Thursday, May 28, 2009

I have but one regret about not running in New England

In my previous post I said that I was visiting in New England (Massachusetts and Connecticut) but that I wasn't doing any running due to schedule conflicts. I do have one regret about not running: the low elevation. The altitude at the places I was staying was sea level to a few hundred feet, compared to 4400 feet here. That difference in altitude makes a big difference in how I feel as I run. During my 17 years in New England, I made a few trips west to visit family, and I could tell the difference in how I felt as I ran. After I moved to Utah in December 1993, it took me about a year to feel comfortable with the higher altitude. In fact, during the first few months in Utah, I would have bouts of being dizzy -- I wouldn't be able to feel the sidewalk as I walked, any I thus lost my sense of balance and felt like I would fall down. I've always had low blood pressure, and I would feel dizzy as a child if I stood up quickly. Because of this, I assumed the bouts of dizziness were due to my low blood pressure, and I didn't worry about them. After a few months, the dizziness went away.

1 comment:

  1. I had a tough time breathing during those races in Utah, I'd be huffing and puffing harder than ever before. I bet running in Boston would feel extremely easy for you now.

    ReplyDelete