--- Jonas Mureika <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > It seems the point you're making is for a different case then the one > being considered. The point (at least of my research, and this > discussion) *is* to see how a particular race will vary with > environmental conditions -- not how a particular *athlete* will vary > from race to race.
Sort of, but not quite. What I am trying to say is that the questions of "how a particular race will vary with environmental conditions" and "how a particular *athlete* will vary from race to race" are really one and the same. They are so heavily intertwined that I don't believe anything meaningful can be derived by trying to separate them. > Your guess is, to use your own words, not a very educated one, because > you refuse to recognize the physical laws governing the situation. No, I don't refuse to recognize it. I am fully aware of such laws, in fact. I just don't believe they're the most important thing at play here, and certainly not the most variable. > I can *calculate* the drag forces they > experience, and obtain a *calculated* estimate of the time difference > created. These are done using well-behaved and well-defined physical > laws. No magic guesswork involved. Ok, so how do you account for an athlete maintaining a longer drive phase or digging harder to fight a headwind vs. someone who does not change his or her race pattern? > No matter how the athlete "feels", there's no escaping those > effects. They are effectively no different from one > person to another -- everyone obeys the laws of physics! I see. So, I must have been imagining things when I ran a 4 second 800m PR on a super windy day, despite not feeling especially confident in the conditions or any fitter than usual. The fact that I followed a race plan to minimize the effect of the wind couldn't have had anything to do with it, could it? > "Real" science recognizes the limitations of a problem, and the reality > of what can be simulated, what can't, and what is important to the > outcome. If your definition of science tells us to ignore what cannot be accounted for, then my definition of logical thinking tells me to ask, what's the point? > The physical laws don't care how the athlete > feels, or how perpared they are going into the blocks Maybe they should... Have we bored everyone yet? :-) Dan ===== http://AccountBiller.com - MyCalendar, D-Man, ReSearch, etc. http://Run-Down.com - 10,000 Running Links, Fantasy T&F ------------------------------------------------------------ @ o Dan Kaplan - [EMAIL PROTECTED] <|\/ <^- ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) _/ \ \/\ (503)370-9969 phone/fax / / __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! News - Today's headlines http://news.yahoo.com
