In April and May I was enjoying an eight mile run once a week. The last mile was always a bit painful and slow because I wasn't training enough beyond that run, but it was still pleasant. Now, one month later, I'm struggling with anything past three. The culprit is altitude.
I grew up on the east coast and was always fairly close to the ocean or Great Lakes (the list before the ellipsis in the title of this post is the elevation of every place I've lived). A research question, however, has transplanted me to the vicinity of Bend, Oregon, where the altitude hovers above 4,000 feet. In my height naivete, I thought that anything over 5,000 feet qualified as "at altitude", but here I am sucking wind with aching lungs at 1,000 feet less than that.
I ran with a women's group organized by one of Bend's premier running stores last night. The fit women of the group made understanding noises and faces when I brought up my struggling lungs. Unfortunately, they left me crestfallen by agreeing that it takes a long time to acclimate--probably longer than I'll even be here (which is a little less than three months). This means that the half marathon I've signed up to run in early August is sure to be the biggest running challenge I've tackled yet. Elevation at the race's start? 3,640 feet.
In the meantime, I'll try to be content working my way back up to eight miles (then to ten and then to twelve in preparation for the half). I am fully at the mercy of my body's adaptability, but I'm going to do some research too. I assume I'm not doing any damage when I experience intense discomfort in the lower portion of my lungs around mile four, but who I am to know? This is all new to me! (You should have heard my panting when I climbed a rise at Crater Lake last weekend where the elevation is well over 7,000 feet.)
The best possible outcome would be to find out that I'm more fit than ever been before when I return to sea level in September!
