The physiologic conditions of being successful, i.e., strategies of training and competition, are assessed in Part IV. The physiologic resources of an athlete are limited; they can be improved by intelligent and adequate training or diminished by bad training strategies or overtraining. In competitions, in particular in endurance Sports, but also in longer-lasting games like soccer or tennis an optimal progress of physical exertion is of central importance. If, for example, a marathon runner reaches the finish comparatively fresh and relaxed but seconds over their personal best time, they will not really be satisfied. This is one problem Endler addresses in his chapter on marathon, i.e., how to achieve best performance without exceeding physiologic limit. This means that: For an athlete, it is helpful to know an approximated finish time to avoid exhausting their energy reserves and face an early breakdown. Knowing an optimal marathon finish time can be used to prescribe an individual pacing strategy. Several different techniques can be used for that approximation. Other techniques use load parameters, e.g., running speed in km/h or min/km and parameters measuring reaction of the body due to load, e.g., heart rate (HR), lactate or oxygen uptake. In particular, Endler presents one model that describes the dynamics of performance and fatigue and demonstrates how it can be used to control running speed, depending on continuously measured heart rate. Even more than in a competition like marathon, an overload in one phase of the training can cause a delayed breakdown days or even weeks later. Consequently: the effect of training on performance is of vital interest to coaches organizing and scheduling their athletes` training programs. Therefore, it is important to learn the mechanics and basics of how training load transfers toward adaptation processes and ultimately affects performance.
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