Health & Fitness
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Adjusting to working out at high altitude -
(5300ft + )
How long does it take, and is there anything I can do to ease the transition? I'm not going to be moving until June, but I just got back from a visit and was pretty severely winded by just taking the stairs up a couple of floors.
Re: Adjusting to working out at high altitude -
I live at 6,500 feet elevation, and we frequently ride and hike at higher elevations, including many mountain passes that are >12,000 feet.
It takes a good month to start acclimating (if you're in decent shape - longer for sedentary people). Hydration is key to avoiding headaches at elevation. I'd say keep doing whatever you're doing, but as PP said, you will probably be slower.
When you say "start slow", should I just plan on walk-running a lot?
Currently, I run 4ish miles 2-3x per week and spin 2x per week. I also lift, but I'm not as worried about that.
This is definitely going to be an adjustment. It's the high desert as well, so I'm going to need to hydrate like crazy.
If you live in a really arid climate, do you carry water on all runs?
I don't know why you would need to walk/run..but I'm not a fan of that anyways.
I'd just know that your times are going to be slower and it's going to feel harder, so don't be surprised, plan on it and don't be hard on yourself. Don't get done with a run and go "Why am I sucking!?" "Why is this so hard!!" "Why does it feel like I'm pushing and not getting anywhere!" It's because of the altitude.
In Arizona we would go from Phoenix to Flagstaff which is 1500 feet to 7000 and run indoors which is also "arid," and dry. The adjustment in time for the 1500 is 10-15 seconds SLOWER at Flagstaff. So..knowing that no one is surprised when it actually happens--or when you get done with a run/race and go "crap, my lungs are BURNING."
Colorado is very dry--and no, I didn't carry water on all my runs...not even on most of them. Arizona was super hot and dry and I rarely carried water.
I don't know. I guess just based on how winded I got from taking the stairs up 2 floors I wasn't sure if I would be able to sustain running for several miles without a break.
I've visited high altitudes for short times here and there, but never spent any significant time in them. I really don't know what I should expect when it comes to really trying to exert myself.
The stair thing is a weird thing. That happened to me and MH too..and it kept happening even when I could run 12 miles continuously, up and down steep trails just fine.
Honestly, if you go out and you think you are going to be running the same pace when you first get there you will get gassed and frustrated and you will have to do run/walk. But if you just understand it's going to feel harder--so seriously run EASIER at the front end of your runs, and don't look at your watch and be anxious or worry too much about pace (just go by miles and build off that) then you will be fine.
I'll be honest: I can't really think of many places at altitude that are sh!t running locations. So I would also concentrate on learning the new place and enjoy having fun running someplace (I'm assuming here) is probably pretty nice.
Also, a lot of places at altitude are windy in the spring. That's the part that sucks.
Ok, THAT is good to know. I spent most of my time in meetings and stuff, so that was really my only experience of doing something more than casually strolling along and I thought "OMG! If stairs are this hard, will I die trying to do anything else?"
It was definitely very windy, but I understand that it's better in the rest of the year. I'm really looking forward to my new city! I was just nervous that my activities would really suffer with the move.
I totally agree with this. When I moved out here, I didn't pay attention to pace for quite awhile, because I was definitely slower and just wanted to keep going, knowing that it would eventually get easier. It took me longer than a month to feel normal, and I had just come off a good marathon training cycle, so I was in decent shape. I guess I'm slow!
You don't need to carry water on all your runs. I think it's more important to make sure that you're hydrated generally. I start a lot of my runs with a cough drop to keep my throat from getting too dry, but that's more for comfort than anything.
The wind is pretty much insane sometimes. I was pretty pleased that it wasn't windy for my run today!
Haha. No--I've wondered before if the stairs was some sort of like..anaerobic thing or something--but I would even do 100 meter sprints and not get gassed like the stairs!
It sounds like you are excited for a new adventure...I don't think your activities will suffer--but just be a bit adjusted for a time.
I miss running at altitude...better trails, more places to run..just better lol. I'm jealous!
I am SO excited. Not only am I excited about my new job, but I've always wanted to live in the southwest. The landscape is just so beautiful and you can't beat the weather 99% of the time.
The city I'm moving to as so many nearby national parks, etc. and I can't wait to go explore them all.