How to spit while joggling
I saw this post on The Final Sprint about the subject of snot and spit. It was interesting because I’ve never seen this subject in any other running resource. Here are some interesting facts from the article.
- Snot and spit are composed of protein, water and electrolytes
- Potassium and bicarbonate are about 6 and 3 times greater than in plasma
- Average amount of expectoration is between 4cc and 20cc.
- During a 4 hour marathon you clear about 160 cc of spit fluid.
As a joggler, you may occasionally feel the urge to spit. But unlike a runner, you can’t just simply expel your projectile in front of you. You have to consider the juggling bean bags floating in front of you. Here is the method I use when joggling.
- While joggling, throw one bean bag twice as high as normal.
- Catch the two remaining bean bags in each hand.
- Spit forward and to the ground in front of feet and slightly to the side.
- Look up and catch the falling bean bag when it comes back into the pattern.
- Resume joggling.
Note: The same method can be used when wiping sweat off your face.
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This post made me think about how Koreans love to spit. I’m not kidding. My Korean students think it’s funny when I talk about it. Spitting in Korea is like a national pastime. You can’t be here one day without hearing someone doing some major throat clearing followed by some serious body-contorted projectiling. I’m starting to learn how to do it too. Now I’m beginning to wonder how Koreans clear their throat while running.
Ed, that’s funny. After writing this post, I noticed a few more people spitting than usual. Maybe it’s just because it was top-of-mind.