Training at altitude, it hits different!
How my first week in Utah has been
If there’s an environment that can really make you doubt your fitness, it’d be altitude.
My first proper experience with altitude was at Pikes Peak Ascent in 2018. Based in Colorado Springs the race starts at 1920m and climbs to a whopping 4300m. I arrived in Colorado Springs a few days before the race. If you think the combination of these last few sentences make me sound naive then you’d be correct. Not to mention I was up against a world class field, many of whom lived or trained at altitude and were weapons at hill climbing. Still there I was, wanting to put myself in the mix after a life lived at sea level.
As a quick recap. The gun went off. The flat asphalt felt okay, but then we started the climb. Almost immediately the lack of oxygen caused my head to pound. Lactate built up and my muscles started to burn. This was all within the first 5km of the race. I was out of my depth and in serious trouble.
My only saving grace was that the race was shortened to halfway due to thunderstorms at the top of the mountain. I managed to eke out a top ten finish, but I knew that a lot more specificity would be needed with training for high altitude races in the future.
Since then, there has been plenty of time spent at altitude. With that comes adaptation. Just like with training your muscles at sea level, you can learn to train your system to tolerate altitude. The more exercise you do at altitude the better your body becomes at buffering lactate and clearing it from the muscles and the bloodstream. This adaptation can help improve your tolerance especially in high-intensity exercise.
I’ve been very fortunate to have now had the time to explore different altitude training grounds. My time in Kenya, Utah, Colorado and now back in Utah has given me time to adapt. I feel like each time I return to altitude my body is more prepared to deal with oxygen depletion. The effects are lessened and it takes less time to settle into normal training.
Along with the altitude acclimation there are supplementary things you can do to help your body cope with high altitude. Some things I am implementing are:
Iron Supplementation - Iron can help increase the production of red blood cells and haemoglobin, which are responsible for carrying oxygen to the body's tissues. Drops in iron levels can cause fatigue and other ill effects associated with iron deficiency.
Stay hydrated - this is really important as it is so dry up here. Hydration is key to fight the effects of altitude sickness, keep up blood volume and to ensure normal bodily functions.
Fuel adequately - Your body is already under more strain and is burning more fuel than usual. You need to be diligent in fuelling to maximise performance and recovery.
Sleep - as we’ve talked about sleep is an absolute key form of recovery. It can be tough for your body to adjust to sleeping at altitude, so you may have to adjust training load if sleep isn’t coming easy. Try to get a good sleep routine and nap if possible.
The past week following Canyons 50km I couldn’t be happier with how my body has bounced back.
Last weeks training schedule was:
M - Travel from Auburn to Cedar City
T - Hills 50 mins AM, Flat 33 mins PM
W - Hills 1 hr 12 mins
TH - Hills 1 hr 23 mins
F - Progression Run 1 hr 03 mins AM, Recovery Run 43 mins PM
S - Endurance Hills 2 hr 08 mins
S - Hills 1 hr
Totals - 105km, 3,161m vert
This current week is shaping up to be another solid one, and there will be more of this to come as we build towards Western States.
Thanks everyone for your support, it means a lot!
