Remembering Catherine Hogan on her first anniversary
No one knew that morning what sadness that day would bring. The date was Monday, February 24 2020.
As the morning drew to a close the sad news began to filter through the club that our beloved friend Catherine had left this world for her eternal reward. A lover of the outdoors, Catherine enjoyed running, many sports, coaching, walking, Catherine even worked in the great outdoors. Catherine ran for the love of running not for the winning but for the taking part, to show commitment to her club family to be that person to make up the club team.
She has been greatly missed over the last year by family, friends, club and running mates alike, a void has been left once more in the running family of Mooreabbey Milers.
The angels looked down from heaven one night,
They searched for miles afar, And deep within the distance They could see a shining star.
They knew that very instant That the star was theirs to gain, So they took you up to heaven, Forever to remain.
It’s been a year and it’s safe to say,
we still think about you every day, we might not hope or even pray, we just love and miss you in our own special way
Look down on us from heaven. Keep us free from hurt and pain. You’ll always be within our hearts
Until we meet again.
(Our running friend forever you will always stay)
TOM’S TIPS ON BREATHING
This is the third week in our start-up to getting fit. By now you should be comfortable with what clothes and shoes you wear while exercising. Comfort and practicality are your aims here and all this will change as you get fitter and discover new products. A small bit of advice here, don’t just buy the top brand, try shoes and clothes on and buy the ones that suits you.
Today Tom want to talk about specific skills and breathing is the first one on the list, posture is also important as you get started. But the most important today is breathing. We all know how to breathe, so it may surprise you how much you may have to work to get it right. When you normally do exercise, what are the limiting factors? What forces you to stop? Is it that you run out of breath? Or do your muscles get so sore that you just have to stop? That fight for air is obvious as it is a pain in the lungs, but the soreness of the muscles can also be brought back to your breathing.
We need oxygen to burn fuel in the muscles to exercise. The harder we work the more oxygen (air) we need but there is a limit to how much air we can take in. The heart (cardio vascular system) takes the oxygen in your blood to the muscles to use it as fuel to make energy. But if you are unfit the lungs are under pressure to take enough oxygen out of the air. The unfit heart will be under pressure to move the blood from the lungs to the muscles and the brain to keep you going and the unfit muscles will be under pressure to burn the fuel to produce the energy to move the muscles. But it doesn’t stop here, the waste from the burnt energy has to be taken out of the muscles and damage done to the weak muscles fighting to keep up has to be repaired and cleaned up. So there is a lot going on, I hope my simple explanation here gives you some idea of how it all works.
So as you start your exercising breathe through your nose, both in and out. If you have trouble with this practice before you go out the door. Make sure your nose is unblocked, clear it before you go. Practice breathing for a while before you start your exercise.
Breathing in and out through your nose is very important. I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t, most people cheat on this, most people leave their mouth slightly open and draw in air through their mouths as the get under pressure. Next you are sweating and panting and your breathing is out of control. The beauty of your nose is, you can’t pant while breathing through your nose. When you pant it means you are in serious oxygen death, while you are panting you are running out of oxygen and building up lactic acid in the muscles. This is bad, acid in the muscles is never good and this is what causes the muscle pain. So nose breathing is very important and specific. I have heard every excuse, ( I have asthma, I broke my nose, I have polyps in my nose, I never breathe through my nose, I have a cold) and plenty more, but the simple question of why am I doing this can solve so much!
When you breathe through your nose it is obvious that you will never be able to take in as much air as you will through your mouth, but when you breathe through your mouth, we are told the air doesn’t fill the lungs properly. But if you breathe through your nose the air gets air conditioned as hairs on the inside of your nose filter the air as it enters the nasal passage and the air is heated before it gets to the lungs. As you breathe through your nose you won’t take in as much air as you will through your mouth, at first, but this is a good thing because as you get fitter your nose breathing will improve at the same rate.
Your nose breathing regulates how fast you walk run or cycle, you need to keep your breathing in check as you exercise. If you do this you won’t go into oxygen death and you won’t get as much muscle pain in the first few weeks. So this week, breathe though your nose, long easy breaths in and out, try to fill the lungs with each breath. Check that your tummy rises as you breathe in, your shoulders stay relaxed and this will reduce stress in your body as well.
Finally, work on your posture as well. Stay upright, keep your head held high, eyes on the horizon. Walk tall and run tall as well. I don’t know what to say to cyclists except try to keep your back straight. Sorry, cycling posture isn’t my area!