I registered for Boulder 2015 and am totally new to this altitude thing. I live in SC, well below altitude. Mt. Mitchell is less than an hour or so from me, and it has an elevation of 6600+ feet. I’ve never been there. I also don’t have the resources to invest in a training camp at altitude or making trips out west to altitude for training. I do this for fun, but I still want to have the best race possible. I’ll be going to Boulder 10 days prior to the race to make a nice vacation out of it (with hopes those 10 days will aid in a little bit of acclimation).
Back to the point - A few questions: Is there anything I can do training wise at Mt. Mitchell that could help me acclimate to altitude? What would you do? To the people who live in the area or frequently bike Mitchell, are there suitable roads up high to be able to do even some short runs that aren’t straight up a mountain? Any advice would help.
Come here two weeks before IM Boulder and acclimate. That is the only way. You have to give your body enough time to produce the extra red blood cells that us locals have which make it really fun to race at sea level.
The 10 days prior will be good. Everyone adapts to altitude differently, and it really doesn’t have much to do with fitness.
I was in Nepal a few years ago trekking in the Himalayas and basically went from sea level to 3,000 feet to 9,000 feet in 24 hours. Personally I didn’t really have noticeable effects of altitude sickness until 15,000 feet. Some people got pretty sick at 9,000 feet and had to stay there for a few days.
With that said, I wasn’t racing (although while I was there they held the annual Mt. Everest Marathon from Base Camp to Namche which is definitely on my bucket list now). I’d assume that every needs time to get into “racing shape” at altitude.
Does altitude even start to have an affect at 6k up? I thought I read somewhere that you only really start seeing physiological changes around 8k… but I could be wrong.
That being said—I biked up Mitchell a few days ago and you could certainly do some running from the restaurant to the actual summit but it will be pretty hilly unless you do decide to just do mini-laps around the top parking lot.
Doing some rides or runs or hikes or whatever at 6000+ feet would have a slight psychological benefit, since that would give you some sense of what the elevation in Boulder will feel like. But, in terms of physiology, spending a few hours on the upper part of Mt. Mitchell won’t do anything. It would be too little time and, in all likelihood, you’d just return to sea level. You’d need a far more sustained period at altitude than you’re going to get with a few training trips to Mt. Mitchell.
Does altitude even start to have an affect at 6k up? I thought I read somewhere that you only really start seeing physiological changes around 8k… but I could be wrong.
That being said—I biked up Mitchell a few days ago and you could certainly do some running from the restaurant to the actual summit but it will be pretty hilly unless you do decide to just do mini-laps around the top parking lot.
I have been to Denver many times for business…its all good until you go out for a run up a hill. This is an impact.
Other than getting in some really good riding/training, you are pretty much wasting your time with regards to altitude adaptations. As most others have pointed out, you will not spend enough time at altitude to make any real adaptations.
Other than getting in some really good riding/training, you are pretty much wasting your time with regards to altitude adaptations. As most others have pointed out, you will not spend enough time at altitude to make any real adaptations.
This.
But, that said - GO RIDE MT MITCHELL!!!
It’s an AWESOME ride.
I’ve done it twice, once from Asheville, and this last time from Hendersonville.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is just spectacular for riding a bike, and it’s mostly uphill almost all the way just to get to the base of Mt. Mitchell.
The climb itself isn’t too too bad, other than how spent you might be getting to it (depending on where you start from).
Both times, I had my wife meet me there, then we hiked around up top. SPECTACULAR hiking up there, it’s surprisingly lush at that altitude.
You could maybe do some trail running too, but it’s somewhat technical in spots.