Revenge of the Wifey

I haven't been too good about running since coming back to the family in December. It's the old, "need to make time, but don't want to take time away from the family controversy." So I've had to try harder and harder to find the time to go. I managed to yesterday and went out for a little less than 4 miles. Nice and slow, trying to ease back into it.

Last night, after dinner, I nearly collapsed about three times. Yeah it was fun. Legs felt a little like al dente pasta.

Here's why. I am a creature of sea level. I've lived my whole life at or around sea level. To be more precise, I've lived pretty much near the water my whole life. Salt water. The big kind. To give you an idea, here are the distances from the water I've lived (only counting places I've lived for a year or more) along with their elevation:

• 1.5 miles/150 feet
  
• <0.3>
• <0.1>
• 18 miles (I had to compromise, and I worked <0.25>
• <0.1>
• <0.33 mile/sea level
  

I now live 280 miles from the sea (which involves a trip over the alps). But her revenge is even sweeter than this. We're at 1550 feet. Okay, so I'm not living in Denver, but for my scrawny little sea level lungs, this sucks. There's one more thing (and this really makes the LW giggle with glee). Take a look at the run profile below. This is a typical run of mine from a previous residence:Here are some things to note: a) elevation maxes at a a cool 24 feet above sea level, b) The total elevation change is on the order of 20 feet. This is pretty typical of a normal run (elevation and profile wise)

Now, take a look at the run I did yesterday:

a) elevation ~1550 feet, b) total elevation change about 270 feet. It was an out and back run, so at least it was uphill on the way out.

But the best part about it was the surface. Not a track, not asphalt, not a trail, it was cobblestone. Oh yipee. I think that's at the top of my list for 'favorite running surfaces.' Nothing screams 'good for the knees' like cobblestones.

So now I get the continual: 'aw, you're such a wimp,' ''city boy' and my favorite 'quit yer whining!' from the oh-so-concerned LW. (She grew up at about 1500 feet and she spent her summers at 7000 feet.)

Post script.
Today we took our son to the zoo. His favorite exhibit was the sea lions. As we finally leave them and head towards the kangaroos we rounded the pool and ended up downwind . So I made the family stop...and smell the lovely sea air in the middle of Europe. Take that wifey.

Post post script.
The LW read the 'advanced preview before posting.' Her comment "You suck. You owe me a back and neck rub." I'm off to get the massage oil.