I've noticed this whenever I'm running around a track, warm up, cooldown, intervals whatever. Whenever I'm on the backstretch, I feel like it's taking me extra effort and my form feels really choppy/I have to try harder to feel "smoother"... but on the homestretch, it just comes naturally to me and I feel smooth.
Why is this? Anyone know what I'm talking about?
Most tracks are built on a slight incline to counteract the prevailing wind. The typical convention is to orient the track east/west and have a slight incline on the back straightaway and a resultant downhill on the front straightaway.
Allllllllll mental. Seriously.
Is this true? Because I swear it's not mental, I started noticing it more and more lately.
The quicker homestretch is due to the same doppler effect that forces us to run counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere. However, the doppler effect isn't uniform in how it reacts upon our surroundings. Just like when you flush a toilet, you'll note that even though the water swirls in a counter clockwise motion when exiting the bowl, the surface of the swirling water isn't uniform. Instead the water surges higher on one side and lower on the other. Evidently, your track is situated so that the higher surging effects of the dopper are located on the homestretch, while the backstretch is much less affected (and might even have a negative doppler effect) by this force.
Best. Troll. Ever.
Counter Troll tactics are failures. If you had said Coriolis effect it would have been better.
It's actually the opposite way in the Southern hemisphere
Because when you are on the homestretch you have all the hott pole vaulters and more coaches and fans screaming at you than on the backstretch, and your body's natural reaction is to assume good form and slightly pick up the pace to impress them
I'm not a troll, this is something I've noticed that has been bothering me.. no idea why I feel so choppy running one way yet so smooth the other. I notice this whenever I'm on the track, especially when I'm doing a track workout (so not just in races...).
P.Whelan wrote:
Counter Troll tactics are failures. If you had said Coriolis effect it would have been better.
Had my answer been intended for you, I would understand having to take it up a notch and include the likes of Coriolis and String Theory. But in this case, I was just trying to provide a soothing explanation for a young, restless, troubled mind that was driving itself mad contemplating why the physical world was different on the two sides of his track. I was betting that had I used a term like Coriolis, it would have made less of an impression than a term like Doppler, which I'm guessing the OP is familiar with and associates with swirly things like radar, funnel clouds etc and which fell right into place within my explanation.
It's all about tailoring your answers for the target audience.
Aww, you guys are so cute.
"Don't worry, honey, I save my best trolling efforts for you!"