Here are a few things I found interesting, either about heart health, running, or the intersection thereof.

2017 is off to a bad start-I missed a few weeks of running due to work and anxiety, and then I got sick. On that note…

Another article on the link between head and heart disease. Apparently depression lags behind only smoking and high blood pressure in terms of causes of death by heart disease, ahead of or even with diabetes, cholesterol and obesity.

Bad news for heart runners who like to use Vitamin I, as this german article seems to suggest ibuprofen is much worse than naproxen for the heart.

Apparently heart failure rates are rising.

For those following Nike’s attempt to have a runner crack the two hour marathon, I recommend following Sweat Science, aka Alex Hutchinson. This is a good read, but the below passage really hit home, as I faded very badly in my first (and only, so far) marathon:

…because Nike’s modeling suggests that getting the early pace wrong by as little as 0.05 kilometers per hour (which works out to a difference of less than a second per mile) can slow you down by tens of seconds later in the race.

More on the relationship between sleep and performance. This one claims two nights of less than six hours of sleep can effect one for up to six days.

More on the mental benefits of exercise, shared by Brad Stulberg, who I’ve referenced in previous posts. He also wrote

Finally, is marathon running toxic? No.