http://rrj.ca/the-long-goodbye/ Canada's Watchdog on the watchdogs Sun, 15 May 2016 11:59:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://rrj.ca/the-long-goodbye/#comment-380856 Sun, 13 Dec 2015 19:32:21 +0000 http://rrj.journalism.ryerson.ca/?p=1854#comment-380856 It’s imperative that more people make this exact point.

]]> http://rrj.ca/the-long-goodbye/#comment-374122 Thu, 10 Dec 2015 15:07:07 +0000 http://rrj.journalism.ryerson.ca/?p=1854#comment-374122 AKAIK you’ve got the answer in one!

]]> http://rrj.ca/the-long-goodbye/#comment-364073 Fri, 04 Dec 2015 00:17:43 +0000 http://rrj.journalism.ryerson.ca/?p=1854#comment-364073 strongly disagree. No one ever asuemsd that it was a conscious decision to slow down in the middle half, especially third-quarter of your race. Of course it is subconscious in nature, but that it part of learning to be “tough” (for lack of a better word). You have to learn to overcome your subconscious to, in my and many people’s opinion, get the most out of your ability. Yes, it means overriding your central governor’s desire to protect the body. Again, I think that is called “being tough.”Citing the WR in the marathon as proof that a certain pacing strategy works best is incorrect, and I think you would be the first to argue that usually. My guess is twofold:1. The average marathon that is not a WR (i.e. – almost every one ever run) would end up showing even more inconsistent pacing, even among elite runners. I could be wrong, but citing a few examples is a long way from proof, even a long way from having a reasonable consideration for a theory.2. Competition is what brings out both the WR and the pacing strategy. I think it is very clear that competition makes one go faster… usually. And a side-effect of competition is that most athletes get more riled up and will take a race out faster than they could possibly hold for an entire marathon, so they back off, but then the competition helps them push at the end. Very, very few athletes have the confidence when there is significant competition to take a race out at an even pace. If you let your competition get ahead, it is hard to catch back up. And it is hard to have the confidence in the first place to let them get ahead, knowing you’ll catch back up. Though not a marathon, a great running example of having that self-confidence is Dave Wottle.And going faster at the end – it’s called expectation. There is expectation to sprint for the finish, there is expectation to not have to save anything, and there is expectation to beat your competitor. The thing is, though, you make that third-quarter of the race that much faster than your competitors and I bet they don’t have that finishing sprint b/c they have lost expectation that they can beat you.

]]>