[pct-l] Re: training at elevation

[wayneskraft at comcast.net (Wayne Kraft)]

Sarah, my foggy old brain does not recall exactly what post I was  
responding to several days ago when I said "live high, train low,"  
but I think it had more to do with training than acclimatizing.  At  
any rate, my somewhat tongue-in-cheek comment has to do with long  
range fitness training, not what you do a week or so before a high  
altitude endeavor.  The idea is that sleeping and/or living at high  
elevation increases athletic endurance by forcing your body to create  
more red blood cells which increases your endurance.  My  
understanding is that actually training at high elevation is counter- 
productive because the lack of oxygen does not allow the athlete to  
train with as much intensity as is possible at sea level.

Nike experimented with this method in something called the Oregon  
Project.  Nike recruited Alberto Salazar, one of our greatest  
marathoners, to coach a team of six marathon runners in Portland.   
The runners lived in a sealed house in NW Portland.  The house was  
equipped with a gizmo that reduced the oxygen level to simulate high  
altitude.  The athletes trained, however, in Portland at low  
elevation and raced in marathons generally at low elevation. So they  
were not acclimating for high elevation effort, but rather training  
for maximum fitness.

You can read an old article about the project here:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.08/nike.html

I saw a couple of these athletes training in Forest Park not far from  
where they lived 2-3 years ago.  It was fun to watch them run so  
effortlessly and with such a light touch on the ground  They would  
sail past me as I huffed an puffed my way up the first few miles of  
Leif Ericksen Drive.  I would swivel my head and say "What was that?"  
I don't know what has become of the Project.  Some of the athletes  
said that the training improved their times, but the Project hasn't  
produced any world beaters yet.  A project athlete named Dan Browne  
finished the 2004 Olympic Marathon in 65th place at 2:17.

At any rate, I have also read that high elevation mountaineers say  
that acclimation goes quicker if you are putting out effort at high  
elevation.  I don't know if this arises from experience or if someone  
has done studies on the issue, but that would be a different issue  
from how to use high elevation to gain maximum fitness, or more  
specifically, to increase your red cell count.


Wayne Kraft

On Mar 11, 2006, at 9:10 PM, Sarah M wrote:

> Funny, the rule I've heard for years is "climb high, sleep low".   
> It has a similar ring to it, but a very different meaning.  Perhaps  
> what Wayne means by training doesn't apply to general acclimatization.
>
> "Climb high, sleep low" is a mountaineering rule for acclimating.   
> Your respiration rate is lowest when you sleep, so at an elevation  
> with reduced oxygen levels you'll have your lowest oxygen intake  
> when you sleep.  I've heard many times that to acclimate it's  
> beneficial to ascend a couple hundred meters higher than your  
> sleeping elevation and spend as many waking hours as possible.   
> Then descend to sleep.  It's a bad idea to ascend if you have any  
> symptoms of altitude sickness.
> The Himalayan Rescue Association used to have pretty good  
> information online.  A couple summers ago I was at Rae Lakes when a  
> man had to evacuated from somewhere near the Woods Creek Crossing  
> with cerebral edema.  A friend who has done a number of big  
> mountains described cerebral edema to me as having your brain  
> squeezed out your sinuses.  Never ascend if you get one of those  
> splitting headaches, and if it doesn't resolve with a liter of  
> water, a pain reliever, and a short break, descend.
>
> There's a Nova (public broadcasting system program) program on DVD  
> on the effects of elevation on the human body that's very  
> interesting and includes some wonderful footage and descriptions of  
> Everest.  I was able to get it from my local library.  It's called  
> "Everest; The Death Zone" or something similar.  The featured  
> mountaineers broke more than a few rules for healthy  
> acclimitization, but it includes some fascinating stuff.  I  
> recommend it if your library has it.
>
> Message: 18
> Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2006 22:47:02 -0800
> From: Wayne Kraft <wayneskraft@comcast.net>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] altitude sickness
>
> The rule is:  live high, train low. Training at elevation is not   
> necessary and may actually detract from your training because it   
> decreases the intensity of a workout. What you really want to do  
> is  to train at sea level, but sleep on a mountain top.  You do  
> that with  one of these:
> http://www.hypoxico.com/?gclid=CKrqvZ6ax4MCFQ85GAodGDFm6g
>
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