Hello,

I will be vacationing for two weeks in Estes Park, Colorado during weeks 17 and 18 (I am bummed I am missing the group runs ) and wondered if I need to do anything special with consideration of the altitude while training. Estes Park sits at 7,522 feet. I will also be doing some moderate hiking with one strenous hike (Long's Peak summit-14,000+ feet, 16 miles, 5,000+ elevation gain). I am committed to sticking to my training schedule as closely as possible, while also enjoying and fitting in the hiking. I have the long runs mapped out (Jul 29 = 13m & Aug 5 = 10m), but wonder how I should factor in the altitude, if even necessary. I am an experienced hiker and the altitude usually does not bothered me (at least up to this point...); however, I am not an experienced runner (1st year wth PFit and Red&Proud), so any advice/guidance with altitude training will be much appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help!

Onward,
Ashlee

Run slower. Drink more water. Watch out for wildlife. Enjoy the scenery!

Hi Ashlee:

I ran the Denver Half Marathon last October (a great race, by the way), and concur with Angela. I felt great at altitude, but once I started running the race, I had to slow down about 30 seconds/mile, otherwise I felt like my legs were being kicked out from under me. Stay well hydrated -- the air is dry up there! Have fun!

Laura D

Hey Ashlee. when I was in Boulder this spring my heartrate was high during my runs due to elevation I believe. Figure on running slower compared to your pace here at sea level. Angela is absolutely correct on staying very well hydrated.
Have a great time and enjoy!
Randy

Susie and I were married in Estes Park. Say "hi" to the Stanley Hotel for us. It was the inspiration for The Shining, by Steven King!

I gained a healthy respect for altitude running when I tried runing at Steamboat Springs, CO, at something like 9Kft elevation. Just imagine training in Peru or Bolivia where many population centers are over 10Kfeet!

Actually being at elevation raises your resting heart rate and decreases your maximum heartrate, so all the usual heartrate guidelines go out the window. Your rate of respiration is a good guidepost of your exertion level so be conscious of your breathing. As noted above, hydration is key because your sweat will evaporate much faster due to the low relative humidity and the thinner atmosphere. Finally of course you should protect yourself from the heat of the sun as well as UV-A and UV-B rays, so a good broad spectrum sunscreen would be a good move, applied liberally and often. Helioplex is one of the better known ingredients for broad spectrum protection.

Enjoy the trip -- it sounds like you'll have a lot of fun.

Thanks everyone for your tips and advice!

Onward,
Ashlee

Sorry, but I have to disagree with Coach Eric. Your heart rate monitor is going to be your best coach when running in altitude. Your heart rate automatically adjusts for the additional stress that altitude places on your body. Your aerobic threshold is the same no matter what altitude you are running at.

What does not apply at altitude is your pace! If you are use to running at a 10 minute/mile pace in Portland, then your pace will be significantly slower at 7500 feet elevation. After a few nights of sleeping at the altitude, your body will start to adjust and you will find your pace starting to return to your lower altitude pace. This is assuming that you are getting a good night's sleep each night. Try to let your body wake you up by itself. If you let it, your body will naturally wake you up when it is done repairing most of the previous days damage.

If you are tracking your resting heart rate (RHR) each morning, you will be able to use it to determine how quickly your body adjusted to the altitude change. (As always, good nutrition and being properly hydrated will help decrease the time to adjust, also.) Assuming that you don't get sick or have some other increase in your body stress, your RHR will start decreasing to your lower elevation RHR level on a daily basis.

You may have to walk the first couple of days, but if you rest properly and your body adjusts correctly, you should see daily improvements within 1 to 10 days.

Eric