Today I learned that one of my suspicions is actually based in some science. I was built for distance running. According to an article I read by Adam Cole of NPR, I may have inadvertently stumbled into where I am meant to be.
Cole says that people with a high center of gravity make the best sprinters. This is because running is basically a controlled fall forward. The higher the center of gravity, the more quickly the body naturally tends to move in the desired direction. And tall runners naturally have a higher center of gravity. This is partly why Usain Bolt is having such success. On top of a tall stature, I suppose his large muscular upper body also raises the center of gravity even higher.
While I have the height, I was short changed in the upper body department, and instead God chose the minimalist approach when sculpting mine. What should have been a high center of gravity was negated by my upper body. The lack of fast twitch muscle fibers is another whole issue, and we won't even go there.
But all is not lost. Cole goes on to say that the most efficient marathon runner has a different body type altogether. His greatest enemy is heat build up. He says a "small, thin, light body" is ideal. There is less volume to produce heat, and more relative surface area to dissipate it. Height can vary, as long as the body is light.
I knew I had a knack for running in the heat, and figured it had to do with my body type. What I didn't consider is that if my goal was to run marathons (which it isn't, on a regular basis, but lets just say it was for the sake of discussion), then my lanky physique is actually a gift.
There is a larger point here (there is almost always a larger point). It is this - those things we often view as a weakness may in fact be an asset for some yet-to-be-determined task. This I learned from Owen Meany.
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