Km: We all saw how those silly looking swimsuits they wore in Beijing basically changed the course of swimming. However, being that they are now considered illegal because they were so revolutionary that records were broken left and right, I don't think the "running revolution" will be equipment related (although
Nike has some pretty cool stuff). Rather, I think records will be broken by
keep athletes healthier (aka not injured) and helping them train smarter. So, what does that mean?
Heart rate monitors to
see if an athlete is pushing themselves too hard (or not hard enough)... coupled with
Garmins to track distance, elevation, etc. to
see what someone is struggling with (i.e., always bonking at the same place in a run)... and throw in some other sensors while your at it to track things like
breathing rate,
blood oxygen,
body temperature, and muscle activity.
All of this stuff would allow you to look for trends, with deviations indicating that you might be on your way to getting injured (wouldn't you love to know that).
... and
compression socks :-)
Yeah, we've got all those "gadgets" and yet, the only ones really setting records are guys who grow up running dirt roads at 8000 feet...in old shoes...without heart rate monitors, garmins, or any other fancy sensors...
ReplyDeleteTrue for distance running... but sprinters and hurdlers might really benefit from technology... and I can see the benefits for the "average runner"... having said that, I own a cheap sports watch and not any of the cool sensors I talked about (except for compression stockings)
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