Rowland, a pediatric cardiologist who teaches at Tufts U. and has researched the exercise physiology of children, investigates how various aspects of time affect athletic performance and sport success and whether athletes can overcome biological limits. He considers questions like how muscular work is best adjusted relative for optimal pacing during aerobic endurance competitions, how approaches are changed when an all-out effort is needed, whether specific times of day or seasons make training more effective or maximize performance, and whether athletes perceive time differently than nonathletes. He discusses how subconscious directors of motor activity in the nervous system dictate how fast athletes run and how the sequence of muscle activation and its tempo are best regulated for optimal performance, as well as the biological clock that alters function and how time affects motor function over the life span, including the development of athletic skill during childhood. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)