Being an Athlete

So why do runners have limits? And why do the limits differ from one person to the next? In part, it's because of physiological factors: blood oxygen levels, lactate, muscular strength, each of which has a genetic component. But there's another theory, put forward by a sports physiologist named Tim Noakes. As he puts it, in what he calls the centra... See more

I USED TO think of athletic ability as a mountain. You're born at the base, and you'll die there too. In between, you climb higher and higher until you begin to descend. But that analogy isn't quite right, because as you get older you acquire wisdom that can help you train. I've come to realize that a better analogy is of rolling peaks. You go up, ... See more