Upping The Stakes: Live High, Train…Like Hannibal Lecter?

At this point I have a lot of questions about altitude acclimatization in general. Pickels’ co-worker, Adam St. Pierre – another former hurdler and an attendee of an altitude seminar at the American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting in Denver the previous week, where Pickels gave a lecture – joins the discussion, which now involves three New Hampshire transplants. Pickels has already explained to me, via e-mail, that runners who train exclusively at high altitude do experience a dramatic increase in sustainable intensity when they compete at sea level, but are at a disadvantage compared to sea-level runners who are used to training at that intensity. Enter supplemental oxygen, which not only combats this effect but makes these runners stronger high-altitude competitors as well – useful for permanent residents of high-altitude locales who do most, if not all, of their racing in hypoxic conditions.

Pickels says that even marathoners require a certain amount of far-faster-than-race-pace work to be at their best, so they use the facility, though perhaps not as often as track runners. I agree with him, as my fastest marathons were all preceded by at least a modest amount of track and road work at 3,000-meter race pace or faster. On the other hand, two-time Olympic marathoner and exercise physiologist Pete Pfitzinger says, “marathoners can achieve their best at an altitude of 1,500 to 1,800 meters [about 5,000’ to 6,000’] because they can still do their marathon-pace runs and other tempo runs at the desired pace.”  He adds, this approach also works well for Olympic distance triathletes, because they race their 10K run leg at approximately an elite runner’s half marathon pace. He also says that strides (near-sprints) of no longer than 25 seconds are great for turnover preservation because they do not result in the accumulation of lactic acid.

Lize Brittin was a four-time Colorado high school state champion and a two-time Kinney (now Foot Locker) finalist who won the Pikes Peak Ascent at age 16, setting a course record in the process. She’s also believed to be the first person to run to the top of Mount Elbert, Colorado’s highest peak. Today she runs almost exclusively on hilly trails. It’s unlikely that any fast runner is more familiar with hypoxia than Brittin. I asked her if she ever believed she was at a disadvantage racing girls at the Kinney finals in San Diego. “I only ran a handful of races at sea level and didn’t really notice anything subjectively different in terms of speed,” Brittin says, “but my coach and I had discussed the fact that I would probably be at a disadvantage in terms of leg turnover. It did seem easier on my heart and lungs.” Chances are, however, that Brittin and other lifelong high-elevation residents would notice a drastic drop in their track times if they spent four or five weeks doing high-intensity sharpening and racing at sea level.

In the next installment of this series you’ll get all the details you want and then some about the specific effects of altitude training and what to expect from it.

[sig:KevinBeck]

FILED UNDER: Training TAGS: altitude training / Boulder Center For Sports Medicine / Cycling / intervals training / live high train low / Pete Pfitzinger / Running / Speed Work

Mario Fraioli

Mario Fraioli is the senior producer at Competitor.com. He was a cross country All-American at Stonehill College, has run 2:28 in the marathon, and coaches the Prado Women's Racing Team in San Diego.

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