Essay --

Lactic Acid had a pretty nasty reputation up until recently. It was thought to cause muscle fatigue and muscle cramps in not only ultra marathon runners and marathon runners, but in any sport. I had recently completed my first marathon and was worried about the lactic acid buildup more than anything. Around the sixteenth mile of the Atlantic City Marathon I felt the tiredness creeping up from my toes into my hips. Right away, I thought about lactic acid. Before doing the research for this paper, anything I knew about lactic acid was told to me by my high school cross country coach and my brother, who runs cross country and track for Lock Haven College. When my legs would get tired during training, I was told to lay on the floor with my legs up against the wall so the lactic acid would drain out of them. Who knew that everything I was told was a lie?! I know a lot of coaches that still believe that lactic acid is bad and refuse to give up on that fact, but without doing the research, they will never know the truth. When running long distances, the body uses two systems for energy: the aerobic and the anaerobic energy systems. The aerobic energy system uses oxygen in the process, while the anaerobic energy system does not use oxygen. According to the American Running Association, â€Å"ATP is a high-energy molecule and the main source of energy for muscle contractions. When we exercise aerobically, ATP is derived from the oxygen that we breathe in. Glucose and glycogen is nevertheless also required to convert this oxygen into energy. When the amount of ATP needed cannot be derived quickly enough with traditional oxygen intake and conversion to energy, the body then relies on the anaerobic energy system, which created as a byproduct, la... ...ned by the heart and the blood vessels. So if you carry on training a guy, you will not improve his aerobic capacity, but his performance will still improve because the lactate acid threshold is not limited by the cardiovascular system---it’s determined by the quality of the muscles. â€Å" This means that the more a runner’s muscles are adapted to this kind of running, the better they will be during a long run or ultra marathon (Cox). When I think about these men that have run ultra marathon after ultra marathon, it kind of inspires me to do one someday. After I think about it for a little bit though, I go back and remember what it felt like running 26.2 miles. I could never imagine what my legs and feet would feel like after running even 27 miles, let alone 50 or more. People like this are so inspirational and what ever they put their mind to, they can accomplish it.