100 Meters, Plus a Bunch of Links

First, I have to express my awe at the 100 meter dash. If you didn't see it live, you must watch Usain Bolt's world record run. Sweet Mother of God. His semifinal heat looked like that too; so relaxed, coasting to victory. Imagine how much he would have beaten the record by if he hadn't started celebrating 15 meters (!) out. Also, definitely watch the super-slow-mo version. I love watching the timer count off the tenths in the background as he runs by, celebrating. Related, here's Tyson Gay's hamstring injury footage. It's like a NASCAR crash. I knew those guys generated tremendous power, but I didn't truly appreciate how much until watching it go very wrong. Looks nothing like one of my hamstring pulls. You'll be prompted to install Microsoft's Silverlight plugin to watch these. It's basically Microsoft Flash (like we needed another rich media format).
Admit it, Phelps has you thinking about getting into the pool. Tim Ferriss has a good post up on the Total Immersion program: How I Learned to Swim Effortlessly in 10 Days and You Can Too. My big obstacle is the inability to keep the water from going up my nose.
Discover magazine: 20 Things You Didn't Know About Sports Technology.
Science stuff. Modern Forager on what happens when you fast: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
More science stuff. Lyle McDonald on leptin: Part 1 and Part 2. Much more complicated than some of the recent popular press stories imply.

Mon, Aug 18, 2008