Recently a bunch of us were reprimanded for running without masks on in the park. There were not a lot of us, we were spaced out in proximity, and while walking to said park we had masks on as is the requirement of the city that I live in. I don't like it and don't think the masks actually help anyone but just like everyone else in the world that is not super wealthy, I am subjected the rules imposed by our overlords.
So my last two runs have been with a mask on and I immediately noticed a couple of things.
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For starters, this obviously is going to restrict the amount of air that you can get into the old lungs and I don't know if you are an ultra-athlete like I am but being able to breathe is a rather large part of the entire process. There were times that i felt as though I wasn't getting enough oxygen and honestly, even though I am not a doctor, I don't think that I was actually getting enough air and was probably breathing in more CO2 than I probably should be.
You may recall an instance that was covered in the news about a track and field athlete who passed out during a competitive run while wearing a mask
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The good news is that she passed out at the finish line and still won the race. The better news is that the athletic commission revised their stance on face coverings during non-contact sporting events. The bad news for us is that this doesn't extend to us and in this particular instance, since it happened in a state 1000 miles from my own, it doesn't apply here.
So here is what I recommend that you do if you are a runner: Run anyway.
A bunch of my running crew, after being threatened (but not fined) by the police about not wearing a mask simply decided that they were not going to go running anymore and I think this is the incorrect choice. Instead, maybe just accept the fact that you are not going to be as fast as you normally are.
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I am around a 6 min per km jogger. After attempting to keep up with such a pace over the past few days I too started to find myself getting light headed as I am always trying to improve my pace. This is not the time to be doing that.
I have since slowed down to a 7 min per km pace and even then I have to stop and walk and sneakily pull the mask down below my nose to actually get some fresh air in. This also helps to recharge my batteries so to speak and encourage me to trudge on.
I'm trying to talk my friends who were chased away by the mask mandate to simply comply and slow down because even if we are out here doing far slower times than we know we are capable of, the slower runs are still more beneficial than not doing the runs at all.
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It can be frustrating, all of these regulations that seem to be built around not letting us stay fit in the interest of "health" but we have no choice but to comply (and maybe elect new leaders next time around) but I am in the class of individual that believes that we gotta put the work in, even if that work changes from a run to a jog, or even a jog to a walk.
Just keep moving, this too shall pass