A Weird Thought

 Exercise! No, I wasn’t a fan of it, and it was never a part of my routine. Though I’ve tried various forms of exercise like walking, jogging, yoga, and some random workouts, I never stuck with any for long. It was always sporadic and lacked clear goals.

During the COVID lockdown, my family and I decided to start exercising together—walking or jogging. It became crucial for me, especially with my metabolic issues, as I easily gain weight. Before the lockdown, commuting to work provided some level of physical activity, but once that stopped, I needed to do something to maintain my weight. I began spending my mornings with my kids, following "PE with Joe." We enjoyed it, and I’m sure the stretches and cardio routines helped me tone up a bit. In the evenings, I’d go for a walk or jog with my boys. We started with 3–5 km and gradually increased to 6 km, 8 km, and even 10 km. In June 2020, our kids raised around £1.5k by walking and jogging 100 miles to honor the NHS frontline workers caring for COVID-19 patients.

Throughout the lockdown, we maintained a regular walking and jogging routine, which helped me balance my weight. However, after a year, knee pain forced me to stop exercising. Eventually, I switched to brisk walking for a year. In 2024, I resumed jogging to get some cardio and improve my lung capacity. Starting with 5 km at a pace of about 7:50 min/km, I managed to achieve 6:50 min/km on a good day. However, I’ve struggled to improve beyond that.

While jogging, I rely on mouth breathing instead of nasal breathing, as nasal breathing leaves me short of breath. My lungs function at 60–70% of the normal range, so I need more oxygen intake through my mouth, making it difficult to hold conversations while jogging. I classify myself as a slow runner, maxing out at 6:50 min/km, which feels slow compared to others running at 5 min/km. This led me to question why I wasn’t improving or why am I slow.

Often I was told that I don’t push myself enough, which might be true sometimes, but definitely not always. Being small-built, my stride length is shorter than the average runner’s. Isn't that one of the reasons why my pace is slower? So, I partnered with my companion, ChatGPT, and requested an analysis of the steps taken per minute for a man with height as 5’9” running at 5:20 min/km and a woman with height as 5’0” running at 6:50 min/km, using a stride factor of 0.415 (a commonly cited average for recreational running).

Distance Per Minute

For the Man:

• Speed: 5 min 20 sec/km = 320 sec/km
• Distance per second: 1 km ÷ 320 sec = 3.125 m/s
• Distance per minute: 3.125 × 60 = 187.5 m/min

For the Woman:

• Speed: 6 min 50 sec/km = 410 sec/km
• Distance per second: 1 km ÷ 410 sec = 2.439 m/s
• Distance per minute: 2.439 × 60 = 146.34 m/min

Stride Length Based on Height

Stride Length (m) = Height (cm) × Stride Factor

For the Man:

• Height: 5’9” = 175 cm
• Stride Length: 175 × 0.415 = 72.63 cm = 0.726 m

For the Woman:

• Height: 5’0” = 152 cm
• Stride Length: 152 × 0.415 = 63.08 cm = 0.630 m

Steps Per Minute

Steps Per Minute = Distance Per Minute ÷ Stride Length

For the Man:

• Steps: 187.5 ÷ 0.726 = 258.2 steps/min

For the Woman:

• Steps: 146.34 ÷ 0.630 = 232.3 steps/min

(The above calculation is entirely based on generative AI. I will certainly verify the statistics with my pedometer during my next few runs.)

According to these calculations, I’m only 11% slower—not bad, even though a pace difference of 5:20 min/km versus 6:50 min/km seems significant. By the way, I asked GeminiAI to perform the same analysis using the same prompt. Initially, it provided unrealistic calculations (713 and 618 steps/min, closer to a cheetah’s pace!). After I pointed out ChatGPT’s results, GeminiAI apologized and adjusted its calculations to align more closely. This reaffirmed my preference for ChatGPT.

This analysis made me think: Why do sports like boxing or weightlifting factor in a person’s weight to evaluate their performance, but running and other athletics don’t? Shouldn’t physical differences like height and weight also be considered in all forms of sports? In 11-plus exams, a standardized score is applied, which accounts for an individual's raw score and includes additional weightage based on the student's birth month. Research shows that a student born in October often outperforms a student born in June of the following year. Extensive analysis and data supported this, leading to the introduction of the standardized score to ensure fairness for all students. Shouldn’t a similar concept of fairness apply in running or athletics, where physical abilities matter? Maybe one day, it will! Until then, let’s keep challenging ourselves.

PS: While each sentence is my own, ChatGPT helped refine the grammar and improve the phrasing. Thank you!