Six things distance runners need to know, according to scientists, about energy, sweat and ‘the wall’
The science of running marathons explained: why training matters, how muscles get sore, what happens when you hit the wall, and what a runner’s high has to do with marijuana
Why do muscles burn during a marathon? How does sweat cool the body? What exactly happens that causes a runner’s high? In a recent video by the American Chemical Society, experts explain that the science of distance running. Here are a few things you should know.
Fact 1: You need three things to run a marathon: energy, oxygen and water.
Our bodies mainly use sugar glucose for energy. Most of us have plenty of them inside, stored in big blobs called glycogen that can hold 30,000 glucose molecules. Building up glycogen is the basis for carbo-loading – that’s when runners eat loads of carb-heavy meals, cramming as much glucose into their cells in the days before a race. Studies show it actually does work to increase your energy stores.
Fact 2: Oxygen is key to using glucose efficiently.
Our cells use oxygen in the reactions that break down glucose. Oxygen fuels our body’s breakdown of glucose to water and carbon dioxide. Training increases the amount of oxygen your body takes in and your cells’ ability to use it. All that makes for more efficient use of last night’s pasta.
Fact 3: Lactic acid doesn’t lead to muscle soreness
When you start getting out of breath, your body falls behind on the clean-up of waste products from burning all that fuel. That can lead to fatigue. As your aerobic respiration rates drop, your cells can only break glucose in half. That makes lactic acid. It’s a myth that lactic acid leads to muscle soreness, but the higher acidity inside your cells does disrupt biological processes. That’s why your brain tells your legs they are on fire: it wants you to slow down and catch your breath.