OK, I posted last week about my improvement with my running. That post was accurate, and very forward moving for me. I was up at our observatory this week, the Wyoming InfraRed Observatory (WIRO), and decided to run up the mountain. From the paved road to the summit, it's 5.5 miles, and an elevation gain of about 2000 feet. I thought my recent progress would let me do it ok, with some challenge, if I went slowly.
I had no idea.
The elevatation was certinaly a problem, starting from nearly 7500 feet and ending at 9500 feet, but the real problem was the steep hills. I could not run them. At all. I could barely walk them. My calves swelled, and blocked circulation to my feet. My feet literally went numb. I undid my shoe strings entirely, but the only thing that really worked for a long uphill segment was to sit down and let my legs relax. I made it, eventually, in a little under 2 hours.
I've been having trouble with this for a few years, running flats, but it's gotten better running on the treadmill in recent weeks, and I thought I had beaten it. I was wrong.
I've been trying to hydrate better, be better about vitamins and minerals, and be better about stretching. I'm not sure it's any of that. My calves swell, so much it blocks circulation. For the time being, I'm going to keep trying to run through it. I'll stick to the treadmill and up my distance and speed, but I'm not sure about hills yet. I'm too young to have problems like this that will keep me from serious hikes in the mountains -- one of the great advantages of living in Wyoming -- but I am not sure how to fix things.
Posted by Mike at June 26, 2005 12:32 AM