Drafting a Masterpiece - by Bill PenningtonI thought I had a pretty good grasp on the art of drafting until our local Picasso brought out his canvas.
Picasso is disguised as longtime AIR member and running coach Bill Beaumont. In his early 50's, Bill has an impressive resume of age group and overall racing wins. He's a 17-minute 5K guy, a 1:20-something half-marathoner, so when he speaks it commands attention and respect.
So, I was listening closely this past Wednesday following our group run as he painted a race-drafting masterpiece.
I had brought up the subject initially, reliving an experience from April's Shrimp Fest run. I explained to Bill that the day was windy, so I had tucked in behind AIR's Rosa Haslip to help block the wind during the second half of the 5K. We know as runners, just as NASCAR drivers are taught, you cut down on about 10-15% of your effort when you ride somebody's bumper, especially against a headwind.
Boy, was I being clever, I thought.
Well, after three-quarters of a mile following about two steps behind her, Rosa decided that she was not going to play human windshield anymore. She made a quick move to the right, going from the left side of the road to the center line, thus taking away my advantage. As I explained to Bill, since Rosa and I are friends and have trained together for years I knew exactly what she was doing, and appreciated her gamesmanship. I giggled to myself and thought about straining that friendship by slyly following her to the center line. I didn't (actually, because I was too lazy to consider the extra three steps required to move there), so we both had to finish the race without any advantage.
Rosa and Bill finishing the Shrimp Festival 5K. I thought it was a pretty good drafting story, until Pablo, huh, Bill Beaumont tilted his chapeau to the side, squinted his eyes, picked up his brush and started painting his story.
"I'll tell ya’ what I like to do," the artist said in his hillbilly accent. "I like to duck in behind the guy and just get close enough where he can hear my breathin’. I never stay just behind him. I'll keep shiftin’ from right behind him, to ridin’ his right shoulder, then ridin’ his left shoulder. What I like to do is to get him where he's lookin’ from side to side and glancin’ over his shoulder from one way to the other, lookin’ for me.
“When you get a guy spinnin’ around like that, it changes his stride, his motion, and makes ‘em run less efficiently. When I get a guy doing that, I know he's usin’ a lot more energy than I am and I'll probably get him at the end of the race."
Bill Beaumont:
Artist in residence.Now, with his outline sketch drawn, our Picasso began his craftsmanly artist’s detail.
"I remember a race where it had rained the night before and there was a big puddle on one side of the road about 50 yards from the finish line," Bill said. "I thought, hum, I might be able to use that."
Like any artist, The Intimidator understands the advantages of pre-planning, even if it's slightly roguish. This time, the puddle's foreshadowing was classic.
"I was riding the shoulder of a guy about 25 years old, who I could tell was about the same ability as me,” Bill remembered. “Well, about 100 yards before the finish, I went by him and then moved over to block him. I knew the only way he was passin’ me was runnin’ through that puddle – and I didn’t think he’d do that.”
A smiling Bill was correct in his assumption. His young competitor did not run through the water, did not pass GO, and Bill carved another notch in his paint brush.
Masterpiece complete.
