Su Bai, as a track and field athlete with no prospects, decided to retire due to a lack of hope for improving his results.
But when Su Bai officially submitted his retirement application, his...
Zhang Wei and Hu Li had a brief exchange during the warm-up, and both guessed that Su Bai wanted to see what their top speed was in the 100-meter race.
They originally thought that Su Bai would also change their speed control plan and let them do similar training as Qiu Wen. Unexpectedly, Su Bai asked them to warm up and prepare for the 100-meter run test on the afternoon of the first day he took over.
Could it be that Su Bai intends to increase their absolute speed in the 100 meters and improve their 400-meter results in this direction?
Jiang Dongjian looked at Su Bai's arrangement and didn't quite understand why he did it that way. After all, a large part of the reason for Qiu Wen's previous improvement in performance was due to the speed control training specified by Su Bai. When the members of the coaching team discussed privately, they also talked to each other and felt that Su Bai might also readjust the speed rhythm of Zhang Wei and Hu Li according to the speed control training model.
However, thinking of this, Jiang Dongjian thought of another question: "Xiaobai, the coaching team discussed the problem when you trained Qiu Wen before. It was also a 400-meter speed control training. Why did you use a training model for Qiu Wen that was originally believed to be incompatible with domestic athletes?"
The coaches in the team's sprint coaching group had already had a round of discussion on this issue. Assistant coaches including Jiang Dongjian also participated in the discussion and spoke out. Most of them thought that perhaps Su Bai saw some training details that were more suitable for Qiu Wen from the specific training methods abroad, but after all, they had never discussed it with Su Bai face to face before, so they didn't know Su Bai's real thoughts.
The angles involved in this question are actually quite complicated. Su Bai frowned slightly, thought about it seriously, and then said: "In fact, there is no so-called domestic training method and foreign training method. There are only training methods that are suitable for Qiu Wen and training methods that are not suitable for Qiu Wen."
"At present, there is no special requirement for precise control of time in speed control training in China, but this is not the case for Qiu Wen. Qiu Wen himself lacks sensitivity to rhythm, so he needs to improve this aspect of training and let him remember this training directly through training and body. Therefore, I am particularly strict with the time limit in his speed control training."
"Speed control training in China is often carried out through 200-meter running at different speeds and long-distance variable-speed running. The reason why I did not use these training methods is mainly because these training methods are different from the training direction I want to give Qiu Wen."
At this point, Su Bai paused, and then said the most important thing: "In fact, I think that everyone may have limited themselves in the idea of training, which is actually not good."
"For example, our team originally trained athletes with speed control, and I also trained Qiu Wen with speed control. Even top foreign athletes also pursue speed control training in the 400-meter event. However, our concepts, designs and requirements for speed control are very different."
"Usually when we conduct control training for athletes, we think about 'controlling the speed, trying to make the athletes make the most reasonable distribution at the current speed, and running the best possible result'."
Hearing this, Jiang Dongjian seemed to be thinking about something. He looked at Su Bai and asked, "Then what were your requirements when you were training Qiu Wen on speed control?"
Su Bai looked at Jiang Dongjian very seriously, and then said: "Only if he learns to control his own speed and rhythm can he break through himself and run at a rhythm that suits him best and achieve better results."
These two answers sound very similar, but Jiang Dongjian was stunned for a moment after hearing them, and finally he began to think about something. If he had to translate it again, Su Bai's words might be transformed into a famous saying in China since ancient times - it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.
On the surface, Su Bai's answer was actually far away from Jiang Dongjian's original question, but Jiang Dongjian didn't think that Su Bai's answer was off track. On the contrary, after thinking it through, he took a deep breath and immediately wrote down the information in his mind.
He understood that the reason why Su Bai said so much was that he had no intention of hiding anything from the S Province Track and Field Team. He was sharing his thoughts and ideas with everyone in the provincial team in the most serious and truly selfless way.
After seeing Jiang Dongjian writing furiously, Su Bai didn't say anything else. Instead, he looked at Zhang Wei and Hu Li who had finished jogging to warm up.
"Coach, we can start testing any time."
Zhang Wei and Hu Li greeted Su Bai, and Su Bai nodded. Jiang Dongjian, who was standing next to him, immediately ran to the side of the runway, picked up the starting gun, turned on the relevant equipment of the electronic timer, and then indicated that the test could start at any time.
Su Bai nodded and said to Zhang Wei and Hu Li: "Remember, run as fast as you can for 100 meters. Don't leave yourself any room for retreat."
After Su Bai said this, Zhang Wei and Hu Li went to the starting point of the 100-meter track, squatted on the starting blocks, and prepared to start.
The two were a little nervous at the moment, but they had Su Bai's words just now firmly imprinted in their minds - run as fast as you can, leaving no effort behind!
It was with this belief that after the starting gun sounded, Zhang Wei and Hu Li reacted quickly and rushed out, starting this speed battle on the 100-meter track!
Neither Zhang Wei nor Hu Li are good at 100-meter running, but they are professional athletes after all. Even if they are not as fast as 100-meter specialists, they are as fast as the wind on the track.
Zhang Wei and Hu Li, who have been running at a controlled speed for 400 meters for many years, have not completely let go of their speed and pursue this extreme speed in the 100-meter sprint for a long time.
For them, the pursuit of extreme speed is a way of running that wastes physical energy on the track.
But today, at Su Bai's request, they completely let themselves go!
On the track, after Zhang Wei and Hu Li started running, they stepped on the starting blocks for the first step and then, with the strong force of pedaling, they quickly completed the process of starting and accelerating, swinging their arms, increasing their stride frequency, controlling their breathing and rhythm, and pursuing their respective maximum speeds on the 100-meter track!
There is not much difference in strength between Hu Li and Zhang Wei, so the 100-meter race between them on the track is even more exciting. The two are constantly fighting in the middle of the race. Zhang Wei may be in front in the last second, and Hu Li may catch up with him or even overtake him in the next second!
This tug of war and struggle made the two men a little angry on the track, so they tried to sprint forward even more desperately.
It had been a long time since they had run 100 meters so hard. Originally, with their abilities as 400-meter sprinters, their physical speed endurance would be higher than that of ordinary 100-meter runners. However, at this moment, the intense speed increase made them quickly feel the fatigue of body muscles due to lack of oxygen within a few seconds. This fatigue stimulated their nerves and made them feel a sense of tired excitement.
When Zhang Wei and Hu Li crossed the finish line one after another, they took a few steps to slow down, both feeling that this short 100 meters was not as easy as their usual 400-meter race.
The 100-meter results of both of them were soon revealed. Zhang Wei and Hu Li's speeds were 10.99 and 10.95 respectively.
"Huh?"
Jiang Dongjian looked at the result and was a little surprised: "This speed is not bad."
The electrical timing standard for national first-class athletes in the men's 100-meter sprint is 10.93 seconds. Su Bai trained for 10 years, and his best 100-meter result was only 10.88 seconds. Zhang Wei and Hu Li, two athletes who had not had serious 100-meter training for many years, were able to run a standard close to that of national first-class athletes, which is indeed a good result.
It can even be said that if they undergo a period of 100-meter training, it is very likely that their 100-meter results will exceed the standard of 10.93 seconds and reach the standard of a national first-level men's 100-meter athlete.
Hu Li and Zhang Wei were also a little surprised at their 100-meter results. They knew that when they were running 200 meters in training and 400 meters, their second 100-meter split results were all within 11 seconds. But that was because they no longer needed the starting acceleration process for the second 100-meter split, so their speed would be faster than the 100-meter speed when accelerating from zero.
They hadn't thought that they could run 100 meters in less than 11 seconds!
When they walked up to Su Bai in confusion, Su Bai did not give them any new instructions, but asked them a few questions.
"What was your score when you took the 100-meter test two years ago?"
Hu Li and Zhang Wei were stunned for a moment, and then they recalled the time and answered '11.11' and '11.14' respectively.
"What was your 400-meter result two years ago?"
Hu Li hesitated for a moment and replied: "...47.73 seconds."
“…47.75 seconds.”
Su Bai heard this and suddenly smiled at them: "So, two years have passed, and your absolute speed in the 100-meter race has improved so much. In comparison, the overall improvement in the 400-meter race is not enough, right?"
Hu Li and Zhang Wei were also confused at the moment. If Su Bai hadn't said it, they would not have thought that their absolute speed in the 100-meter race had improved so much compared to two years ago.
They all know that the factors that affect the 400-meter results are the athlete's absolute speed and their rhythm control. Now, two years have passed, and their rhythm control ability must have improved, and their absolute speed has also increased so much, so why haven't their 400-meter results improved by the same amount?
Of course, the improvement in the absolute speed of the 100 meters cannot be fully converted into the improvement in the 400-meter results, but this at least shows that they should have a greater improvement in their 400-meter results in the past two years!
Thinking of this, Zhang Wei and Hu Li, who had been a little worried because their performance had been improving slowly and now could not even catch up with Qiu Wen, a 400-meter rookie who had only trained for two months, and felt that their future performance was limited, suddenly felt a new hope in their hearts.
They suddenly felt that they could see room for improvement in their future performance!
When Su Bai was asking questions to Zhang Wei and Hu Li, Jiang Dongjian stood aside without saying anything. He just watched carefully what Su Bai was doing and the questions he asked.
Then he discovered that Zhang Wei and Hu Li, who were originally just listening to Su Bai seriously, soon after, a feeling of confidence and expectation suddenly appeared between their brows.
This is really... incredible!
I witnessed the series of events that happened in this short period of time in the afternoon. Although they were just small details in the training, Su Bai's ability to mobilize the emotions and confidence of the athletes, and Su Bai's ideas and thoughts on athlete training were all revealed in these small details.
Before this, Jiang Dongjian never knew that the only two players in the team's 400-meter event seemed to lack confidence in themselves - an athlete who lacks confidence, even if he works very hard in training, the results of these efforts may not necessarily be well converted into results on the field.
Because of the lack of self-confidence, it will affect their actual performance in the field, and now domestic 400-meter athletes are generally in a relatively "tired" state in the field.
Well, if the athletes themselves lack confidence and other opponents on the field do not have much enthusiasm for the competition, how can we expect the athletes to achieve good results under such circumstances?
Of course, Jiang Dongjian guessed that Su Bai must have other ideas behind asking Zhang Wei and Hu Li to do such a test. This might be related to Zhang Wei and Hu Li's subsequent training plan. However, before seeing the training plan given by Su Bai, Jiang Dongjian could not guess more.
After doing the 100-meter speed test, Su Bai asked Zhang Wei and Hu Li to do some strength tests and endurance tests. At the same time, he also tested Zhang Wei and Hu Li's speed control ability.
After the overall test was completed, Su Bai summarized and slightly praised Zhang Wei and Hu Li's ability to run at a steady pace, then ended the afternoon test for the two and asked them to continue training according to their usual habits. He also told them that they only needed to do some training to maintain their condition in the next two days. Starting next Monday, he would give them a new training plan for the next month.
Although there is no new training content for the time being, after the afternoon test, Zhang Wei and Hu Li's expectations for their future performance have increased. During training, they both felt that they had more strength and enthusiasm, so much so that they both felt that their efficiency and condition in training had improved.
After finishing the tests on Zhang Wei and Hu Li, Su Bai took another look at Qiu Wen's training status and content. During the training, he once again increased the proportion of Qiu Wen's technical training. Then he handed over the rest of the content to Jiang Dongjian and returned to the kitchen to prepare for today's dinner.
Jiang Dongjian watched Qiu Wen, Zhang Wei and Hu Li complete all the training content before returning to the coach's office with a stack of test results and information.
Because he also had the task of organizing Su Bai's training concepts for the short-distance running coaches, after returning to the office, he first went to find Zhao Heping and He Yishen and repeated everything Su Bai had said today to the two coaches. At the same time, he also told He Yishen about the current status of Zhang Wei and Hu Li.
After hearing Jiang Dongjian's retelling, He Yishen smiled and nodded after a long while, then turned to Zhao Heping and said, "Old Zhao, you really picked up a good apprentice."
Su Bai's completely unselfish attitude and approach towards the track and field team made the two coaches present look very emotional.
Zhao Heping was also very pleased and proud at this time: "Yes, didn't I tell you a long time ago? Xiaobai is indeed a good boy!"
Seeing Zhao Heping's pride and satisfaction, He Yishen also laughed and nodded, "Yes, with his leadership, our team's 400-meter event may be able to make a breakthrough."
At this point, a glimmer of hope appeared in He Yishen's eyes.
In fact, what he wanted to say was not only that the team's 400-meter event was about to take off, but if possible, he also hoped to see that under Su Bai's leadership, Qiu Wen could charge forward and break the 400-meter national record that had been stubbornly sealed for more than a decade!
Since Su Bai officially started leading the team in the 400m event, Zhang Wei and Hu Li seem to have experienced a second spring in their training. They are full of energy in training every day and seem to be full of expectations for their future.
Occasionally, Zhao Heping would see them in high spirits at the training ground and would laugh and scold them: "You two rascals, why didn't you have this much spirit during training before?"
Zhang Wei and Hu Li were not really afraid of Zhao Heping. When they saw him laughing and scolding, they would also smile and scratch their heads.
In fact, neither of them expected that Su Bai just asked them to run a 100-meter test, but the result would give them such strong confidence.
Two or three days passed in a flash. Su Bai had thoroughly read the information of Zhang Wei and Hu Li, and developed a training plan according to his own ideas. He synchronized the two simulated athletes who had input all the information data of Zhang Wei and Hu Li in the system space in real time to start training with this training plan first, so that he could observe the training effect in advance.
Before this training program is officially used on Zhang Wei and Hu Li next week, Su Bai has to face another test - the weekend is coming, and this week is his turn for a single day off. He and his master Zhao Heping have agreed to visit them on Sunday, and his brother Changsong's wife and her family will also visit on this day.
It can be said that Su Bai's role as chef this time not only affects the impression his brother Changsong's wife and her family have of his master's family, but also affects whether his assessment can proceed smoothly.
Thinking of this, Su Bai once again confirmed with his master the ingredients for the dishes to be prepared this time. Most of these ingredients were what his master's son Zhao Changsong had seen when he was having meals with his wife. She seemed to be slightly interested in them, but there was no more information.
Su Bai still remembered the suffocating conversation he had with his senior brother Changsong on WeChat not long ago.
Su Bai: [Brother Changsong, does my sister-in-law’s family have any special dietary restrictions? 】
Zhao Changsong: [Uh, it seems not... Jingwei said that her family would try a variety of different foods, so there is nothing they particularly avoid. If you must say there is anything they particularly avoid...]
Su Bai: [? 】
Zhao Changsong: [=_=||| Jingwei said that what her family hates most is bad food, but she told me to relax. When it comes to eating at our house, it’s not like we’re going to do food appreciation, so there’s no need to worry too much. 】
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_(:3」∠)_
Su Bai was silent for a moment. He really had no way to tell his senior brother that for him, cooking this ordinary home-cooked meal was an important test.
In any case, Su Bai could only make his own preparations, make an appointment with Sun Xiangdong for the ingredients in advance, and then rush to his master Zhao Heping's house at 9:30 am on Sunday.
At the door of his master's house, it was his master's wife Xie Yi who answered the doorbell and opened the door for him. After the door was opened, Xie Yi saw that it was Su Bai carrying a handful of vegetables. She immediately smiled and took the ingredients from him, then looked at him and said with emotion: "Xiao Bai, you have grown taller."
Just such a simple sentence suddenly made Su Bai's eyes slightly sore, and then he called out seriously: "Master's Wife."
"Hey!" Xie Yi smiled and led him into the living room, then turned around and called out to Zhao Heping: "Old Zhao, Xiao Bai is here."
Zhao Heping walked out of the study slowly at this moment, then glanced at Su Bai standing by the door, and snorted: "Finally you're here, your master's wife has been talking about you for several years."
Hearing his master's words, Su Bai lowered his head in embarrassment: "Master, Master's Wife, I was distracted before. I will come to bother you more often in the future."
Xie Yi watched Su Bai admitting his mistake and quickly put the dishes on the table. She then patted Su Bai on the shoulder and said, "Oh, silly boy, what do you have to apologize to your master and his wife for? Sit down for a while. Your sister-in-law and her family will be entertained by you in a while."
Zhao Heping looked at his wife comforting Su Bai and smiled. He also knew Su Bai's temper at the beginning. The child was sensitive at that time, and he and his wife didn't know what to do. Fortunately, the boy has figured it out now.
Su Bai nodded and sat in the living room to take a look at the furnishings in his master's house. Looking at the living room which was quite different from his original impression, he felt a little regretful because he missed several years of spending time with his master's family because of his stubbornness.
At this moment, Zhao Changsong also showed up. He was wearing a suit and was obviously dressing himself up. After seeing Su Bai, he smiled and called out "Xiaobai".
Zhao Changsong, just like his name, looked quite calm, but perhaps because he thought that today was the first time his wife and her family came to his home to meet him, he still looked a little nervous.
After Zhao Changsong simply said hello to Su Bai, he went out alone - he had to go pick up his wife and her family.
After Zhao Changsong left, Su Bai had a brief chat with his master and his mistress, then stood up.
Seeing that Su Bai was about to get busy, Xie Yi thought it might be a little early: "Xiao Bai, it's not even 10 o'clock yet, why don't you sit down and have a drink or something, and my wife will help you later, and we can get busy together."
Hearing this, Su Bai smiled and shook his head: "Master's Wife, you should sit with Master and the others today and prepare to entertain my sister-in-law and her family." After a pause, Su Bai added: "Just think of it as a way for me to make up for the filial piety I have shown over the past few years."
After hearing what Su Bai said, Xie Yi also stopped talking. She could only shake her head and smile as she watched Su Bai go into the kitchen alone.
"Xiao Bai, if there is any seasoning you can't find in the kitchen, remember to call the master's wife!"
"Okay, got it." Su Bai turned around and waved to his master and his mistress in the living room, then closed the glass sliding door at the kitchen door.
Zhao Heping sat in the living room calmly, then smiled and said to his wife, "Okay, wait and see Xiaobai's cooking skills. This guy is now working as a kitchen staff in the cafeteria and as the head coach of the 400-meter race. Next time you want to taste his cooking skills, you'll have to come with me to the team."
Hearing what Zhao Heping said, Xie Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Okay, old man, you are bullying Xiao Bai for being filial."
The time soon came to just after eleven o'clock. Zhao Heping and Xie Yi, who were originally sitting in the living room, began to smell an enticing fragrance lingering around their noses, which made them look towards the kitchen frequently.
Xie Yi really didn't expect that what her husband said about Su Bai's cooking skills was not exaggerated at all.
Before she was about to say anything to Zhao Heping, there was suddenly some noise outside her door - her in-laws had arrived!
Sure enough, Zhao Changsong opened the door of his house and prepared to invite his wife and her family in.
Outside the door, Dou Jingwei and her family were originally talking and laughing with Zhao Changsong. After the door opened, Dou Jingwei, who was the first to enter, opened her eyes slightly wide: "Huh? What a nice smell!"
Immediately afterwards, Dou Jingwei's parents and two brothers who were following behind her also showed surprise on their faces - the smell of the food in her in-laws' house was really extraordinary!