Hey Blog! This post is all about running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mum and I have recently completed Couch to 5K, the running programme where from never running you can run for 30 minutes. It starts small \u2013 from 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking, repeated 8 times \u2013 to 30 minutes of running and no walking. We didn\u2019t think we could do it when we started \u2013 or at least, we\u2019d need to redo a few weeks when we got to 20 minutes of running in one go. However, we decided to trust the programme \u2013 and we did it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One problem with doing anything by foot, bike or any other form of non-motorised transport in Derbyshire is that there is almost never a flat spot. There is one hill after another hill after another hill, so it\u2019s difficult to run without feeling exhausted in the first five minutes. Luckily, not far from us is the Cromford Canal; and canal boats don\u2019t like hills any more than runners \u2013 so canals are generally quite flat. This is therefore where we run, and as we have got faster and run for longer, we have got further along it. From just to the first bridge being a long way about four weeks ago, to nearly halfway to the next village this last week!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I decided a while ago that I wasn\u2019t feeling fit enough. This is most likely just delusion and that I a. can\u2019t quite keep up with friends with longer legs who are 16, b. I had started comparing to adult stamina and c. I was reminiscing about all those long walks back in lockdown. However, I certainly wanted to see how good I was exactly and make myself better that that. If something is bad, wrong, poor quality, etc. then I need to be\/make it better (or at least that\u2019s the idea). Mum also wanted to get more exercise \u2013 so the running plan was born!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few facts: running is a very complex process involving moving multiple muscles in the legs in sequence. Muscle pairs help with this \u2013 one relaxes while the other contracts, pulling the limb one way, then they switch to pull the limb the other. Now imagine that around your ankle, knee and hip, on both legs, and then realise you do all that instinctively. Then look at your breathing; this gets faster as you run, because of an increase in the energy your body needs and therefore an increase in the amount of respiration required. The balanced equation for respiration is: C6<\/sub>H12<\/sub>O6<\/sub> + 6O2<\/sub> = 6CO2<\/sub> + 6H2<\/sub>O (glucose + oxygen = carbon dioxide + water), and this is one of the most important formulae in all biology. However, this takes time to produce the energy required, and uses a lot of oxygen, so your breathing becomes faster to get more oxygen in. Simultaneously, a faster, albeit lower-power reaction starts, to get smaller amounts of energy quicker. This produces lactic acid and energy, which builds up in your muscles and can hurt. The good news is that the lactic acid undergoes a second reaction which restores it to CO2<\/sub> and H2<\/sub>O again. All well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We noticed a marked improvement in our running capabilities; I started off sprinting rather than jogging, so I was exhausted and not feeling at all well when we finished the first few runs. As time went on, I ran slower but was less tired. In the final few weeks, when we were running for 20 minutes, then 25, then 28, and finally 30, we got faster and faster, and further and further. But this improvement is not the end of the story. Even if you run for 30 minutes three times in one week, you won\u2019t be fit at the end of the year. If you do this every<\/em> week, however, you will \u2013 much happier, healthier, faster, stronger, and tireless. Which is where I leave you \u2013 I will need to keep running, three times a week, for 30 minutes \u2013 90 minutes a week, 360 minutes a month, and over 4000 minutes a year. That\u2019s a lot of running!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hey Blog! This post is all about running. Mum and I have recently completed Couch to 5K, the running programme where from never running you can run for 30 minutes. 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