Women's Running and Women Runners - Southern California Fires

Southern California Fires :: To Run Or Not To Run? by bmoore

Even as I write this I can hear the fire department helicopters endlessly circling.

Every summer we who live in Southern California watch and wait. The heat rises, the winds come up and the inevitable happens. The sky fills with smoke and the helicopters fly. People's homes are lost, lives are destroyed, then rebuilt again.

When the fires rage the air - even in it's "non-fire state" the worst in the nation - gets thick with smoke. If you're close to one of these fires or the wind shifts, the sky fills with ashes...big 'ole things that float down from the heavens. One year, the pieces were so big you could still read the writing on some of the flying paper! And all this means tough times for those of us who exercise outside.

Air pollution interferes with the workings of your heart and lungs, aggravates asthma and weakens your body's ability to fight infection. Outdoor runners are at a high risk form the dangers of air pollution because we take in up to 20 times more air per minute while we’re running…meaning we also take 20 Xs more air pollution into our respiratory tracts, reducing lung function AND performance. Exercising in even a moderate level of ozone and carbon monoxide can actually temporarily decrease the blood’s oxygen carrying capacity. Breathing though your mouth (as most runners do) prevents the nose from filtering pollutants.

The Environmental Protection Agency has developed the Air Quality Index (AQI) to report levels of air pollution. The AQI ranges from level 0 to 500. At levels over 100, they say to limit strenuous outdoor activity. If the level reaches 200, air pollution is a serious health concern and exercising outdoors should be totally avoided.

A quick check of the AQI levels in my area tell me we are at 115 – mmm…limit “strenuous activity.” So now I’ve got a decision to make. In these situations, there’s only one thing to do – check the runner’s forums on the web…lot’s of stuff posted by runners in this area who’re experiencing sore throats after running, some pretty severe. Evidently wheezing, coughing, scratchy throat, headache, chest pains, watery eyes or difficulty taking deep breaths, are all par for the course in this kind of air.

Great. Truth is, I'll probably run in it. But how ironic would it be if my run was actually doing me more harm than good?

Agree, what a cool thing, this AQI...didn't know it existed! Thank You!...although, like I said in the other post, no matter what the air is like...I usually go go go.

Posted by: Karen on Jul 07, 2008 at 05:46 PM