Gonna be a scorcher in Austin today

[gm]

Temps projected in the low 90s (lower humidity, though) should make today's Texas Relays action interesting. Already some fast women's 4x1's to start the day!

Cool front rolling in tonight, Saturday should be perfect conditions.

[tafnut]

Let's DO talk about the weather. We've talked about aerobic/anaerobic considerations in events. Which events are most positively/negatively affected by the heat? The 100-400 are helped; the 800 is a wash (I guess), the 1500? Certainly Steeple and up are not bono. Hurdles - good, field events - depends. Sweat dripping ain't always a good thing.

[bekeselassie]

No doubt temperature affects longer distances, but the 1500? I don't know for sure, but here's something to consider. Even if the race distance doesn't seem to come into play so much in the heat, how about the warmups plus the race? For an 800 or mile my typical warmup was a mile-and-a-half before my accelerations and such. It took that much before I really felt everything was flowing just right.

In late spring, I'd step to the starting line already dripping sweat sometimes. So could it be argued that if we include the warmups then not only the 1500 is affected by the heat, but maybe the 800 as well?

One other question for the geeks around here (I use the term respectfully :wink: ). Is humidity a factor in sprint times?

[tafnut]

Is humidity a factor in sprint times?

I've seen the discussions about relative humidity and my gist is that it's counter-intuitive - humidity DOES help sprinters.

[SQUACKEE]

The perfect weather for a track meet is 55 degrees, overcast and no wind. 8)

[bekeselassie]

I've seen the discussions about relative humidity and my gist is that it's counter-intuitive - humidity DOES help sprinters.

How so? You sound a lot like a geek, tafinator. Tell me.

But just to be clear, in case we're not on the same page, I'm thinking in terms of the air thickness. If altitude like Mexico City helps sprinters, then it seems like high humidity would hamper speed. I know you said it was counter-intuitive, but my intuitivosity is usually counter-intuitive.

[gh]

I know about the "faster in humidity" from various baseball discussions relative to how far a ball w/ travel. A quick google w/ a baseball parameter yields this

<<Humidity is a measure of the percentage of water vapor in the air. As humidity increases, air density decreases. In damp air, the large, heavy oxygen and nitrogen molecules are replaced by lighter water molecules, resulting in less density--in essence, "lighter air". The changes in air density related to humidity are not large: only about a 1 percent reduction in density for humidity of 80 percent compared to dry air at the same temperature and pressure.>>

and another site

<<If there were no air resistance (that is, if a ball didn't have to make its way through the air on its way out of the park), the ball would travel nearly twice as far. Air resistance depends on humidity, temperature, and altitude: To make a ball go farther, you want high humidity, high temperature, and high altitude. >>

[tafnut]

Thank you, gh! I probably couldn't have found thet even WITH Mr. Google.

[by the way, did everyone know that Stanford's endowment is now a beneficiary of Google's Googolplex of $$$$? FarmBoyz they were!]

[gh]

We had a thread(s) on altitude way back in the early days (omigod! almost at third anniversary of Board) and Rich Kaarlgard, who is a pilot, got into something about things that all pilots know abaout a heat/humidity index and how it effectively changes the length of the runway. Unfortunately, a quick search hasn't been able to turn it up.

[tandfman]

The perfect weather for a track meet is 55 degrees, overcast and no wind. 8)

I think both sprinter/jumper types and spectators prefer something a bit warmer.

[gh]

I've had several prominent historians of the sport through the years tell me that humidity is the great overlooked variable in sprint times. Why the same site with similar fields and similar winds in different years can provide such drastically different results (not that I can cite you any specific examples at this point).

I would note that the two fastest men's 100s in history were in Athens (the very definition of hot & humid usually), No. 3 in Seville (ditto).

The 5 fastest low-altitude men's 200s were in Atlanta, Atlanta, Atlanta, Barcelona and Indianapolis. (mega dittos)

The fastest men's 400 was in Seville.

=fastest men's 110H in Athens.

Fastest men's 400H in Barcelona.

Disclaimer: part of this, to be sure, is because of the high-level nature of hte meets staged in those hot/humid spots, although I'd note that in the case of the two fastest 100s (Athens) both came in invitational meets, not in the WC/OG.

[abinferno]

I know about the "faster in humidity" from various baseball discussions relative to how far a ball w/ travel. A quick google w/ a baseball parameter yields this

<<Humidity is a measure of the percentage of water vapor in the air. As humidity increases, air density decreases. In damp air, the large, heavy oxygen and nitrogen molecules are replaced by lighter water molecules, resulting in less density--in essence, "lighter air". The changes in air density related to humidity are not large: only about a 1 percent reduction in density for humidity of 80 percent compared to dry air at the same temperature and pressure.>>

and another site

<<If there were no air resistance (that is, if a ball didn't have to make its way through the air on its way out of the park), the ball would travel nearly twice as far. Air resistance depends on humidity, temperature, and altitude: To make a ball go farther, you want high humidity, high temperature, and high altitude. >>

Makes sense for molecular oxygen (MW=32), but water (MW=18) is heavier than molecular nitrogen (MW=14). My guess is any benefit is only measurable at velocities much higher than any sprinter can run.

[bekeselassie]

Thanks, gh! Very interesting. Didn't realize you were quite the geek, apart from your vocabulary. :wink:

Has eldrick ever addressed this does, anyone know? Maybe then he can get off his Atlanta track thing? :roll:

[tafnut]

My guess is any benefit is only measurable at velocities much higher than any sprinter can run.

I meant to posit that as well in my response. The 'aid' HAS to be less than .01 sec (IVHMO).

[bekeselassie]

My guess is any benefit is only measurable at velocities much higher than any sprinter can run.

Oh. Just caught this.