A Passion for Running

Comment by Lesley

Wednesday May 26, 2004 @

Hi Mark!

I did some reading about barometric pressure and will try to find the articles for you. You are on the right track!!

Also, I wanted to offer any assistance with respect to doctors for young Christopher. My husband and I went through all of this when Lindsey was 16 months old, so this brings back alot of memories of a very stressful time, BUT, the good thing is, there is alot of information out there about asthma. Good luck, if you need any assistance, let me know.

Now as for your running blog it is fabulous and anything you would like to “enhance” mine….have at her!!!

Love to you.

Comment by Mark

Wednesday May 26, 2004 @

Thanks Les - for everything. As for your blog, I will get it updated in the next day or two.

Comment by Reba

Wednesday May 26, 2004 @

Mark, you’ll forgive my ignorance on the full understanding barometric pressure (although I’ve decided it’s my new study project to enlighten myself). However, I will say that while I was in Calgary and running (about 8 years), Chinook weather used to throw my poor body into a spin. Well to be specific, the night before and as the Chinook was incoming I was very sluggish, and my head felt like an overinflated balloon ready to pop. Once the wind had settled in you couldn’t catch me on the track I’m sure! Then again these were my young university years primarily. Be sure and share what you find out k?!

Comment by Mark

Wednesday May 26, 2004 @

I don’t know much about it either Reba but, generally, barometric drops before it rains so you’re experience gets to be classified as evidence under exhibit #1!

I will definitely let you know.

Comment by amy

Friday May 28, 2004 @

OK, seriously now…do you suffer from migraines? I do, and the big pressure drops really affect how I feel, so much so that I will often get a headache.

Weird, I know. But true.

Comment by Barb

Monday November 08, 2004 @

It’s a fact that the barometric pressure does cause you to feel sluggish. I read about it awhile back, and I believe you might be able to find more facts about it by using your search engine, typing in barometric pressure, sluggish.

Comment by Anonimous

Monday December 13, 2004 @

I’m intersested in meteorology. What is barometric pressure?

Comment by Jerry Griffin

Monday August 29, 2005 @

Mark,

A respected osteopath (Robert Fulford — recently deceased) wrote that three things are sure to affect one’s condition: emotional trauma, diet, and barometric pressure. He wrote that drops in b.p. cause listlessness and achiness. I think he argued that lower b.p., like high humidity, means there is less oxygen readily available to the system: humidity, because there is more water in the air per cubic measure, thus squeezing out oxygen; and b.p. because there is literally less pressure available to force oxygen into the lungs.

I’ve noticed that on runs that are identical in distance, my physical condition, temperature, etc etc, I can have wildly different experiences — one will be easy, another very difficult. Usually the difficult ones include a higher avg. HR.

I have come to suspect b.p. is the culprit. To test it, I’ve done three identical five-mile runs (so far): two were great, one was so tough I couldn’t finish. After each run, I recorded the barometric pressure (didn’t check it beforehand, lest I prejudice my results). Both good reuns were relatively high b.p. (30.10 inches or higher); the bad one relatively low (29.92 inches). Interestingl, my avg HR was significantly lower on the good runs, as I might have forecast.

I’m going to continue to record HR, subjective experience of difficulty, and temp, humidity, and b.p. on comparable runs.

A friend, an experienced runner and physiologist, tells me that b.p. is a well-known variable in running performance. She also says that she believes the effects of b.p. are strongly age-related: the older one is, the more likely one is to feel the effects of change. Reminded me of the elders who can feel storms coming — their bones ache!

Do you have any new thoughts on this subject?

– Jerry