February 11, 2011
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Running With Heart
I give blood when ever we have a blood drive at work. I do so because I believe it’s part of my Christian duty to love others, and thus have not missed a blood drive in years. However at the last blood drive, I was informed that they will not be taking my blood – because my blood pressure is lower then their guidelines (86/60). I asked if I should be concerned or see a doctor and he indicated that it wasn’t anything to worry about. I was surprised to say the least, because I knew my blood pressure is on the low side – but why did it drop this low. In reading about this I found that blood pressure can change from day to day and there is a number of things which can effect it. One of those factors is running.
When running our bodies change and the process is called adaptation. This is where your body gets stronger to better deal with your excercise regiment. But it’s not just you’re legs – but also your heart gets stronger. The heart is a muscle. Running strengthens muscles and makes them larger. The left ventricle, a lower heart chamber, becomes larger, developing thicker walls, with regular running. Therefore with your heart stronger – it does not have to work as hard and distributes blood with less beats per minute. Therefore people who run/exercise regularly tend to have lower blood pressure and a slower heart rate than do people who aren’t as fit.
What does all this mean? It shows exactly what the research shows that people which excercise/run have stronger hearts and stronger hearts mean you have less of a chance of stroke. Stroke is the third leading killer in the United States and running is one way for which to defend against it. You don’t have to run a marathon to get the benefits – merely 20-30 minutes a day of running. God did not design us to sit for 12 hours a day – we need to get up and get healthy.
My Weekly Update
38 DAYS, 14 HOURS, 14 MIN, 26 SEC till the marathon!
Check List
☑ Register for Race
☑ Get Friday off from work, to travel down to D.C.
☐ Book a hotel in D.C. for Friday Night
My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. (Psalm 73:26)
