I am a very fast runner when I only weigh 20 pounds.  I ran for about 2 hours today at a sub 6 minute pace on the Alter G.  What a wild machine.  The YMCA folks gave me a pair of compression shorts to put on, which were attached at the waist to something like the spray skirt you’d wear in an ocean kayak.  The spray skirt zipped onto plastic skirting that encircled the machine.  I felt like quite the spectacle for the folks running on the regular treadmills around me.  The Alter G weighs you and then you enter the percentage of your weight you want to feel.  20% is the lower limit, which was just fine for my broken foot.  Air is forced into the skirting, filling it, and lifting you slightly.  And then off you go.  I think it felt like such a good workout because of the speed of my leg turnover.  I sweated a good amount and I certainly had my running high at the end of it — super cheerful, super friendly, super chatty.  The only downside was feeling like I weighed 300 pounds after I got off the marvelous machine.  And you definitely want to make sure your bladder is empty when you get on.  You don’t feel any pressure from the air on your legs, but you do feel a good amount right over your bladder.  Also, gentlemen, you’d probably need to make sure all the furniture was in the right room, so to speak, before starting.

I’ll be back tomorrow for another 2 hours.  Leadville here I come.  That YMCA is really one of the nicest gyms or rec centers I’ve been in.  There is no reason to pay big money at the gyms in town when a place like this exists.  There’s an internet cafe and a drive thru coffee bar attached to the place for gosh sakes.  And this might just be the running endorphins talking, but the staff was just what you would hope for at a gym.  Super approachable and down to earth.  (And, yes, this is entirely unsolicited praise on my part.)

As far a Vitamin D goes, I give up on summarizing what I’ve learned for a while.  Every reputable information source I find has an equally reputable piece refuting it.  The doctor has me on 50,000 international units weekly for the next two months, which gives me enough time to figure out why my levels were so low in the first place.