Oxygen rich air

A carpet of bluebells

Today I ran along a path that cut through a carpet of bluebells with the odd flash of pink from the red campions. A wonderful sight to see. As I got closer to the river the smell of wild garlic was quite overwhelming and then as I ran up towards the gardens the birds were full of the joys of spring. I'm no expert but I think there were thrushes, warblers and robins belting it out with the occasional drilling sound from the woodpeckers.

So I'm sure you can gather by my ramblings that running felt good today but then it always does if it is off road and along woodland tracks rather than along the pavement in the town. Is it just the sights, smells and sounds that make it feel so good though or is it because the oxygen is so much richer in an environment where plants thrive?

We know that plants absorb and convert carbon dioxide to oxygen and this is sure to make us feel good as there is more oxygen to breathe in and send through the lungs to be carried around to our parts that need it by our red blood cells. There is also less industry and so less pollution in woods and on beaches than there is in the city and surely the more pure the air the better for our bodies as we run.

I remember a few years ago, in a previous life selling running shoes, we had shoes that had an insole, or sock liner, made from bamboo carbon technology. By all accounts the benefits of having this in your shoe were that it was anti-microbial (for deodorisation), moisture thermo- regulating (so it kept your feet cool when it was hot and warm when it was cold!) and - get this - it improved your metabolism, vigour and blood circulation through negative ions release!

I must admit that I was always very comfortable explaining to anyone I was selling it to about the anti microbial and thermo regulating properties but I didn't feel that I understood enough about the negative ions to talk about the rest. At the launch that I attended for this product I remember the Product Line Manager telling us that, by running with these in your shoes, you would feel like you were running through an oxygen-rich pine forest or along a beach, when actually running through a polluted city centre. Apparently the purest negatively ionised air nature provides consists of a maximum of 21% Oxygen, 78% Nitrogen and 1% trace gases but unless you are running through that pine forest close by to a waterfall you will rarely get to breathe it in, although you may come close in a town or city for a few minutes, when then sun comes out after a torrential thunder storm.

So what's the weather forecast for the rest of the week? I'm sure I've seen thunderstorms on the weather map. Perhaps I'll time my next run to coincide with that!