Two parts of a healthier us!
Part 1: Capacity vs. Utilization
There are two very important components of our performance, not the only ones, but let’s talk about them: Capacity and Utilization and the training sessions designed to improve each one of them. Some years ago, I was Mountain Biking with a friend of mine. we rode uphill, reaching the summit, I was waiting for him on the climb, and we finally made it to the top. Once there, whilst he was recovering his breath (I was rested since I was waiting for him) he said: “you know, these 3 weeks off the bike are having a toll… endurance is like a bank account and exercising is like withdrawing money. You need to put money in the bank so that you are covered when you need it”. This had me thinking about how to “get more money” for the weekend… money does not grow on trees and neither does endurance. So, our capacity is how much funds we have available, and Utilization is how we use them. Therefore, training to increase Capacity (Endurance) will help us in a long term, while training for Utilization will help us in the short term. And both have trade-offs as we advance in our training plans up to the date of our competition or race.
To run a marathon, we need to train for endurance. This will result in a better distribution of oxygen in our muscles. As with any training, our muscles will change, will get bigger and stronger, and even our heart will grow so that it can pump more blood. When you are at a resting state it will pump between 35 to 50 times per minute. This depends on your age, fitness, health, and many factors, but that is an average range seen in many studies. You need to increase and improve your Aerobic endurance, which is your ability to exercise at certain intensity for long periods of time; like marathons or triathlons.
Please share your experiences, comments, questions, and concerns. And most importantly: RUN with a SMILE on your FACE!! 🙂