The Time Course of Recovery Oxygen Intake and Heart Rate after Some Running Events

Abstract

(1) The time courses of oxygen intake and heart rate during recovery processes from running of 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 3000 and 5000 meters were investigated with three male varsity long distance runners using the Douglas bag method and a heart rate telemeter under actual sport conditions on a track. (2) The highest values of both recovery oxygen intake and heart rate were the obtained during the first 10 sec. period immediately after each running. The former ranged from 3426±293ml/min (after 200m running) to 2496±23 (after 100m), while the latter from 179.0±6.3beats/min (after 5000m) to 169.0±8.8 (after 400m). (3) The decline of the recovery oxygen intake was steeper than that of the recovery heart rate. The recovery oxygen intake after l00m was the steepest of all the distances investigated. No significant differences, however, were found among the time courses of recovery oxygen intake after the running of different distances. No particular relationship between these distances and the time course of recovery heart rate was obtained. (4) The half decay time of recovery oxygen intake ranged from 27 (after 100m running)to 50±1sec (after 400 to 5000m), while that of recovery heart rate from 2 to above 7.5min. (5) The time course of recovery oxygen intake is given by and Y= -a log X + b (0" < X ≦ 40") and Y= -a' log log X + b' (400" < X ≦ 7'30"), where Y is the rate of oxygen intake at time X. (6) From these results the nature of the time course of recovery oxygen intake and heart rate and the adequacy of the method for measuring the maximum oxygen debt on a track were discussed.