces of nature, using a headwind that wants to push you backward to go forward. But the course is not always direct. You can never sail directly into the wind—that’s like putting on the brakes. You can, however, tack back and forth into the wind to propel your boat forward.

Life and sport are like that too. Of course we can’t make ourselves run or bike faster by going into the wind, swimming against the current. Be we can use whatever obstacles life throws our way to help push us along. We can use the things that were once roadblocks to move us toward our goals, fill our sails with motivation and power.

When setting new goals for ourselves it helps to apply some principles of sailing. Consider taking steps toward your intended goal, bit by bit. Do some personal tacking to get you to your destination. First a 5K then a 10K, then the marathon. Take steps in the general direction of your goal and make slight adjustments over time.

This issue of Twin Cities Sports takes a closer look at speed. I invite you to do the same. Consider where you’re going, how you’ll get there and what the best course is for you. Sometimes the fastest route isn’t always direct.

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