Accademy and the smoke

[s_armacher]

I am hopefully going to be making it into the CTC-III 08, but I have been thinking lately with all the fires going on in northern California. What does the academy do when the air quality is so bad that it is unhealthy to be outside. I live in the foothills of northern Ca and I tried running a few days ago and I could not make it a quarter mile before I was coughing, my chest hurt, and my eyes watering from the smoke. I have still been going to the gym and exercising inside. If you have any idea i would greatly appreciate some insight. thanks
-Sean

[Yzeman]

How the Academy PT staff deals with poor air quality will be a decision THEY will make....we can only guess. Rest assured, you WILL be exercising every day....smoke or not!

What you need to focus on is how YOU can continue your exercise regime during days with poor air quality. Get yourself some disposable 'particulate masks' (the little white masks with the elastic bands that hold them on). They take a bit of getting used to, but once used to them, you will be very pleasantly surprised with the results...no more sore throats and no more coughing from the smoke! These masks don't stop the amount of air you can breath....they only stop the particulate matter in the air. Don't re-use the masks, use a new one with each run...if you re-use them in this smoke, they WILL clog up with particulate matter and in turn make it harder and harder to get air through....read - harder to breath!

Bottom line is simple...regardless of the air quality, you MUST find a way to continue preparing for the physical aspect of the Academy. Moving inside to the gym is a great way to maintain, keep it up...but there is no real substitute for running (not even the treadmill!) find a way to continue your work outside....Overcome, Improvise, and Adapt!

Best of luck!

[snowdog]

Good question, great answer, nuff said.