In 2008, just before the London Marathon, the guys at Science of Sport explored the research on what weather conditions are conducive to high performance. The whole piece, which is not especially long, is worth reading, but the upshot is that 41-59F (5-15C) is the sweet spot for fast times. Generally, ambient temperature trumps sky conditions as a predictor of performance, but if temps are below ideal—say, 32-41F (0-5C)—runners seem to do better if the sun in shining than they do under cloudy skies. As Jonathan Dugas said in a comment to the post: "[E]ven though the guys are running at very high metabolic rates, when the ambient temp is 0-5 C and there is no sunshine even they tend to get cold and uncomfortable and suffer from the conditions."
I always love this basic sports science.
ReplyDeleteGeb at Berlin this year was a good example of this, I guess. Definitely into the mid-60s by the time he was covering the last 10K—and that's when he slowed. Of course, he might have just had an off day, but his run sure fit the profile pointed to here.
ReplyDelete