Elevation Changes

Atlanta is known in the running community for it's "heat, hills & humidity".  Over the past 9 days we have traveled from Atlanta to Independence, Missouri, to Lone Tree, Colorado.  While in Independence and Lone Tree, we embraced the opportunity to get outdoors and experience running/walking in those areas.  I don't think we had any specific expectations regarding our performance in these climates that can be dramatically different than our normal environment.  It felt like a great adventure every time we slipped on our sneakers and took to the trail.




Bridge on Little Blue Trace Trail

In Missouri our hotel had a path linking it to a 25 mile maintained, multi-use trail called The Little Blue Trace Trail.  It was awesome.  There were cement stretches, but mostly the path is hard pack dirt with tiny gravel.  It is very soft on both soft tissue and the joints.  Most of the pathway that we were on was relatively flat.  The eastbound trail from our hotel wove in and out of shady areas and among fields for the most part.  Heading westbound on the trail from the hotel the trail wound among more residential areas, we preferred the eastbound route. Our longest jog/walk was a 5.5 mile outing that left me exhilarated.  We also did a 6 mile walk on the trail system and a 4 miler (jog/walk) in between.





When we arrived in the Denver area, we were anxious to know how the elevation was going to affect us.  I had been advised that maintaining proper hydration was key to success in adjusting to the elevation, especially if we were going to do anything active.  So we packed water everywhere we went and began hydrating the evening before we exercised.

Luckily we discovered The Bluffs Regional Park in Lone Tree with absolutely gorgeous views of the mountains, Denver...  Although we were concerned by the signs about wildlife in the area, the trails were a delight to navigate!

Greeting at the trail head...

This trail wound around an area of bluffs and the elevation changes were dramatic for lungs that are not acclimated to the elevation.  Unlike the trail in Independence, this system ranged from hard pack dirt that looked like asphalt from a distance, to fine deep sand, to rocks larger than gravel.  If we were going to run these trails, I would be most comfortable in trail shoes to accommodate the varied surfaces.

From coarse gravel to rock, this was a steep decent portion of the trail system at the Bluffs

Although I don't have a camera that takes great distance pictures, this is a sample of the views that took our breath from the 2.7 mile loop.  We walked this loop both days we were in Lone Tree. I'm happy to say that the second day the trail was much, much easier to manage from a breathing perspective.

Near the top of the bluffs and anxious for the descent

We arrived back in Georgia yesterday afternoon.  Today was my scheduled "long" run.  I decided that I wanted to put in a 6 miler, so we were out the door about 7:30 this morning with the dogs.  We walked them for a mile and a half, then I left to finish the 6 miles with as much jogging as I could push myself to do.  It was very humid this morning and I struggled.  Somehow I managed to average 13-14 minute miles.

A little let down after having such a great time on vacation, I decided to find out what the differences were between my three adventures.  I kept thinking that the fact we walked in Lone Tree shouldn't minimize the impact of the elevation, especially since the trail had such significant elevation changed within the 2.7 mile loop, so I did a little research.  Google is a good thing, I feel a smidge better about my struggle today.

Independence Missouri elevation: 952 feet above sea level
Lone Tree, Colorado elevation: 5,948 feet above sea level
Marietta, Georgia: 1,128 feet above sea level

At the time I began this blog this evening:

Independence Missouri humidity: 42%
Lone Tree Colorado humidity: 11%
Marietta, GA humidity: 52%

Looking forward to my run on Wednesday and hoping I will have re-acclimated to the "hills, heat & humidity" of home, sweet home.

Cross Training and Marathon Preparation

It's summer heat, or nearly hot enough to feel like summer, around here.  The weekend has been lovely, but this past week and a few prior have days peaking at 90+ degrees.  The weather has given me pause to figure out how I'm going to combine my goal of  qualifying for the Boston marathon in October during my maiden marathon in Atlanta with the simple, pure joy I have when I'm out trotting down the road with my dog next to me.

Cooling down after a warm evening run

I find myself beginning to select pieces of training from my years of agility competition, run training, triathlon training and even the sporadic riding lessons I took for a couple of summers, in an effort to incorporate more time with the dogs while measuring my strides toward the "goal".

To answer the weather change, I'm drawing from Mary Bromiley and her book "Fit to Ride".  In her discussion of joint flexibility in Chapter 8 she references walking as passive stretching for joint mobility as a means for warming up.  One of the ways I warm the dogs up is with a head to tip of tail massage (learned from Dr. Christine Zink in "Peak Performance; Coaching the Canine Athlete").  Since it has become so hot, and I'm forced to walk the dogs more than run, I'm using this portion of my run time for their modified summer exercise and my warm up.

It seems their climate "limitations" are tempering me. I'm learning to reflect back on the lessons I've taken in over the past decade of training in various sports and gather pieces from each that benefit both canine and human in this adventure. I am thrilled that my per mile times are beginning to improve, even in the heat and neither dog nor I am encountering overuse injuries that are keeping us off the road for extended recoveries.

Maddie impatiently waiting for her harness