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Posted by run away on 4/9/2007 Any specific suggestions for preparing for a marathon at a higher altitude than one is used to? I live, train, and run about 35 miles a week at sea level, and will be participating in the 2007 Colorado Colfax Marathon. The air in Denver is, of course, much thinner than here. I'll arrive in Denver three or four days before the race. Generally speaking, is that enough time to acclimate? Anything else I can do in advance to prep? Thanks! | |
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altitude adjustment |
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simon says:
Get to Denver at the last possible moment.
It might sound a bit radical, but really that;s your best chance. If you can't arrive at altitude three weeks before the race, you don't stand a chance of acclimatizing. Personally I wouldn't arrive 3-4 days before the race because all that will do is give you body enough time to START acclimatizing, but ti won;t have tiome to finish the process. So, you are better off leaving as little time as possible, so it doesn't waste energy even trying :)
Get here with just enough time to recover from travelling and to do a light loosener and some strides. 18-24 hours or less, if you can.
It's the pressure difference that is a killer - your lungs and respiratory muscles have to work harder to drag air in. So during the race go out slower than you normally would and take it real easy on any hills. The air in Denver is also dry, so while travelling and on arrival pay particular attention to hydration. You may find that your mouth, throat and nasal passages are extremely dry while you are racing, so before you travel experiment in training with swilling a teaspoon or so of glycerine round your mouth for extra moisture.
People might have other ideas; but that's what I'd do! Good luck!
run away says:
Great suggestions, all. Many thanks. As it happens though, for business reasons, my itinerary is fixed, so I'll hit the mile high city a couple of days before the run. No sweat, though. I don't expect it to be easy: There are no easy marathons. I'll try and post a report somewhere in these pages after the race. Meanwhile, it'd be interesting to know if anyone here ran this course the inaugural year last year and what they thought of it? Was it hot, dry? crowded? noisy with street traffic? did they have adequate water stations? was it well organized? .... It's Colfax after all, so it ain't scenic by Colorado standards -- but that near straight line for 26.2 seems compelling for some reason.
Amber says:
Taos Herb Company makes a great altitude adjustment aid (http://www.taosherb.com/store/product619.html), you could take that before your trip and while you're there
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