Oxygen Requirements According To Race Distance
Look at this table carefully - look especially at he percentage of anaerobic running involved in the distance when you will feel lactic acid build up in your legs.
Focus question: What happens to the amount in liters of oxygen debt the longer the distance becomes? How does this compare with the percentage of oxygen debt?
Question 1: From this table, would you say that the first third of a 40-minute 10 kilometre run should feel pleasantly easy, the second third a little harder becoming more like work, and the last third or less should feel difficult, more painful and unpleasant?
Question 2: So how important is it to know what the sensations of pain in your legs you feel as you run along mean? Which are OK, and which are not OK because they mean lactic acid?
Key Observation:
Let's take the 10,000, or just over 6 miles. You need 90 liters of oxygen to go into your lungs. However, human beings do not all have the same size of lungs - how much oxygen they will hold in one breath of air varies. So what will happen to the ability of runner with bigger lungs to run the 10 kilometres compared to a runner with a smaller pair of lungs?
Is there anything the runner with the smaller pair of lungs can do to change this? So is there any point in the runner with the smaller lungs trying harder to run faster? Of course the answer to both of these questions is no! Your lung size determines the speed you can maintain over a long distance. This is given to you at birth in your genes. Times and results in races are ultimately determined and limited by natural ability, which training maximises.
Will Power Versus Determination
Is your will power a friend or a foe, or both? What about your determination? We have all seen the film where the athlete's indomitable spirit, persistent effort and determination sees him or her overcome all obstacles through a consuming passion wholeheartedly applying themselves to the development of their talent.
From the table above and the questions you answered, you know that your legs will get lactic acid in them towards the end of races and long training runs. So do you need will power to ignore the painful sensations caused by the build up of lactate acid? When you feel the lactic acid building up in your legs, does it require extra effort to maintain your pace? One of the most marked characteristics of long distance runner is the bloody-minded determination to finish the distance whatever the agony. Most dream of winning Olympic gold medals. So if you try harder, will your lung size and its maximum volume of oxygen capacity let you actually run faster however determined you are? No, it won't. So do you need something else instead of sheer bloody-minded determination? What about will power? Does string will power need to be reined in and controlled? Which begs the question of what the basis of will power is? This is the self-control, the self-discipline to run at the most sensible pace and control the build up of lactic acid. So is pace judgement crucial?
