I’m too lazy to do research about this but I am really curious:
What’s up the the altitude thing? If I go hiking/biking/running at higher elevations, I turn all sluggish and tired. I have a hard time exercising when I’m up in the mountains. Last year I almost threw up after hiking and trail running at a high elevation.
I tend to have a low HR (I used to pass out or get dizzy) and have blood sugar issues, am I just a wuss or what?
My boyfriend and I are talking about doing Xterra races next year and I’m kind of freaked that I’ll want to take a nap during the run or something.
Look up altitude sickness so you know what the symptoms are. The only way to acclimatize is to be up at altitude. You can take Diamox ( i know lots of climber who take it at altitude) which helps you acclimatize faster but is also a diuretic so it dries you out. The best method is just hang out at altitude and drink extra fluids and take naps the first few days. If you’re fit, then even a few days at altitude before an event will make you feel better. You shouldn’t expect to get the same performance as you do at sea level though.
I don’t have a lot of high altitude experience. But I am going to Colorado in July to ride the Mt. Evans race and to try to ride some of the other high passes in the week following. I will probably take some Gingko Biloba - http://www.high-altitude-medicine.com/hot-topics.html There is also a prescription drug called Diamox that is supposed to speed acclimatization.
I have ridden Mt. Evans twice–once as a 16-year old and once as a 33-year old. I grew up living at 5,200 feet and regularly rode up to 8,500, so the climb I did as a teenager was no problem.
After six years living at sea level I did it again once on a cross country trip. My fitness level was probably higher than as a teenager, but the last few miles killed me. On one occasion, I took an extra long sip on my water bottle and I had to stop riding and catch my breath for a few moments.
That was obviously an extreme example. When I go back to visit family in Utah I have no issues with riding at 4,500 feet up to eight or nine thousand.
What you are describing is totally normal. The higher you get, the lower your VO2 max. There is only something like 60% of the O2 at 14,000 than at sea level… There is no way to get around it other than spending a couple of weeks at the elevation you are racing. The good thing for you is that everyone else is also fighting the same problem.
Two other things about elevation. First, the air at 7000’ is typically much drier than what you would find in the Arizona desert in mid-summer, and some of the fatigue is brought on by dehydration. You need to drink, drink, drink and hit those electrolytes.
Second, because of less oxygen, your HR will increase while you are sleeping to compensate. This will also fatigue you since you may not sleep well until your body generates the extra hemoglobin needed to deliver optimal oxygen to the muscles. You have to adjust your eating, and make sure you are getting enough iron, chromium and other minerals. It will still take time to feel well.
I spend every summer at over 7000’, and live at 3500’ and it typically takes about 10 days before I don’t notice it. Days 2-5 are the worst. Hydration and eating right will help, but you will still be fatigued.
Found a paper (forgot where though, but it was in a well known physio journal published by springer verlag so likely to be found on pubmed) where the average was a loss of 3% of Vo2max per 1500ft.
Also, some people (me for instance) don’t seem to adjust no matter how long they stay at altitude. I had an email from one of the docs. at USOC explaining briefly why (kind of went over my head though).
I have a 10% loss of Vo2 at 4500ft only. Others seem to do just fine, so it’s highly variable.
It does seem variable and I think I might have the short end of the stick. We went hiking at Haleakala crater last year with my boyfriend’s brother. The brother struggled a little, the boyfriend wanted to trail run and I had a hard time breathing and I really wanted to puke. It didn’t help that we thought the hike was shorter than what it was and were totally unprepared with water and food.
We try to get up in the mountains more during the summer and I struggle with anything more than hiking. I’ll work on hydration more next time. We were in the hills this weekend for hiking and biking and I definitely didn’t have enough water but did manage to drink my share of beer.
I’m not too optimistic about being competitive at Xterra now.
I’m not too optimistic about being competitive at Xterra now.
Xterras are a blast and not all of them are at altitude, so don’t give up.
If you do race any of the high altitude ones (kirkwood/Incline/Keystone) then I would follow prof v’s advice on day 2 to 5 being the worst - he’s right on. Try to go up the morning of the race if possible.
There is an xterra forum although I have never used it (xterraplanet.com)
Try the Vashon Island race if it fits your schedule. Logistically it is a bit challenging since you have to take the ferry over, but they have some nice B&Bs on the island and good food in town. The race is pretty low key - I think there were 50 people in total at the race.