Athletes of the running path will agree that it is as important to train a man thoroughly for a quarter-mile race as for a three-mile struggle. Pace kills, and it is condition which enables the athlete to endure the pace.
SMOKING IS FORBIDDEN.
Smoking is, as every schoolboy knows, forbidden in training. However, pro formâ, the fact must be recorded that it is illicit. It spoils the freedom of the lungs, which should be as elastic as possible, in order to enable them to oxygenate properly the extra amount of blood which circulates under violent exertions.
Aperients at the commencement of training used to be de rigueur. Young men of active habits hardly need them. Anyhow, no trainer should attempt to administer them on his own account; if he thinks the men need physic at the outset, let him call in a medical man to prescribe for them.
WORK.
We have said that proper diet keeps an oarsman up to the work which is necessary to bring him into good condition. Having detailed the régime of diet, and its appurtenances, such as sleep, we may now deal with the system of work itself.
One item of work we have incidentally dealt with, to wit, the [morning walk]; but it was necessary to handle this detail at that stage because it had a reference to the morning tub and morning meal.
The work which is set for a crew should be guided by the distance of time from the race. If possible, oarsmen should have their work lightened somewhat towards the close of training, and it is best to get over the heavy work, which is designed to reduce weight as well as to clear the wind, at a comparatively early stage of the training.