Mark's Blog

Last weekend the weather was temporarily warmer and I ran outside. It was 48 degrees on Saturday and 44 degrees on Sunday. Thought about biking but there is always a problem with warmer days in the middle of winter -- if it gets up to 40 degrees, which it sometimes does, it will be wet, sloppy, and dirty because the snow will start melting in earnest. I was especially concerned about the wet sand (mix with a small amount of mud and salt) that is all over the roads because the road crews spread it as the first line of defense with every snow. So I ran outside for the first time in 2 months.

Even though I had been running on the treadmill a few times a week this winter (alternating with bicycling on an in-door trainer,) I was surprized to be quite sore Sunday morning after Saturday's run. I presumed this was because of the hills as the speed and distance was only somewhat greater. On Sunday a ran again, same pace and same distance and Monday morning I was much more sore, to the extent it was difficult to go down a set of stairs or even walk across the room if I had been setting for a while. I did get on the bicycle briefly and felt virtually no soreness at all so bicycling must really use different muscles.

As for how hilly my runs outside in our subdivision are, the contour map shows about 55 feet difference between the high point at our house and the low point at the bottom of the pond, which is also within a few feet of the halfway mark around the circuit. So on a 4.2 mile run (7 laps,) I lose then gain 380 - 400 feet in elevation. I found it interesting that on my right leg in was the quadricep that was most sore but on the left leg in was the lower calf. Someone with the proper backround might be able to deduce something about my running style and it deficiencies with that information.

By the way, I was looking at some pictures in your blog and noticed the one of Mt. Blanc you took in January. I noticed a tree growing on the far side of the house next door coming up straight under the peak of the mountain. It would be interesting to compare January's picture to ones taken three or four years ago to see how fast the tree is growing. I fear that in five or six years, it could be as tall as the mountain from your line of sight.

It sounds like something is out of order if you're getting quite sore on 4.2 mi runs, even with the pounding you may take dropping 55 ft the climbing back up the other side.

For the trees, I'll have to get out the photo albums. Our pine trees also must have gained some height. They seem more and more imposing every winter.