a physiological view of what the human body goes through in an ironman.docx

8/10/2019 A Physiological View Of What The Human Body Goes Through In An Ironman.docx

1/3


2/3

The following story explains exactly what the body goes through over 140.6 milesof racing. This story originally appeared in the January/February, 2009 edition ofInside Triathlon magazine.

From the outside, swimming, cycling and running appear as movement. But frominside the triathletes body, swimming, cycling and running appear as anacceleration of time.

Blood gushes through veins and arteries like traffic through night highways in a

time-lapse video. Within muscle cells, glucose and triglyceride molecules are tossedinto the fiery furnace of mitochondria at a breakneck pace, as though someone hasput a DVD of the process at rest on 4x fast forward. Armies of oxygen radicalspunch holes in muscle cell membranes, causing a general deterioration that calls tomind those computer animations that show a person aging 20 years in 10 seconds.

Indeed, from an internal perspective, completing an Ironman is a bit like sitting on

a sofa for 12 hours and aging two decades. In other words, the changes the bodyundergoes in 12 hours of extreme exertion are similar to some of those that occurin the body over the course of two decades of non-exertion, as a result of normalaging. Fortunately, though, those years are restored to you within a few weeks.Then its time tostart thinking about tickling the reaper again.

Lets take a more detailed look at how racing an Ironman affects various parts ofyour anatomy. Theres no particular lesson in this exercise, but it may give you agreater appreciation for the accomplishment of crossing an Ironman finish line.
http://triathlon.competitor.com/interstitial-ad?redirect=http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/04/training/a-physiological-view-of-what-the-human-body-goes-through-in-an-ironman-2_46170/attachment/2012-ironman-world-championship-117http://triathlon.competitor.com/interstitial-ad?redirect=http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/04/training/a-physiological-view-of-what-the-human-body-goes-through-in-an-ironman-2_46170/attachment/2012-ironman-world-championship-119http://triathlon.competitor.com/interstitial-ad?redirect=http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/04/training/a-physiological-view-of-what-the-human-body-goes-through-in-an-ironman-2_46170/attachment/2012-ironman-world-championship-117http://triathlon.competitor.com/interstitial-ad?redirect=http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/04/training/a-physiological-view-of-what-the-human-body-goes-through-in-an-ironman-2_46170/attachment/2012-ironman-world-championship-119


3/3

Something Wicked Hard This Way Comes

Ironman begins to affect your body even before the starting hornor cannon, inone notable eventsounds. Research has shown that the mere anticipation ofexercise increases blood flow to the soon-to-be working muscles, as well as oxygen

consumption and the release of hormones, including epinephrine (adrenaline), thatprime the muscles for activity. This anticipatory response is mediated largely by aprimitive part of the brain called the periaqueductal gray area, which is responsiblefor regulating the cardiorespiratory response to exercise.

That internal roiling you experience when you step out of your car at the event siteon race morning, surrounded by your fellow competitors and the electric Ironmanatmosphere, is essentially the same feeling your dog experiences when you showhim the leash.

When the race begins, the biochemical state of every system in your body changesas each responds first to the challenge of swimming 2.4 miles, then to that ofcycling 112 miles and finally to that of running 26.2 miles. Among the greatestphysiological challenges are core body temperature regulation, dehydration, fuelsupply and usage, muscle damage, nutrition absorption and processing and brainfatigue

a physiological view of what the human body goes through in an ironman.docx

Documents