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Cardiovascular Changes

The heart may or may not be the seat of affections, but it is certainly the center of our ability to use oxygen. However, the system is more extensive than you might imagine and, as we train, each part of the system is strengthened.

This why it is more important to develop endurance than speed when you run. Anyone can run at a very fast speed if they cover only a short distance. With long slow distance running the speed doesn't increase much but the distance over which it can be maintained increases remarkably.

Our ability to use oxygen requires:

o the ability to breath with large and deep (large volume) breaths (ventilation rate),

o the ability to transfer that oxygen through the lungs to the blood (respiratory rate)

o an efficient pump to drive the blood to the sites of action (the muscles) (pulse rate)

o efficient control to keep the pump working regularly (nervous system)

o good open pathways (arteries and veins) to convey the blood

o efficient recipients in the blood to carry the oxygen (red corpuscles)

o efficient transfer to storage in the muscles (the myoglobin)

o an efficient process for transfer to the mitochondria, and

o an efficient metabolis (oxidation) for converting food into energy

So you see the heart may be the center of the cardiovascular system but there are many more parts that are just as vital. It is a complex system, but one which you can strengthen by simple exercise.

When you train, all these parts are strengthened through 'stress adaptation' as Hans Selye pointed out in his General Adaptation Syndrome theory. Furthermore this adaptation last well beyond your period of active training.

I ran more than 80 marathons (best time 2:43:30 when I was 45) and even today, 16 years after my last marathon, my heart rate during the day is about 50, well below the male norm of 72. That's because my heart has adapted to the requirement to pump oxygen and it is larger than that of a sedentary male.

Thus, the benefits of running last throughout your life in ways that aren't obvious.

Reference: "TARGET 26 - a guide to marathon running," Brown and Graham, Macmillan, (2nd Edition) 1983 pp. 78-88, 92-95

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